The most prestigious scholarship for Master students and Mid-Career
1 scholarship for a full Master in Public Policy or Master in Public Administration, at Harvard Kennedy School (two-year program)
1 scholarship for a 1-year Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) at Harvard Kennedy School
Fulbright Denmark assists Crown Prince Frederik Fund with marketing, selection of candidates and administration. Funds are administered in the U.S. by Crown Prince Frederik Fund and Harvard Kennedy School.
CPFF to Harvard Kennedy School
In 1993, HRH Crown Prince Frederik studied at Harvard University and turned 25 years old. As a gift to HRH Crown Prince Frederik, Danish-Americans raised funds to establish the Crown Prince Frederik Fund.
Each year, Crown Prince Frederik Fund awards a scholarship to one or more excellent student(s) at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Enrollment takes place:
- as a full degree Master student, either at the Master in Public Policy or Master in Public Administration program; or
- as Master student for one full academic year (September-May) at the Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) program
This scholarship provides a unique opportunity to study at one of the best universities in the world and to learn alongside some of the most talented students and scholars within public service, governance and leadership. Crown Prince Frederik Fund rewards academic excellence and outstanding scholarly performance. It is the most prestigious scholarship of its kind in Denmark.
Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another
— John F. Kennedy
How
Crown Prince Frederik Fund scholarships are applied during the following academic year. When application decisions are made in late fall, the scholarship will be awarded in the following spring. Because the application deadline at Harvard is relatively late, you have to apply to the CPFF scholarship first, and then (if awarded the scholarship) you can apply to Harvard. The scholarship will unfortunately be revoked, if you fail to get accepted into the program.
In assessing the CPFF applicants, our selection committee puts great emphasis on relevant work experience within public administration or public service, extra-curricular activities within political science, economics, law, public administration or similar, excellent grades and recommendations. Top grades are also essential (preferably Danish grades 12 and 10).
You also need to show evidence of quantitative proficiency such as success in undergraduate-level economics, statistics, or calculus courses, regardless of your undergraduate major.
For the MPP, applicants need to have a score of 70% or higher in the quantitative part of the GRE or GMAT test.
Work experience is an advantage for admission, and more importantly, for making the most of the Harvard experience. Incoming students at the Master programs typically have 2-3 years of professional work experience. For more information about prerequisites and requirements, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School website (see links above).
General:
- Applicants must have Danish citizenship and strong affiliation to Denmark.
- Applicants cannot have dual Danish-American citizenship or an American ‘Green card’
2024/2025 Grantee
Emil Sondaj Hansen
Emil Sondaj Hansen is the 2024 Crown Prince Frederik Fund Recipient, pursuing non-degree studies at Harvard Kennedy School. His interests focus on exploring international climate partnerships and the geopolitical aspects of the global green transition.
Prior to Harvard, he worked two years at the Royal Danish Embassy in Berlin. Here he was responsible for energy and climate policy in the embassy’s political and economic department.
Originally from Storvorde in Northern Jutland, Emil studied a Bachelor of Human, Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge, where he won a number of academic awards, including an Ash Senior Scholarship, the Rowley Mainwood Prize and the Zainab Aziz Prize. He graduated with a First class with Distinction, leading to a fully funded one-year Master’s degree in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge.
During his studies, he founded the academic journal Cambridge Journal of Political Affairs, interned at the Times of London during the 2019 UK election and worked for a Danish sustainable finance startup. Emil has previously represented Denmark at the World Debating Championships in Indonesia, Singapore and Germany and was the best speaker at the first Harvard World Schools Invitational debate tournament in 2016. He is the former Vice President of the Danish School Students’ Association.
Fotokredit: Kongehuset ©
2023/2024 Grantee
Emil Bender Lassen
Emil Bender Lassen is the 2023 Crown Prince Frederik Fund Recipient, pursuing a Master in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. His interests focus on exploring systemic solutions to climate change and economic inequality
Prior to Harvard, he spent six years in the realm of social entrepreneurship. First, as the CEO of Project Access International, a charity he co-founded in 2016 to increase access to top universities for less privileged students. He stepped back to chair its Board of Trustees in 2020 and, after a brief stint at McKinsey & Company, he co-founded Home.Earth in 2021, a real estate investor and developer established to address growing urban inequality and climate change, where he still functions as a shareholder and advisor.
Emil serves on the board of Teach First Denmark, as the Chair of Trustees for Project Access International and as a Goalkeeper with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Originally from Middelfart, Denmark, he holds a BSc in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from King’s College London with visiting undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS College.
Fotokredit: Keld Navntoft, Kongehuset ©