I am from Australia. How do I apply?

Up to three (3) Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships will be awarded to students from Australia for graduate study at Harvard University in academic year 2008-2009. Information pertaining to qualifications, application procedures and the candidate selection process is presented below:

Qualifications

1. Knox Fellowships are open to men and women who

  • are citizens of Australia at the time of application and who are normally resident in Australia
  • have studied or are studying for a degree at an Australian university and have spent at least two of the last four years at university at the time of application
  • graduated no earlier than 2006 or will graduate before September 2008.

2. No application will be considered from any student already in the United States.

3. Knox Fellowships are not awarded for undergraduate or postdoctoral study.

4. Each Knox Fellowship applicant must also submit an Application for Admission directly to the Harvard graduate or professional school of his/her choice. Knox Fellowships are awarded only to those candidates that gain admission to Harvard as full-time degree-program students or – as permitted by certain Harvard schools – as non-degree Special Students or Visiting Fellows. Applicants should contact the particular Harvard school they wish to attend for further information about degree and non-degree programs offered by that school. Each applicant must meet the particular admission requirements, timetable and deadlines of that school. Applicants are urged to begin correspondence with that school’s Admissions Office at the earliest possible date. Applicants should submit Applications for Admission to the appropriate school as early as possible and need not wait for the deadline.

5. Knox Fellowship applicants seeking admission to the MBA program at Harvard Business School should ideally have completed at least two years of full-time employment in industry, business or public service by September 2008.

6. Knox Fellowship applicants seeking admission to Harvard Law School should have completed their resident university education and hold a basic degree in Law before applying for an advanced degree program such as the Master of Laws (LLM).

Application Procedures

1. All those interested in applying must use the official Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships application form, which can be downloaded in PDF format here. or may be obtained from IDP Education Australia Limited (IDP) in Canberra (see contact information below).

2. The applicant must submit the original plus three (3) copies of the full application package to the Scholarship or Research Office of his/her university. The closing date for receipt of applications varies with each Australian university and may be obtained from the university. The full application package must include:

  • a completed Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships application form
  • an official statement of academic standing from the applicant’s university
  • a copy of the applicant’s full curriculum vitae
  • a testimonial from the applicant’s current supervisor
  • the names of two (2) referees, both of whom should be asked by the applicant to write confidential reports which the referees should then send directly to the Scholarship or Research Office at the applicant’s university (please note that responsibility for ensuring that referee reports are forwarded to the appropriate university office on time rests solely with the applicant – IDP does not pursue late reports from referees)
  • a short essay – which must not exceed 1,000 words – providing an account of the applicant’s academic pursuits, intellectual interests, extra-curricular activities and the reasons for his/her desire to study at Harvard University; the essay should also explain the applicant’s plan of study at Harvard and his/her future plans.

3. Universities are required to transmit completed application packages in order of merit to IDP for consideration by the Selection Committee. Applications should reach IDP no later than 23 November 2007.

Candidate Selection Process

1. Upon receipt by IDP, applications will be ranked nationally by a Selection Committee composed of Vice Chancellors, Registrars or senior academic staff from a cross-section of Australia’s higher education institutions. Short-listing is based on each institution’s order of merit. Special emphasis is placed on the contents of the supervisor’s testimonial and the referees’ reports. A ranked list of finalists is then forwarded to Harvard for final consideration.

2. Final selection of winners is made by Harvard’s Committee on General Scholarships based on the ranking of short-listed candidates provided by IDP and in consideration of Harvard’s admissions decisions for all short-listed candidates.

3. Candidates will be selected on the basis of future promise of leadership. Strength of character, keen mind, a balanced judgment and devotion to the democratic ideal will be the qualities borne in mind in making the final selection.

4. Mrs. Knox expressed the hope that recipients of Knox Fellowships, after gaining knowledge and experience from study in the United States, would return to their native countries to become leaders in their chosen fields.

For additional information, please contact:
Frank Knox Memorial Scholarship Project Manager
Global Development Services
IDP Education Australia Limited
1 Geils Court, Deakin, ACT, 2600
Australia
www.idp.com/students/scholarships/article85.asp