The Leadership Residency places international women at Harpswell Foundation’s two leadership centers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where they live alongside the Cambodian university students the foundation houses.
Residents teach the foundation’s Core Curriculum, run critical-thinking discussions twice a week, tutor students in English and keep regular office hours. Harpswell frames the role as a professional development opportunity; residents serve as volunteers on a monthly stipend.
Harpswell is a US-registered non-profit that grew out of a 2003 visit to rural Cambodia, with its first dormitory completed in 2006. Its two centers now house up to 76 students attending as many as 18 universities. A separate Leadership Resident Fellowship, launched in 2025, gives one resident a 12-month leadership role inside the same program.
Benefits & funding
- Full room and board at a Harpswell leadership center in Phnom Penh.
- Travel insurance for the term.
- Monthly stipend of USD 330 for a Leadership Resident.
- Monthly stipend of USD 420 for the Leadership Resident Fellow.
- Residencies run four to eight months, beginning between May and August or between November and February; the Fellowship is a 12-month residential position.
- Travel to and from Cambodia is arranged and paid for by the resident.
Eligibility
- Open to international women who hold a university degree; no nationality or residency restriction is published.
- Applicants show a commitment to social change, women’s leadership and education as a tool for empowerment.
- Applicants show genuine curiosity about the experiences of others and an interest in cross-cultural learning.
- Applicants are resourceful and flexible, and able to self-motivate and work independently.
- Excellent spoken and written English is required.
- Residents must be willing to work non-traditional hours, including evenings and weekends.
- Fellowship applicants additionally need at least two years of professional experience, and teaching experience is strongly preferred; the standard residency publishes no experience minimum.
- Harpswell welcomes applicants of any race, ethnicity, social background, religion, disability and sexual orientation.
- No age limit is published.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Education required
Bachelor
Gender requirement
Female
Appears to have an age limit “up to 76”
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Application process
- 1Read the program page and download the two-page summaries for the residency and for the Fellowship.
- 2Register for the virtual information session on 3 September 2026 if more detail is needed before applying.
- 3Complete the online application form by 18 September 2026; one form covers both the residency and the Fellowship.
- 4Harpswell publishes no further selection stages; questions go to hello@harpswell.org.
Program timeline
Virtual information session
3 September 2026
18 September 2026
Application deadline for the January 2027 and May 2027 cohorts
January 2027
First 2027 cohort begins its term
May 2027
Second 2027 cohort begins its term