Persons holding the doctoral degree (or its equivalent), or those with comparable professional experience, may apply for Visiting Fellow status within Harvard University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). This status is also open to advanced doctoral candidates who have completed all required course work and would like to pursue dissertation research at Harvard. Although Visiting Fellows are sometimes invited by departments or research centers to participate in seminars or other organized activities, they are expected for the most part to pursue their research independently. A Visiting Fellow, therefore, is an independent researcher who occasionally audits a course or two. Visiting Fellows are normally admitted under the auspices of an academic department within GSAS.

Visiting Fellows are registered as full-time research students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and have access to most university facilities. They are also eligible to apply for membership in the Harvard Faculty Club.

Courses within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) may be audited, with the permission of the appropriate instructors. Fellows may also wish to audit courses at the other Harvard graduate schools (e.g., The Law School, John F. Kennedy School of Government) or at other cooperating schools (i.e., M.I.T. and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University).

Those persons who wish to learn new skills (e.g., language, computer) or to take courses for academic credit should apply for Special Student status using a separate application form. Visiting Fellows and other auditors are normally not permitted to audit basic skills courses such as beginning languages or computer sciences.

Faculty members from other universities whose scholarship distinguishes them in their field may be eligible for a special departmental appointment as Visiting Scholar. Advanced scholars should contact the appropriate academic department about this status.