Apply for the Harding Fellowship!
Captains, Master Sergeants, and CW4s
The window to apply for the Harding Fellowship is open now through 10 September. Post-KD captains, master sergeants, and chief warrant officers 4 from select branches should apply!
The MG Edwin “Forrest” Harding Fellowship is a competitive, 36-month program consisting of a 1-year accelerated master’s degree program at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas for Active Component captains, non-commissioned officers in the grade of E8, and warrant officers in the grade of CW4. Upon completion, Fellows will channel the legacy of the Harding Project’s namesake and serve as editors-in-chief for their branch journal at their respective center of excellence for a two year term. The Harding Fellowship produces leaders who strengthen the Army profession with their deep expertise in branch matters and superior communications skills.
This year, the Army will select one Fellow each for Infantry, Air Defense, Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, Protection, Army Sustainment, Special Warfare. Candidates from those branches should apply immediately. Fellows will begin their studies at the University of Kansas in May of 2025 and then report to their center of excellence in the summer of 2026. For captains, we are working to grant Harding Fellows ILE-credit so they will only need to complete satellite or distance ILE before reporting to their next unit. The Army will be looking for candidates from other branches next year.
The Harding Fellow
After completing graduate school, the Army’s Harding Fellows serve as editors-in-chief. Rated by their branch commandant and senior rated by their center of excellence commander, these Fellows will help drive the thinking and narratives of their branch. Fellows will solicit and edit articles, build the brand and assess the audience, ensure that content reaches the right audiences through social media and other platforms. Entrepreneurial leaders will excel in this opportunity with reach across their branch and the Army.
Fellows completing graduate school will pick up the torch from the current Harding Fellows who are renewing the Army’s journals as we speak. The Army’s current Fellows are just staring out, but consider contacting your branch’s Fellow to learn more about what they do.
Am I a good candidate?
The Army is looking for Fellows that possess the aptitude and inclination to serve as editors-in-chief of their branch journals. Candidates could demonstrate this aptitude through previous publication, participation in similar work, or in other ways. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and have maintained at least a 3.0 undergraduate grade point average. Those with grades between 3.0 and 2.5 may submit a statement of academic readiness (the attached MILPER has more instructions on this point).
So you’re ready to apply? Here’s how.
The process
The MILPER has the full process, but broadly:
1. Submit application packet, no later than 10 September 2024. The MILPER includes a list of which documents are required.
2. In late-September, HRC will convene a selection panel to select candidates.
3. Around 14 October, selected candidates will be notified.
4. Selected candidates will apply to the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas immediately and learn of their selection no later than 15 December.
5. Harding Fellows will move to Kansas and start graduate school by late-May of 2025.
6. Harding Fellows will graduate with their master’s degrees in June of 2026 and report to their respective center of excellence to start as editors-in-chief.
The Harding Fellowship
The Army needs journals that stimulate and disseminate military thought. The Harding Fellows drive both points, linking leaders to win wars. Candidates from select branches should apply immediately (deadline 10 September!) and look forward to starting at the University of Kansas next summer.
Do you part as a Harding Fellow! Apply today—or share this post to those who might be interested.
This is awesome, is this an annual fellowship?
Why is this opportunity limited to the Active component?