Applying for Visitor Status

librarian and visitor looking at special collections materials

Appointed visitors are an integral part of the Department of Philosophy’s dynamic academic community.  If you wish to apply for an appointment as a visitor to the department, please follow the application procedure below.  These appointments are intended for scholars who wish to conduct independent academic research on Harvard’s campus.

Please note that the department is only able to sponsor an extremely limited number of visitor appointments at a given time.  For current graduate students and early-career scholars, we encourage you to consider applying through the GSAS Special Student and Visiting Fellow Program.

Application Procedure

Eligibility: Applicants typically hold or are pursuing a Ph.D. Applications by independent scholars will be considered in special circumstances but must be supported by a substantial body of academic work.

To Apply: Please email the following materials to phildept@fas.harvard.edu:

  1. current Curriculum Vitae.
  2. brief cover letter indicating your current academic position, the dates of your visit to Harvard, and the name of your preferred faculty sponsor for your research visit.    Visitors will meet regularly with their faculty sponsors over the course of their research stay.
  3. summary of your research objectives while at Harvard.  The summary should be no longer than two pages and must list any faculty member(s) with whom you wish to work.  If relevant, please list courses you hope to audit.

Additional Notes

It is not necessary to have a confirmed faculty sponsor before applying.  Once submitted, applications are forwarded to the preferred faculty sponsor for their review.  All applicants must be sponsored by a faculty member in order to be accepted as visitors.

Please apply at least 6 months prior to your preferred start date, in order to allow adequate time for processing.

Visitor appointments are made for a minimum of three months and a maximum of one year.  

All visitor appointments are unpaid, and do not come with any funding from the University.