Nas' Harvard Fellowship Is Now Taking Applications

BY Cole Blake
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2025 Essence Festival Of Culture
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 6: Rapper Nas performs on stage during Night 3 of the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture at Caesars Superdome at Caesars Superdome on July 6, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/WireImage)
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Nas first partnered with Harvard University to launch the hip-hop fellowship back in 2013 and students can still take advantage.

Harvard University is now taking applications for the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship for the 2026–27 academic year. Students who seek admission into the program will have until January 30, 2026, to apply. Nas shared the news on his Instagram page, last week.

"The Fellows Program is at the heart of the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute. It provides a supportive, vibrant environment for intellectual and artistic community, advancing research and creativity in African and African American studies and across the African diaspora," a statement along with the post reads. "Each year, about twenty fellows in residence from Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and Latin America work on projects that are begun, advanced, or completed during their term. Fellows include scholars in the humanities, social sciences, arts, sciences and technology, as well as writers, journalists, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists."

It concludes: "Fellowship projects span areas such as art and art history, Afro-Latin American studies, design, education, Hip Hop, African and African diaspora studies, African American studies, Indian Ocean studies, literary studies, and creative writing. Fellowships are offered for the fall semester, spring semester, or the full academic year."

How To Apply For Nas' Harvard Fellowship

Those interested in applying for Nas' fellowship can find more information on Harvard's website. The application includes three letters of reference, a resume or CV, a detailed project description, and a writing sample.

Nas originally teamed up with Harvard University to launch the fellowship back in 2013. At the time, the school billed it as the first academic fellowship named after a hip-hop artist.

In the years since, Nas has continued to build his legacy in the genre. He's teamed up with Hit-Boy for a series of critically acclaimed albums that helped him earn the Best Rap Album Grammy Award in 2021. Through his Mass Appeal Records, he also put together a Legend Has It... series, which highlighted new albums from several legends of hip-hop, including Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, De La Soul, Big L, and Slick Rick.

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.

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