The Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is a prestigious fellowship opportunity for experienced professionals working to improve the built and natural environment and create positive social impact. The program brings accomplished practitioners from around the world to Harvard for an academic year of learning, reflection, networking, and professional development.

The Fellowship is designed for mid-career professionals with at least eight years of experience in their field. Eligible applicants can come from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, public art, journalism, civic leadership, policymaking, community development, urban design, and related fields. Harvard also welcomes professionals with unconventional career paths and does not require applicants to hold a completed university degree.

What the Fellowship Offers

Selected Loeb Fellows spend a year at Harvard, where they have the opportunity to audit courses at Harvard and MIT without paying tuition. Fellows can engage with faculty and students, attend lectures, conferences, exhibitions, and other academic activities, and develop an individualized plan based on their professional and personal goals.

The Fellowship also provides a current stipend of $57,500 for the academic year, which is considered taxable income. The program strives to provide modest housing in Cambridge for Fellows and their families who come from outside the Boston/Cambridge area. Fellows may also receive travel grants covering approximately one economy-class round trip home per semester.

Beyond financial support, one of the major benefits of the Loeb Fellowship is its international alumni network. Fellows become part of a global community of professionals working across disciplines to strengthen communities and influence the future of the built and natural environment.

Eligibility

The Fellowship is intended for practitioners rather than students or traditional academic sabbaticals. Applicants should have a minimum of eight years of professional experience and demonstrate exceptional work, leadership ability, and a commitment to creating meaningful impact.

A university degree is not required, and the program does not review academic transcripts. Applicants from diverse professional and educational backgrounds are encouraged to apply if their work aligns with the Fellowship’s mission.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit an online application through SlideRoom, along with a professional résumé and three letters of recommendation. Supplemental materials such as articles, books, videos, lectures, portfolios, or other examples of professional work are optional but strongly encouraged.

There is no application fee.

For the 2027–28 Loeb Fellowship, applications are currently open and must be submitted by January 5, 2027, at 11:59 PM ET. Recommendation letters are due seven days later, on January 12, 2027.

The Loeb Fellowship is particularly valuable for experienced professionals who want to step back from their regular professional responsibilities, gain new perspectives, strengthen their skills, and prepare for the next stage of their careers while contributing to positive change in communities.

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