HKS Health Fellowship

The HKS Health Fellowship is a one-year program developed to propel talented recent graduates who are committed to improving health care environments through design. The fellow pursues research while working on design projects in our award-winning health studio.

The prestigious fellowship — open to applicants finishing their undergraduate or graduate studies — is much more than an academic opportunity to delve into a topic of choice. The winning applicant is given full-time employment at HKS and the opportunity to continue his or her career with the firm after the one-year fellowship term.

Fellows work with some of the most influential architects and researchers in the profession and have access to networking and travel opportunities.

The winning applicant is given full-time employment at HKS and the opportunity to continue his or her career with the firm after the one-year fellowship term.

How It Works

Each year, the HKS Health studio leadership and previous fellows assist the incoming fellow to develop a research topic. This topic will be based on the fellow’s particular area of interest and strategic initiatives within the HKS Health studio.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Mental and Behavioral Health
  • Digital Physical
  • Sustainability / Building Performance
  • Caregiver Resilience
  • Benchmarking Projects / Data
  • Healthy Campuses / Social Design Focus

The fellow will also get the opportunity to attend one health-related conference to support research and education, coordinated through the committee of mentors.

At the end of the fellowship, the designer delivers results, such as a research paper or a design tool. 

HKS leaders will work with the selected Health Fellow to pair them with the HKS office location and mentorship that can best support their research interests. During the interview stage, fellows can relay their office preference with firm leadership and discuss that office’s ability to support their research.

“[The Fellowship] got me into three conferences in my first year after graduation, and it put me in front of CEOs, allowed me to travel and it catered to what I thought was important. Research opened these previously inaccessible doors.”

Tyler Schwede, Medical Planner

Important Dates & Applying

Applications open
December 12, 2022

Applications close
January 9, 2023

Interviews via Skype
Mid-Late January

Fellow announced 
Early February

“We prioritize research in everything we do, and the fellowship infuses this mentality into a unique entry-level position. It’s creating the next leaders in our firm.”

Southern Ellis, Architect

Fellowship Advisors

From left to right; Southern Ellis, Jason Schroer, Dr. Deborah Wingler, Dr. Upali Nanda, Lindsay Stevenson, Hannah Shultz, Kaitlyn Badlato, Tyler Schwede, Zach Orig and Maya Thornton

The Fellows

  • 2022-2023
    Vicki Workman
    University of Texas (MArch)
    University of Missouri (BS)
  • 2022-2023
    Elyssa Bakker
    University of Michigan (MArch)
    Clemson University (Bioengineering)
  • 2021-2022
    Maya Thornton
    Howard University (BArch + MArch)
  • 2021-2022
    Zach Orig
    University of Tennessee (BArch)
  • 2019-2020
    Hannah Shultz 
    Clemson University (M.Arch)
    University of Missouri-Columbia (BS)
    Designing for Mental and Behavioral Health Needs — Crisis Care Spaces within Emergency Departments
  • 2019-2018
    Sophie Crocker
    University of Pennsylvania (MS)
    University of Edinburgh (MA, MArch)
    Outpatient Waiting Behaviours: A Cross-Cultural Pilot Study in the U.K. and China
  • 2017-2018
    Emily Johnson
    Washington University in St. Louis (MS)
    Auburn University (BArch)
    Psychosocial Spaces, With a Deep Dive Into Pediatric Inpatient Units
  • 2016-2017
    Kaitlyn Badlato
    Washington University in St. Louis (MArch, Master of Construction Management)
    University of Virginia (BS)
    Health Care Design Benchmarking and Data Collection
  • 2015-2016 
    Chau Tran
    Clemson University (M.Arch)
    Fulbright Vietnam
    Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture
    Mindfulness and Compassion Architecture in Community Design
  • 2014-2015
    Tyler Schwede
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (MArch)
    Ball State University (BSA)
    Efficiency in planning: A Parametric Approach
  • 2013-2014
    Fang Xu
    Texas A&M University (MArch)
    Zhejiang University of Technology in China (BArch)
    Cancer villages in China — A Study and Design of a Delivery Treatment Model
  • 2012-2013
    Joel Benavides
    Texas Tech University (MArch, MBA, BSA)
    Future Health: A Framework for Design of Future Ambulatory Care Centers
  • 2011-12
    Southern Ellis
    Texas A&M University (BED, MArch)
    Health Design in China – The Dawn of a New Dynasty
  • 2010-2011
    Lindsay Stevenson
    Clemson University (MArch)
    Texas A&M University (BED)
    Empathy + Healthcare Architecture
  • 2009-2010
    Kelly Harbacheck
    Senior Living Design and Retirement Communities
  • 2008-2009
    Ashley Dias
    An Enduring Foundation: The Evolution of Johns Hopkins Medicine