A fund established by former GSAS Dean, Theda Skocpol, to recognize and encourage significant improvements in Harvard University’s 55 PhD programs, many situated in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and others led by committees of faculty that span different schools at Harvard.

The President has provided $100,000 per year for the first three years of this fund. A portion of the new fund will be used to establish an annual prize to be awarded to departments and programs that achieve significant and exemplary improvements in their PhD programs – for example, improvements in the advising and mentoring process, and improvements in the time taken by students to pass general exams and complete their PhD dissertations.

In addition, seed grants will be made from the fund to encourage promising efforts to improve graduate education proposed by particular departments or programs.

The fund is administered by GSAS in consultation with faculty members serving on the recently established Graduate Policy Committee.

The 2007-08 GSAS Dean's Prize for Innovations in Graduate Education

The GSAS Dean’s Prize for Innovations in Graduate Education honors an outstanding undertaking by one of Harvard’s PhD programs that has significantly improved a key aspect of program performance – such as the admissions process, the mentoring and advising of graduate students, the curriculum, timely progress through the program, or the effective out-placement of graduates. To be eligible, an innovative improvement must have been devised and implemented at some point during the three academic years immediately preceding the application deadline by one (or a partnership) of the PhD programs within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. The winning PhD program will be granted $25,000 to spend on graduate education as it sees fit, and its meritorious innovation will be featured and communicated to other graduate programs within and beyond Harvard. 

Eligibility

Creative improvements eligible to be nominated for this prize must have been devised by any of the PhD programs within the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences – including PhD programs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and PhD programs spanning two or more Schools.  The prize may not be awarded for activities previously funded by GSAS (such as activities launched by GSAS Seed Grants for Planned Improvements in Graduate Education).

Nominations and Selection Process

Nominations will be solicited in the fall and accepted each academic year until the beginning of February. Nominations will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Graduate Policy Committee – including members from the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, and from interfaculty as well as FAS programs.  Nominations may come from faculty in a program itself, or from other faculty members, including members of the Graduate Policy Committee. Self-nominations must be made by at least two faculty members teaching and/or participating in the relevant GSAS graduate program. 

The nomination should take the form of a joint letter no more than two pages in length that details the achievements of the innovative undertaking. The nominating letter may be accompanied by two additional letters of support, which may include letters from graduate students who were in residence and participated in the graduate program during at least two of the previous three years.  Should a nomination for the prize come from outside the program designated, the Selection Committee will promptly inform the Director of Graduate Studies in the Program. In the case of both self-nominations and nominations by faculty outside of a program, the Selection Committee may request more information from the designated program.

Applications should be submitted to the GSAS Dean's Office, University Hall, 3rd Floor North, by Friday, February 1, 2008.  Questions and requests for more information may be addressed to GSAS Administrative Dean Margot Gill or Rosemary Schulze at (617) 495-1814, or email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). The winner of the prize will be announced each year about April 15th.

The 2007-08 GSAS Dean's Seed Grants for Planned Improvements in Graduate Educations

GSAS Seed Grants for Planned Improvements in Graduate Education are meant to help PhD programs devise and launch improvements that will significantly enhance the graduate training of their students.  Awards will be made competitively to PhD departments planning and launching pedagogical changes or program enhancements that promise to enrich graduate study or support the development of PhD scholars.

Eligibility

Any of the PhD programs of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are eligible – including PhD programs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and PhD programs run jointly by faculty spanning two or more Schools at Harvard.  Partnerships of two or more PhD programs may also apply.  During each annual cycle, three or more Seed Grants of $15,000 to $25,000 apiece will be awarded.

Application and Selection Process

An application on behalf of a PhD program must be made by at least two faculty members teaching in that program; an application from two or more programs must be co-authored by at least one faculty member from each participating program. 

The application should take the form of a letter no more than three pages in length that explains the planned innovation and its anticipated impact; a one-page budget should be appended.  Explanations of proposed innovations should specify the ways in which seed funding would help launch improvements in the PhD program as a whole, to the benefit of all or many of its graduate students.  The explanation should also address how the innovation might be institutionalized over the long run, especially if continuing resources beyond the seed funding are necessary.  A subcommittee of the Graduate Policy Committee will select awardees in consultation with the Dean of the Graduate School.

Applications should be submitted to the GSAS Dean's Office, University Hall, 3rd Floor North, no later than Friday, December 7, 2007. Questions and requests for more information may be addressed to GSAS Administrative Dean Margot Gill or Rosemary Schulze at (617) 495-1814 or by email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  Announcements of grants will be made around March 1, 2008.