I am from New Zealand. How do I apply for a Frank Knox Fellowship?

Up to three (3) Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships will be awarded to students from New Zealand 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 New Zealand at the time of application and who are normally resident in New Zealand
  • have studied or are studying for a degree at a New Zealand 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 from the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (NZVCC) website: http://www.nzvcc.ac.nz/files/schol/Frank%20Knox%2005.pdf.

2. The applicant must submit the original plus one (1) copy of the required application package to the Scholarships Office of the New Zealand university that he/she attends (or from which he/she graduated) by the closing date for that university but in no case not later than October 1st. The application package must include:

  • a completed Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships application form
  • a copy of the applicant’s official birth certificate
  • the names and addresses of three (3) referees – one of whom should be the applicant’s supervisor or senior lecturer – each of whom should be asked by the applicant to forward confidential references to the Scholarships Office at their university by the closing date (please note that responsibility for ensuring that reference letters are forwarded to the appropriate office on time rests solely with the applicant – the NZVCC does not pursue late references from referees)

3. Once an application has been submitted to the university, its Scholarships Office will attach a copy of the applicant’s official academic transcript. Each university’s selection committee shortlists a limited number of candidates who are then nominated to the NZVCC for the national Knox Fellowships competition.

Candidate Selection Process

1. The NZVCC convenes a national scholarships selection committee comprised of senior faculty and/or academic staff from a cross-section of New Zealand’s higher education institutions. This national committee reviews applications from all Knox Fellowship candidates nominated by the universities and selects a limited number of finalists who are then nominated 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 the NZVCC and in consideration of Harvard’s admissions decisions for all finalists.

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:
New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (NZVCC)
94 Dixon Street
P.O. Box 11-915
Wellington
www.nzvcc.ac.nz