“Education is the keystone in the arch of freedom and progress”
John F. Kennedy
Kennedy Memorial Trust
The Kennedy Memorial Trust was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1964 as a living memorial to President Kennedy following his tragic assassination.
For the past six decades, the Kennedy Scholarships have supported exceptional British students to pursue postgraduate studies at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kennedy Scholars embody the values President Kennedy championed: intellectual endeavour, leadership, and public service. They carry forward a vision of the future he did not live to see.
The National Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey, is open to the public and situated above the meadow where the Magna Carta was sealed. Inscribed with words taken from his inaugural address in 1961, it commemorates his dedication to the enduring principles of democracy and freedom.
If you are here to apply for a scholarship or visit Runnymede, we encourage you to do so. If you will donate and help us support scholars for another 60 years, we thank you.
Applications Open: August 2025
Kennedy Scholarships
1 The Scholarship
The Kennedy Scholarship is an academic award for study at two of the world’s finest universities – Harvard and MIT. It can be used to fund a wide variety of programmes at MIT and across all the graduate schools within Harvard. It can also fund a Special Studentship for those wanting a general programme of non-degree study.
A Scholarship typically covers the full costs of tuition and health insurance, and a means-tested bursary to cover living costs. Scholars may also apply for an additional grant to pay for vacation travel.
Kennedy Scholarships are awarded annually and the application process opens in August and closes in October, the year prior to your intended start date at Harvard or MIT. Your next opportunity will begin in August 2025.
Register for updates2 More than an academic prize
The founders of the Kennedy Trust and its Trustees since have always viewed the Scholarship as more than an academic prize. It is intended to act as a spur to closer trans-Atlantic relations, and few scholars return without travelling across the US and experiencing its wide and varied culture; none return without friendships which last a lifetime.
Scholars use the opportunity to deepen their expertise in their field, but also to explore the diversity within their own field and in new fields altogether. They will hear from leading world figures in every field and are expected to spend their time in the United States enriching their lives more broadly.
Register for updates3 Eligibility
Kennedy Scholarships are awarded annually to UK citizens for postgraduate study at Harvard or MIT. Those applying for awards must be all of the following criteria:
- British citizens
- ordinarily resident in the UK
- wholly or mainly educated in the UK prior to university and (will be) graduates of a UK university
Graduate applicants must have commenced their undergraduate studies at a UK university no earlier than 1 September 2016 and have since graduated with their first degree from a UK university. Those studying for a first degree at a UK university and due to graduate in the academic year 2026-2027 are also eligible.
You must apply separately to Harvard and/or MIT for admission to your intended postgraduate programme.
Register for updates“The doors to the schoolhouse, to the library and to the college lead to the richest treasures”
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Scholar Spotlight
Uzma Hasan
at Harvard, 2002
I was 23 when I got my Kennedy Scholarship and yes, it changed my life. I met the most brilliant minds who became lifelong friends, I expanded my intellectual horizons in lasting ways. It was truly a springboard for transforming my dreams and ambitions into real-world achievements on a global scale.
Uzma Hasan
at Harvard, 2002
Professor Rana Mitter
Visiting Fellow at Harvard, 1993
Going to Harvard as a Kennedy Scholar was one the most transformative experiences of my life. It was academically crucial, giving me access to one of the most important centres for the study of modern China in the western world. But it was also a window onto the vibrancy and opportunities of American life. Over the past three decades, I have drawn on these experiences enthusiastically.
Professor Rana Mitter
Visiting Fellow at Harvard, 1993
Chris Greenwood
at Harvard, 1995
Spending a year in the company of the professors, students and inhabitants of Cambridge, Massachusetts establishes a level of personal confidence I've been able to draw on time and again in my subsequent career.
Chris Greenwood
at Harvard, 1995
JFK Memorial
Visit the Memorial at Runnymede
A place for reflection and contemplation
A stunning landscape memorial, including a stepped pathway made up of 60,000 granite stones winding up through woodland, commemorates President Kennedy’s commitment to the enduring values of democracy and freedom. It is our honour to manage the site, above the meadow where King John sealed the Magna Carta in 1215. Inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1965, in the presence of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and Prime Minister Harold Wilson; the Memorial is open for all to access, and we hope you will visit.
Make a Difference
Support the next generation of scholars
You can support the next generation of Kennedy Scholars, enabling the leaders and change makers of tomorrow to learn, grow and evolve through study at Harvard and MIT.
If you have any questions about making a gift to the Trust or would like to discuss ways to support today’s scholars and future generations through mentoring, we would be delighted to talk to you – please contact us at info@kennedytrust.org.uk.
You can also make a donation through the link below. If you intend to donate so that we can support scholars for another 60 years, continuing to champion the values of intellectual endeavour, leadership, and public service, thank you.
The Kennedy Memorial Trust is a registered UK charity (no. 234715) and a 501(c)3 nonprofit in the United States.
