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For Students

From research to teaching, students are central to our work.

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The Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and its faculty are committed to enriching the educational experience for students at the Kennedy School. In addition to teaching degree courses, our faculty regularly advise and engage with students from the time they arrive on campus for orientation through graduation and beyond. The Rajawali Institute is proud to support students with tuition assistance and a host of co-curricular opportunities, including funding for student-led events and initiatives, research and applied learning experiences, study groups, and more.

Support for Student Initiatives and Study

The Ash Center supports certain HKS student-led events and initiatives as well as independent study. Preference is given to projects with Ash faculty involvement and applied learning opportunities that overlap with the Institute’s core research and programmatic priorities.

Interested students may direct applications and funding inquiries to Laura Ma, Associate Director, Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and China Programs, Laura_Ma@hks.harvard.edu.

Apply for Funding

How to apply for a research grant

The Center awards research grants to HKS students for independent research projects on an ongoing basis. Research projects are selected based on several criteria:

  • Connection to Rajawali Institute-affiliated faculty (either in an informal or formal advisory capacity)
  • Relevance to one of the Center’s areas of focus
  • Well-developed research plan and appropriate budget

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE 2023-24 STUDENT FUNDING APPLICATION

Please be sure to complete all fields of this application. In addition to the application and research project proposal, we also request a letter of recommendation or endorsement from a faculty member; this may be submitted with the proposal or emailed by the faculty member directly to Laura Ma (laura_ma@hks.harvard.edu).

How to apply for student group funding

The Rajawali Institute supports many student organizations which focus on one of our areas of interest. We welcome funding applications from groups as well; please refer to the independent research application for guidelines on submitting an application. We also welcome “standard” proposals used by groups and journals to fundraise across HKS.

Study Groups and Workshops

The Rajawali Institute regularly sponsors not-for-credit study groups and workshops for interested HKS and Harvard students to work and learn from practitioners and scholars affiliated with the Institute. Interested participants should register for each study group session(s) they plan on attending. To help foster a stronger sense of community amongst study group attendees, we ask that students commit to attending most if not all sessions of a particular study group.

Upcoming Study Groups and Workshops

Policy Analysis Exercise and Second-Year Policy Analysis

Finding a client

Through our network of practitioners, the Rajawali Institute’s faculty and research programs can help students connect with client organizations working to improve democratic governance, representation, government innovation, and more.

Winter travel funding

The Rajawali Institute provides travel grants to HKS students working on their Policy Analysis Exercises (PAE) or Second Year Policy Analyses (SYPA). Specifically, the Institute supports students interested in issues of Asia public policy.

The application process and timeline are coordinated with other HKS research centers, and all applications are accepted through the Common Application (found on KNet). Please contact Laura Ma with questions.

 

Previous Student Scholarships

The China and Globalization Program Fellowship

The China and Globalization Program Fellowship was awarded to Chinese students with financial need. Leading candidates demonstrated a strong interest in the areas of domestic politics and social development of China, with a focus on public policy challenges. Fellowship recipients joined the Ash Center in co-curricular activities such as lectures, workshops and conferences.

Dalio Scholars

The Dalio Fellowship is awarded each year to one Chinese mid-career Mason Program MPA degree student with financial need. Recipients selected are proven leaders in philanthropy or demonstrate clear philanthropy sector leadership potential.

HKS Indonesia Program Fellowship

The HKS Indonesia Program offered limited financial aid to support Indonesian students admitted to Harvard Kennedy School degree programs.

Hui Fellows

The Hui Fellowship was awarded each year to Chinese mid-career Mason Program MPA degree student and Chinese MPP degree students with financial need. Recipients demonstrated a strong interest in the areas of China’s integration with the world economy and polity, sustainability, socio-economic stability, and those active in civil society, with a focus on public policy challenges.

Lee Kuan Yew Fellows

The Lee Kuan Yew Fellows Program brought a group of 20 to 25 mid-career students to HKS for one semester each year. Coming from every country in Asia, these students were candidates for the Master in Public Management degree at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. The student fellowship program was the cornerstone of the Ash Center’s Singapore program, which included a number of joint research projects, case studies, faculty exchanges, policy conferences, and executive education programs. The Lee Kuan Yew School was officially launched in 2004, dedicated to educating and training the next generation of Asian policymakers and leaders. Its objective is to contribute to the transformation of Asia by raising the standards of governance throughout the region and improving people’s lives. It inherited the Policy Programme that NUS had set up with Harvard Kennedy School in 1992.