Greetings,

We are excited to share this funding opportunity from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Foundation is currently accepting nominations for its 2027 Sloan Research Fellowship program. These prestigious awards recognize and reward outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study. Each year, no more than three candidates may be nominated from any one department per fellowship field. More information about the award can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our new Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

Sloan Research Fellowships

• OSP Deadline: September 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET
  Departments or areas may require additional time for proposal review and submission. Please discuss a timeline with your departmental or FORA grants administrator. 
• Sponsor Deadline: September 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
• Award Amount: $75,000 over two years
  Fellowship funds may not be used for indirect or overhead charges by the Fellow's institution. Because these are early career awards, FAS/SEAS recognizes this indirect cost limit and does not require further action, such as a waiver or direct charge of other costs.

Program Overview

Sloan Research Fellowships (SRF) are awarded annually to outstanding early-career faculty in recognition of distinguished performance, demonstrated creativity and initiative, and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field. Fellowships are awarded for scholars whose research is in one of the seven SRF fields listed below. 

 

Funds may be used by the fellow for any expense judged supportive of the fellow's research including staffing, professional travel, lab expenses, equipment, or summer salary support. If necessary, Fellowship funds may be used for research expenses incurred during the summer immediately prior to the Fellowship start date, September 15, 2027.

SRF Fields of Interest

• Chemistry
• Computer science
• Earth system science
• Economics
• Mathematics
• Neuroscience
• Physics 

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, or a related field.
• Nominated candidates are normally several years past the completion of their Ph.D. in order to accumulate a competitive record of independent, significant research.
• Applicants must be tenure-track, though untenured, as of September 15, 2026.
• The candidate's faculty position must carry a regular teaching obligation. 
• In order to be considered for a Sloan Research Fellowship, a candidate must have a letter of nomination from a department head or other senior researcher officially nominating the candidate and describing their qualifications, initiative, and research.
• Each year, no more than three candidates may be nominated from any one department per fellowship field.
• Past (and current) Sloan Fellows are not eligible to receive another Sloan Research Fellowship.
• Researchers who have received a grant from one of the Sloan Foundation's other grantmaking programs are eligible as long as they meet all Sloan Research Fellowship eligibility requirements. 

Application Materials

• Required Documents:

  • Confidential nomination letter* 

  • CV, including a list of the candidate's scientific publications

    • Candidates in the physics fellowship field are asked to include their h-index and top five cited papers (with the citations included).  

  • Two representative articles by the candidate that highlight his or her independent research

  • Research statement describing the candidate's significant scientific work and immediate research plans (1 page maximum, 11pt font and margins no smaller than .5 inches)

    • The Foundation prefers that references be included in the footnotes of page one but if that is not possible, putting references on a second page is acceptable.

    • Candidates applying to the Earth system science field are asked to include a one-two sentence statement describing how their research will impact the field.    

  • Three confidential letters of support*

  • *The applicant will request confidential letters through Sloan's online application portal and letter writers will submit their documents directly through that system. The Foundation strongly prefers for letter writers to submit their letters by the 9/15 deadline, which is the deadline for nominees to submit their applications. However, the final deadline for letter writers is 9/22.  

• Included Forms: 

  • Nominee general information

  • Nominator information

  • Support writer information

  • EEO-1/Affirmative Action Voluntary Self-Identification Form

Additional Information and Resources

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Science, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Engineering and Technology

Environmental and Climate Science

Life Sciences

Neuroscience

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Social Sciences

 Research Development | FAS Office of Research Administration | research.fas.harvard.edu

Your Research, Our Mission