Apply for the Harvard LEAD Fellowship for global health. This one-year, fully funded fellowship supports women from low- and middle-income countries across the world to advance their leadership skills in global health.
Women are agents of change when they work in leadership positions. Research shows that they implement policies that create better lives for families, communities, and nations. They find ways to support and lift up women and children, who continue to experience a disproportionate burden of disease and death worldwide. Still, women remain underrepresented among the leadership ranks in public health, medicine, and the health and life sciences.
To equip and empower more leaders in global health, the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Global Health and Population Department at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health offer a transformational fellowship specifically designed to promote leadership skills in individuals from low- and middle-income countries who will, in turn, mentor future female leaders in global health.
The Harvard LEAD Fellowship recipients will have access to world-class faculty, be provided with senior mentors, and have the opportunity to build a custom curriculum aligned to their own unique personal growth and leadership plan. Based on their specific interests and leadership goals, LEAD fellows engage in a tailored leadership training program, speaking and networking opportunities, and independent project work. The fellowship offers a unique opportunity to build a global network of peers and relationships across schools and departments at Harvard University. The fellowship experience provides global health leaders with time to reflect, recalibrate, and explore uncharted territories.
The 2024–25 LEAD fellowship program will run from September 2024 through August 2025. The program structure is a virtual engagement with a 4-week in-residence experience in Cambridge, MA, in April 2025. The program curriculum includes a blend of executive coaching, mentorship, speaking engagements, executive education courses, workshops, meetings, events, and networking.
The 2024–2025 cohort of LEAD Fellows will join a close-knit community of former fellows from around the world. To date, fellows have come from 16 different countries, with representation from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America.
Their areas of focus have ranged from HIV/AIDS and healthcare to health policy at the highest levels of government. Past fellows’ areas of expertise span disciplines including research, advocacy, administration, and policy. You can learn more about our current and past fellows here.
This program is co-sponsored by the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Global Health and Population Department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. LEAD Fellows will hold an academic appointment as a visiting scientist in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Eligibility requirements for the Harvard LEAD Fellowship:
- Applicants must work full-time in the field of global health and have at least 15 years of professional experience. Global health-related work completed as a university student does not count as professional experience.
- Applicants must have demonstrated leadership experience
- Applicants must have the full support of their employer and a champion in their organization who serves as an internal mentor.
- Applicants must take a leave of absence (or equivalent) from their home institution during their in-residence experience for 1 month in April 2025.
- Applicants must be able to obtain a J-1 visa for travel to the United States in April 2025 and must be able to reside in Cambridge, MA. NOTE: Visa fees, housing, and flights will be covered under the fellowship, and a living stipend will be provided for the 4 weeks in residence.
- During the two years prior to their arrival at Harvard, the fellows should not have participated in a full-time fellowship that lasted 4 months or longer.
Application Requirements for Harvard LEAD Fellowship
We welcome applicants from all continents, regions, disciplines, sectors, genders, and gender identities. Candidates nominate themselves by applying for the fellowship. There are no age limits or academic prerequisites.
The 2024-2025 fellowship application is now open! All application materials are due by 5 PM EST on Friday, March 15th, 2024.
