HILS Areas of Study

HILS academic areas represent the depth and breadth of current thinking in the life sciences.  Each area of study provides research opportunities in basic life sciences; visit each program's Website using the links provided below for details.

HILS supports programs and subject areas leading to the PhD in:

• biological and biomedical sciences
  (includes the subject areas of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology, cell biology, genetics, human biology and translational medicine, microbiology and molecular genetics, and pathology)
• biological sciences in dental medicine
• biological sciences in public health
• biophysics
• chemical biology
• chemistry and chemical biology
• immunology
• molecular and cellular biology
• neuroscience
• organismic and evolutionary biology
• systems biology
• virology

 

Academic Benefits

 

Full access to faculty throughout the University – approximately 500 life sciences faculty – and to training resources of the entire University.

• abundant opportunities to participate in new interdisciplinary areas of study as
  they develop
• freedom to move among programs, subject to specific program requirements
  and lab availability
• integrated research opportunities, including seminars with top faculty
  and workshops

 

Degrees Offered

 

The PhD

The PhD degree signifies mastery of a broad discipline of scientific learning together with demonstrated competence in a specialized life sciences field within that discipline (the discipline is specified on the diploma).  PhD study in a HILS member program requires full-time residency along with the completion of a dissertation, and takes approximately 4-5 years to complete.  Specific requirements for the PhD vary considerably from program to program, and even within a given discipline.  These requirements are published in program description booklets, and are also outlined in Chapter VI of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook (pdf format).

The MD/PhD

 

Basic science students in this program combine their Harvard Medical School studies with graduate studies in science or engineering. Their PhD work may be carried out in HILS, in another GSAS science or engineering program, or in a program housed within the Schools of Science and Engineering at MIT. Some students apply for admission into the MD/PhD program at the same time they apply to medical school. A limited number of these positions are available each year. Others decide to join the program after matriculation at Harvard Medical School and become members of the MD/PhD program at the time of their acceptance into a PhD program.

For more information about the MD/PhD program, go to www.hms.harvard.edu/md_phd.