mayor and city managers gathered for group photo

Bloomberg Harvard Summer Fellowships

  About the Fellowship

Graduate students from across Harvard are competitively selected for an opportunity to spend the summer embedded in local government. They meaningfully contribute to improving government services and present their deliverables and recommendations to mayors, senior leaders, and other key stakeholders in the domestic and international cities.

The multidisciplinary cohort of fellows learns how to apply the tools of data-driven decision-making, human-centered design techniques, and cross-sector collaboration to help city leaders drive government performance and address pressing social problems.

Applications for summer 2025 have closed. Applications will open in spring semester 2026.

 

2025 Fellowship Projects

Civic Engagement
Climate Resilience Communications
Collaborative Government Performance
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Equitable Economic Development
Homelessness Advocacy
Housing
Inclusive Governance
Public Space/Youth Development
Public Transit
Revitalization
Strategic Planning Equitable Childcare

  Hear from Summer Fellows

This fellowship debunked misconceptions I had about local government in terms of professional development opportunities and made me seriously consider working in local government upon graduation. Kiron Chandy
GSD MUP 2025
2024 Summer Fellow
This experience taught me invaluable lessons about the complexities of urban policy and the power of local government to effect change. This summer reinforced my commitment to public service and my belief in the transformative power of well-crafted, empathetic policy. Josh Young
HKS MPP 2025
2024 Summer Fellow
I had always heard how…local governments were close to the people so you could see the impact…I really saw this wisdom come true this summer. The fellowship made city government come to life for me in a way that I would have never been able to experience otherwise and made me seriously consider working in local government in the future. Jordan Weatherl
HGSE Ed.M. 2025
2024 Summer Fellow

 

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