Kahn Student Fellowships

Students can participate as fellows in year-long Kahn projects, alongside faculty and staff. The group meets weekly throughout the school year to examine a specific theme. The fellows’ discussions and conversations are enriched by their varied disciplinary expertise and perspectives, thus infusing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary energy and insights into their academic and scholarly work. The fellows also propose readings, present on their individual research, recommend outside speakers or events, participate in occasional relevant field trips or activities, and share a weekly meal.

Student fellows receive a stipend each semester of the project, disbursed in equal bi-weekly payments on the student payroll schedule (if they receive financial aid, student fellows must notify Student Financial Services to integrate the Kahn stipend into their total aid package). During the project’s year, student fellows may not hold another ongoing job that requires a fixed work schedule or substantial time commitment.

Additional Information

A student fellow:

  • is a rising senior or junior at the time of application.
  • is on campus during the academic year when the project takes place.
  • takes initiative in conducting independent research.
  • proposes and pursues a research project related to the project’s theme.
  • attends the project’s weekly meetings and meals, as well as special events.
  • participates equally and in collaboration with faculty members & staff.
  • presents their research to the other fellows, and during Celebrating Collaborations.

Early in the spring semester, submit

  • a research description,
  • a statement about prior independent research experience,
  • the names of three faculty members as references, and
  • a current résumé.

Key Dates & Deadlines

2026–27

Date

Item

Wednesday, December 2

Project Information Session for students with faculty organizers in-person at the Kahn Institute, 21 Henshaw or by Zoom. Please RSVP.

Tuesday, February 9

Deadline for student fellowship applications

Week of March 1

Candidate interviews

Week of March 9

Finalists and waitlist notifications sent

Monday, May 3

Project Kickoff Meetings

Late August, early September

Mandatory Kahn Institute Student Fellows Orientation

From Current Fellows

Curious what current student fellows are researching? Read about two fellows in the long-term project “Foodways: Rooted, Made, Shared, Imagined.”

Dina Alam ’27

Environmental Science & Policy major; Landscape Studies minor

Alam views seeds as time capsules for human connection, the birth of life, and food. She seeks to develop an understanding of ways that sustainable farming practices strengthen communities through the growing of food. Nipmuc community members at Pequoig Farm in Orange, MA have inspired her to learn about Indigenous seed‑saving practices and the use of no‑irrigation agriculture, which could lead to an experiment comparing the resiliency of traditional corn seed and USDA‑patented corn.

Chiderah Emeakoroha ’27

Government and African Studies double major

Emeakoroha is interested in how food operates as a site of political power, inequality, and survival under conditions shaped by economic precarity and state policy. She asks: How do immigrant and refugee communities, especially in Western Massachusetts, navigate food access under rising costs, restrictive assistance policies, and corporate control of food systems? And how do communities build resilience through mutual aid, cultural practices, and everyday strategies that make food a space of both survival and resistance?