Patricia Albjerg Graham, dean of the Radcliffe Institute, announced yesterday the appointment of 31 Radcliffe Institute Fellows.

The fellows come from 11 states, with the largest number, 18, from Massachusetts. Their fields of study range from projects in painting, poetry and music to studies in political theory and engineering.

The fellowship program, established in 1960, provides full-time residential appointments, office space and access to the Radcliffe and Harvard libraries and facilities.

This year there were 238 applicants for the fellowships. The assistant dean of the Radcliffe Institute. Hilda Kahne, said yesterday that all the fellows, no matter what the stage of their career development, have met the two major requirements of the institute: "That the year at the institute should make a significant difference in the professional life of the fellow, and that the product of that year should be a significant contribution to the chosen field."

Gayle Hollander, who will be taking her second year at the institute next year to finish a study of the issues of political equality for Russian women in the Russian social democratic movement, said yesterday that her experience at the institute has been "wonderful."

She said that there were "great benefits to an all-women's scholarly community.