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HILS Home > About HILS
In the 21st century, groundbreaking research and discovery in the life sciences are more interdisciplinary than ever, and students studying within the life sciences today can expect to work with a wider range of scientists and scholars than their predecessors could ever have imagined. Recognizing this approach to scientific advancement, in 2004 Harvard created the Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) Graduate Program, which oversees all PhD education in the life sciences.
HILS is a federation of Harvard life sciences PhD programs, departments, and subject areas that facilitates cross disciplinary academic and research collaboration, supports student mobility, and encourages extracurricular participation by its student, faculty, and staff members.
HILS integrates 12 life sciences graduate programs and subject areas across four Harvard faculties: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Dental School, the Medical School, and the School of Public Health. This new structure allows the examination of emerging trends in the life sciences, and allows Harvard to respond rapidly to the world’s evolving scientific landscape—including the need for new interdisciplinary areas of study such as the recently launched PhD programs in chemical biology and systems biology. Says Harvard University Provost Steven E. Hyman, “This important step strengthens Harvard’s competitive advantage by making the resources of the whole University available to our students."
