Institutional Affiliation

The Institute for World Literature is supported by Harvard University, by tuition paid by participants, and, crucially, by generous funding from Institutional Affiliates. By their $1500 institutional affiliation payment, Affiliate Institutions receive two guaranteed places for participants from their institution at $900 each, half the full tuition rate. If more participants are recommended by an affiliate institution, the Institute will try to admit them if space is available; all admitted affiliate participants will receive the same $900 tuition discount.

Any academic institution (university, college, consortium, or research center) may become an Institutional Affiliate through an annual donation of $1500 (USD). Many of our affiliates are individual departments or programs, though two or more departments (or an entire faculty) may join in together on a single affiliation. Applicants from non-affiliated departments or programs may also apply to the Institute, but they won’t be given the discounted affiliate rate unless they are included in the list of recommended participants sent to us by the affiliated department.

Affiliation dues may be paid by check; by credit card via our online payment website; or by wire transfer from your bank to ours; please contact us if you need to arrange a wire transfer.

IWL applicants should state their membership in an affiliated department on the online application form. Applicants unsure of their department or program's affiliation should contact their program’s chair, director of graduate studies, or other appropriate coordinator.

Affiliate institutions select the candidate(s) they wish to sponsor for the upcoming summer’s session, sometimes including as well some names of alternates. When an institutional affiliate sends us a rank list containing more than two names of qualified applicants, the institute will attempt to take more than two from that institution if space is available; if not, people ranked third or fourth by the institution will be given priority for any spaces not taken up by the first two candidates. We do not normally accept undergraduates as participants, except in rare instances on the basis of a special recommendation from an affiliate institution.

In order to obtain Institutional Affiliation, please send an email to iwl@fas.harvard.edu, notifying us of your intention, and we will send you an invoice and full information and instructions on payment.

Thank you!