Opportunities

Submit application online between November 5th and February 1st

The Ashton Award for Student Research supports investigations by graduate and advanced undergraduate students working on Asian tropical forest biology. Awards of up to $4,000 are granted to support student research expenses.

Visit Ashton Award for Student Research for Award details and application information.

Application deadline:  February 1st

The Charles Bullard Fellowship in Forest Research program supports advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution, either as scholars or administrators, to forestry and forest-related subjects including biology, earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosophy, humanities, the arts, or law.

Bullard Fellowships are generally awarded to individuals in mid-career who have established themselves in academia, public service, or in the private sector. For those in academic careers, preference is ordinarily given to holders of doctoral degrees, but others whose projects show promise of important contributions to forestry and forest studies, broadly defined, will be considered in terms of the likelihood that study and research at Harvard will help fulfill this promise. Judgments of the Committee are based primarily on the quality of the applicant's professional accomplishments, academic record, and potential benefits from interaction with the Harvard community and its institutional resources. Please note: This is not a post-doctoral program; recent PhD graduates are generally not appropriate candidates for a Bullard Fellowship. Bullard Fellowships may be awarded as “Short-Term” fellowships (2-3 months) or “Long-Term” fellowships (6 to 12 months).

Visit Charles Bullard Fellowship in Forest Research for Fellowship details and application information.

Submit Application online between November 5th and February 1st

Cunin/Sigal Research Award supports investigations by graduate and advanced undergraduate students engaged in botanical research. Preference is given to students whose research utilizes the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum.  Awards of $2,000 or less are granted to support student research expenses.

Visit Cunin/Sigal Research Award for Award details and application information.

Submit application online by February 15th

With plant biodiversity as a unifying theme, research at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University by staff and visiting scientists from around the world builds on a broadly integrative program that will advance knowledge about how plants function, how they have evolved and diversified over time, how they shape ecosystems, and how they respond to a rapidly changing planet. The DaRin Butz Research Internship Program at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University gives undergraduates in the life sciences a unique opportunity to experience research from start to finish while gaining training and connections among scientific colleagues. DaRin Butz Interns will not only conduct research, but will also develop their project with their advisors and be guided through the process of sharing their research through written reports and oral presentations, an important component of scientific research.  Students will also participate in activities with the other DaRin Butz Interns, including a weekly journal club and tours of the Arboretum’s diverse collections.

The 2025 internship program will run for 10-weeks in the summer. Interns will receive a stipend of $6250 for the ten-week period plus up to $550 for round-trip travel to the Boston metro area.

Visit the DaRin Butz Research Internship Program details, program dates, and application information.

Submit Application online between November 5th and February 1st

The Deland Award for Student Research supports investigations by graduate and advanced undergraduate students working on the comparative biology of woody plants, including developmental biology, physiology, genetics, reproductive biology, or ecology. Preference is given to students whose research utilizes the living collections of the Arnold Arboretum.

Awards of up to $10,000 are granted to support student research expenses and, in some cases, living expenses incurred during the research period.

Visit The Deland Award for Student Research for Award details and application information.

Deadline: January 10

The Harvard University Center for the Environment created the Environmental Fellows Program to enable recent doctorate recipients to use and expand Harvard's extraordinary resources to tackle complex environmental problems. The Environmental Fellows will work for two years with Harvard faculty members in any school or department to create new knowledge while also strengthening connections across the University's academic disciplines.

Visit Environmental Fellows Program for Program details and application information.

Submit Application online between November 5th and February 1st

The James R. Jewett Prize is awarded to researchers studying the biology of flowers and/or fruits. Preference is given to visiting scholars who plan to utilize the living collection of the Arnold Arboretum.

The Arnold Arboretum provides exceptional resources for woody plant research. The living collection, numbering some 15,000 plants, is distinguished as one of the most thoroughly documented collections of temperate woody plants in the world. Taxonomic diversity and breadth within the collection are noteworthy, and the floras of China, Japan, and Korea are particularly well represented. The Harvard Botanical Library contains 250,000 volumes, while the Harvard University Herbaria holds over 5,000,000 specimens.

The Jewett Prize enables the Arnold Arboretum to support original research by visiting scholars, foster collegial exchanges and partnerships, and demonstrate the research value of the Arboretum’s collections.

Awards of up to $10,000 are granted to support research expenses and/or travel expenses associated with the proposed research.

Visit the James R. Jewett Prize for Fellowship details and application information.

Submit Application online by January 11

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University invites early career scientists to apply for a unique opportunity to start a research career as independent postdoctoral fellow while gaining training and connections within the framework of a top-tier academic environment. The Katharine H. Putnam Fellowship in Plant Science supports scientists focused on utilizing the Arnold Arboretum’s living collections of woody plants to study any area of plant science.  The Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship supports researchers that tackle any area of global change science utilizing the myriad resources of the Arnold Arboretum

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and its urban landscape in Boston are particularly well-suited for global change and plant science research. It is both an outdoor museum of the world’s temperate trees and other woody plants grown in a public open space, all within sight of the Arboretum’s state-of-the art research facilities.

Visit Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Arnold Arboretum for Fellowship details and application information.

Deadline: 

The Rowland Fellows Program seek outstanding early-career experimentalists in all fields of science and engineering to establish fully independent research groups. We are focused on nurturing future scientific leaders, particularly those who have the potential to establish a ground-breaking research program in their chosen field. Fellows to perform independent experimental research for five years, with full institutional support and access to the Institute's outstanding technical and scientific resources.  We seek the best young experimentalists in all areas of science and engineering; research projects in the areas of energy science and neuroscience, broadly defined, are of particular interest. The Rowland Fellowship provides an opportunity to work in the rich intellectual environment at Harvard and the surrounding area, while establishing an independent program.

Visit The Rowland Fellows Program for Program details and application information.

Submit application online between November 5th and February 1st

The Sargent Award provides support for visiting scholars in the botanical sciences to conduct research that utilizes the living library and/or herbarium collections of the Arnold Arboretum. The Sargent Award enables the Arnold Arboretum to support original research by visiting scholars, foster collegial exchanges and partnerships, and demonstrate the research value of the Arboretum's collections. Awards of up to $7,000 are granted to support research expenses and/or travel expenses associated with the proposed research.

Visit Sargent Award for Visiting Scholars for Award details and application information.

Submit Application online between November 5th and February 1st

The Sinnott Award provides support for scholars in the botanical sciences to conduct research that utilizes the living collection of the Arnold Arboretum. The Sinnott Award enables the Arnold Arboretum to support original research by visiting scholars, foster collegial exchanges and partnerships, and demonstrate the research value of the Arboretum’s collections.

Awards of up to $7,000 are granted to support research expenses and/or travel expenses associated with the proposed research. 

Visit Sinnott Award for Award details and application information.

Submit application online between November 5th and February 1st

The Shiu-Ying Hu Student/Postdoctoral Exchange Award supports American-Chinese exchanges for graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, and/or postdoctoral researchers studying the comparative biology of woody plants, including developmental biology, physiology, genetics, reproductive biology, or ecology.

Awards of $10,000 or less are granted to support awardee travel, research and/or living expenses. Awardee(s) chosen from the People's Republic of China will receive funds to conduct studies involving the living collections at the Arnold Arboretum. Awardee(s) from Harvard University will receive funds to conduct studies in the field or at a botanical institution in China.

Visit Shiu-Ying Hu Student/Postdoctoral Exchange Award for Award details and application information.