- When will the updated application material be available?
Applications will go live in mid-August, so updated application material is usually available from late July/early August. The deadline for completed applications will be 23.59 on a day in October. Please see the Information for Applicants for the precise closing date.
- General Advice
Please read the Knox Information for Applicants. This gives detailed information regarding eligibility, application requirements and selection criteria.
- What is the relationship between Kennedy Scholarships and Frank Knox Fellowships?
These are distinct awards, though they share an administrative connection. Frank Knox Fellowships are offered by Harvard University and are tenable at Harvard University. Kennedy Scholarships are offered by the Kennedy Memorial Trust and are tenable at Harvard or MIT. By agreement with Harvard, the UK Knox Fellowship competition is administered by the Kennedy Memorial Trust. The formal relationship between the two awards is therefore a purely administrative one. They are different awards with separate application procedures. You must submit separate applications if you apply for both awards.
- Can I apply for both a Kennedy Scholarship and a Frank Knox Fellowship?
Yes. These are totally separate awards and if you meet the eligibility criteria for both (as detailed in the Knox Information for Applicants and Kennedy Call for Applications), and intend to study at Harvard, then you would be able to apply for both awards. You would only be asked to choose between them if offered both awards following interview. Please note that you must submit separate applications for each award. Applying for one does not gain you automatic consideration for the other.
Please see the Kennedy Trust website for more information on the Kennedy Scholarships.
- Who should I provide as my referees?
Please note that referees' contact details are compulsory fields on your application form and you should request permission of those whose details you give.
You must give a professional email address - not a gmail or hotmail account, for instance.
You are asked for one referee who has supervised some aspect of your academic work at university. Your second referee does not need to be an academic but should be someone familiar with your performance at university as well as afterwards. Be aware that a generic reference from an employer will rarely advance an applicant's case. If you have been employed for some time and have someone who is free to write in some detail in support of you and your application, then they could be a good choice for your second referee. You are looking for people who can write pertinently about you as an applicant for the programme(s) of your choice at this stage in your career.
- Can I use the same essay and referees for both my Kennedy and Knox application?
Yes. Knox and Kennedy applications are read by different selection panels. You may submit the same or a similar essay, updated appropriately for each award.
- Must I have met all requirements for admission to my US programme before applying for either award?
The short answer is No. The important thing here is that you are aware of the application deadline for the programme of your choice and are beginning to put together a serious academic application for it. If you are intending to take a degree programme, the US deadline will be some time between early December and early January and you will need to have completed your GREs by that time too. You do not have to have done this before submitting your Frank Knox Fellowship application.
- I have an application pending for other awards; does that matter?
No. You will only be asked to choose as deadlines arise. It is not possible to attend Harvard holding joint Knox,Fulbright and/or Kennedy awards.
- I have an application pending for UK citizenship. May I apply?
Your UK citizenship has to have been granted by the time you apply for a Frank Knox Fellowship. Your undergraduate degree should also have been taken at a UK university.
- Dual citizenship
Dual citizenship is not a barrier to applying for a Frank Knox Fellowship, as long as you meet the criteria re residency and educational history.
- Do I need a First Class degree to apply?
The short answer is: "No." You do not need a first class degree to apply for a Frank Knox Fellowship. However, you should bear in mind the intense competition for places at Harvard. The strength of your academic profile will obviously be the significant factor in admissions decisions and it therefore also features strongly in the Knox Fellowship competition. It is sadly possible to win the provisional offer of a Knox Fellowship at interview and then not be able to take it up because of non-admission to the Harvard programme of your choice.
- I am already enrolled on a Master's programme in the UK. May I apply for a subsequent one in the US?
Yes. There are no restrictions on the number of Master's programmes taken prior to a Knox Fellowship application.
- The US Master's I would like is wrapped up within a PhD programme. May I leave after the Master's element?
You should only apply for the PhD programme if you genuinely intend to complete that degree.
- I am already partway through a programme in the US. May I apply for funding?
No. Knox Fellowship applications will not be accepted from applicants already studying in the US.
- Must my US application be submitted by the award deadline in October?
The short answer is No. What is important here is that you make your Harvard application in the same application season as your Knox Fellowship application and that you meet all Harvard deadlines and any additional requirements for the programme(s) of your choice. Knox Fellowships cannot be deferred. You must therefore complete your Harvard application for admission in the same season or withdraw from that particular year's competition.
- Do I need to take the GRE tests?
Most degree programmes at Harvard, apart from the LLM, request these tests or an equivalent. Check the requirements for your preferred course thoroughly as your test results, if required, constitute part of your formal application for admission.
Visit www.ets.org/gre for information and access to practice material.
UK Arts graduates should particularly invest time in preparing for the Quantitative test. Applicants to doctoral programmes should prepare thoroughly for these and for any subject-specific tests which may be required.
Harvard admissions teams will often give you a benchmark score for particular aspects of the test in order for your application to be considered.
- May I apply for graduate programmes at both Harvard and MIT?
Frank Knox Fellowships only support graduate programmes at Harvard. If you wish to apply to MIT as well, you should check out the Kennedy Scholarship.
- I will apply as a Special Student. Can I delay my US application until after the interviews?
Yes. The deadline for Special Student applications at Harvard GSAS is not until early March, so after the Knox interviews.
- I will be applying for a Visiting Fellowship. Can I delay my US application until after the interviews?
Yes. The deadline for applications for Visiting Fellowships to Harvard is early March, so after the Knox interview date.
- Will you confirm receipt of my application?
Once you complete and submit your Frank Knox Fellowships application online, we will send you an email to confirm receipt. You will then hear from us again towards the end of November, approximately, informing you whether your application is being put forward to the next stage of the competition.
- I need to change something on my application. Is this possible?
Unfortunately, once you have submitted your application form online you cannot change your details.
If you have a major problem, please contact Dr Emily Charnock on emily@frankknoxfellowships.org.uk or 020 7222 1151.
- How is my information protected?
We use a server certificate (also known as a digital certificate) to assure you of our identity and a secure sockets layer (SSL) to encrypt data transmissions.
- I have a question not addressed above - is there someone who can advise me?
You are welcome to contact Dr Emily Charnock on emily@frankknoxfellowships.org.uk with queries. Please read the Information for Applicants and above FAQs carefully, and do some research on possible courses at Harvard before you get in touch.