Study at MIT or Harvard with a Kennedy Scholarship

25 September 2026

Interested in studying abroad? Don’t miss this opportunity to broaden your horizons!

The Kennedy Scholarships are provided by the Kennedy Memorial Trust, set up in 1964 to honour President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. This financial support is provided to “exceptional” British students looking to pursue postgraduate studies at either the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Harvard University.

The scholarship typically covers the full cost of tuition and health insurance, as well as a means-tested bursary of up to $33,000 to cover living costs. Recipients will also be invited to a range of unique experiences, including a funded trip to Washington DC and the opportunity to apply for an additional grant of $2,500 to pay for travel over the summer vacation.

Applications for the 2027/28 Kennedy Scholarships must be submitted by Sunday 18 October 2026.

Choosing a course

If you would like to apply for a Kennedy scholarship, you must, in the same application season, make a separate admissions application for your chosen course at Harvard and/or MIT.

Think carefully about what course you would like to apply for; you will have to justify your choice, including why this programme is better than any similar opportunities in the UK.

The application process

First, check that you meet the eligibility criteria. To apply, you must:

Be a British citizen;
Ordinarily reside in the UK;
Have been wholly (or mainly) educated in the UK prior to university;
Be (or about to be) a graduate of a UK university.

If you have already graduated, you must have started your undergraduate degree no earlier than 1 September 2017.

Applications are made through an online form which includes a personal statement (max. 1000 words). In it, you will need to describe your academic pursuits and intellectual interests, explain your choice of course and institution, and outline your future plans. Be sure to read through the Crafting a strong personal statement and What makes a strong Kennedy Scholarship application? webpages before getting started.

You will also have to provide the email addresses for two referees, the first ideally having overseen your academic work at university.

If your application is successful, you will be invited to an interview in London on either Tuesday 12 or Wednesday 13 January 2027, where you will have to present a UK passport. Candidates selected to receive a scholarship will be notified by the end of January.

How can the Careers Service help?

If you would like to discuss your plans for postgraduate study, you can book a 25-minute discussion with one of our careers consultants. They can also provide support with writing a personal statement and offer suggestions on how to strengthen your application.

Should you make it to the second stage, you can book a mock interview by emailing careers@imperial.ac.uk. This is a great opportunity to practise HR-style questions within a professional interview environment.

For more information about paying for postgraduate degrees, visit our Further study and funding webpage. You can also browse similar opportunities on JobsLive by filtering vacancies to ‘Studentships, scholarships & awards’.