Academic Information
REGISTRAR’S OFFICE
20 Garden Street
Mon.–Fri., 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
The Registrar is Barry Kane (617-495-1543). The Deputy Registrar is Lynn Dunham (617-495-8268).
Academic records for all students in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are maintained in the Registrar’s office. In addition, the Registrar’s office oversees registration, examinations, and classroom schedules. Students should come to this office to report changes in name or address, or to request transcripts of their records or statements certifying their registration in the Graduate School.
The Deputy Registrar places the appropriate tuition charges on students’ term bills. The Graduate Records office also handles petitions to add or drop a course, cross-registration petitions, petitions for make-up examinations, and applications for academic credit for work done elsewhere. This office is responsible for the listing of all prior degrees on a student’s GSAS transcript. Degree applications and PhD dissertations are filed with the Graduate Records office.
The Registrar’s office is wheelchair accessible.
TRANSCRIPTS AND STATEMENTS
Students may request complete transcripts of their own records or statements certifying their registration in the Graduate School at the Registrar’s office. Partial and unofficial transcripts are not issued.
Courses dropped by the ninth Tuesday of a term (the last day to drop a course) do not appear on a student’s record, but those from which a student is permitted to withdraw after that date do appear, with the notation WD in place of a grade.
All current courses will be dropped automatically for students who withdraw from the Graduate School before the drop deadline. If a student withdraws from the Graduate School after the deadline, current courses will remain on the transcript with a WD designation. The last working day prior to the first day of the examination period is the final day by which a student may withdraw and receive the notation WD in place of a grade.
Once a final degree is awarded, no change can be made in a transcript.
Students may request one transcript without charge. Thereafter, each time a student orders transcripts the charge is $3 for the first copy and $2 for each additional copy. This charge includes the cost of postage for regular mail within the United States. Payment, made out to Harvard University, should accompany each order. The registrar issues transcripts only on the written or personal (not telephoned) request of the student, or on the request of a Harvard department for its own use. Written requests should be addressed to Transcripts, 20 Garden Street. The normal processing time for transcripts is three to five days.
Transcripts provided to students who have outstanding financial obligations to the University are so marked. Only one copy of such a transcript will be issued, and only to the student.
Students should view their course enrollments and grades via the Web at www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu. Ordinarily, course enrollments are available at the Course and Grade Report Website (www.fas.harvard.edu/registrar_grades/) each term within two days of study card submission. Grades are available at the Course and Grade Report Website each term beginning ten business days from the last day of the final examination period.
REGISTRATION CATEGORIES
All degree candidates must register continuously in one of the following registration categories until receipt of the degree:
Resident student: Students in the Boston area engaged primarily in degree work register in this category.
Traveling scholar: Students outside the Boston area engaged primarily in degree work register as traveling scholars by filing an application for non-resident status (see below).
Leave of absence: Degree candidates whose time will be devoted primarily to other than degree work register on leave of absence by filing an application for non-resident status (see below).
Studying at another Harvard school: Degree candidates registered in another Harvard school register in GSAS by filing an application for non-resident status.
The academic year (2007–2008) is divided into two registration periods: fall term, September 12–January 29; and spring term, January 30–September 10. Students who take Summer School courses register separately in the Summer School and pay the Summer School fees.
RESIDENT STUDENTS
Full-time resident degree candidates must register for four half-courses, or the equivalent in TIME, for each term. Ordinarily, students are not permitted to register for a fifth unit of TIME. Degree candidates may register for up to six half-courses in each term without payment of additional tuition.
Students may register for 100/1000-level or 200/2000-level courses, which are letter graded courses of instruction, or for 300/3000-level courses, which may be individual courses of reading and research, graduate seminars, or direction of the dissertation. Courses at the 300/3000 level are graded only SAT or UNS.
At the discretion of departments, students may register for TIME as a means of indicating that appropriate independent work is replacing numbered courses. TIME is undertaken with a faculty advisor who must sign the study card. One unit of TIME is the equivalent of one half-course. TIME may serve to indicate that a student is engaged in full-time study even though the total of numbered courses enrolled for is fewer than four. Units of TIME are ungraded.
The guidelines for determining the three types of TIME are as follows: TIME-C, for course-related work; TIME-R, for research-related work; and TIME-T, for teaching fellow-related work. Students may register for TIME-C when independent work is being undertaken that is not specifically indicated in a numbered course. TIME-R may be used to indicate that research work is being undertaken that is not directly related to the student’s dissertation work (i.e., additional laboratory research for a faculty member). TIME-T may be used to indicate that a student has received a teaching appointment and is engaged in teaching a course. As it is inappropriate for graduate students to receive credit for the same work for which he or she is financially compensated, TIME-T should be used and not the course being taught.
A graduate student may register for courses, such as language courses, in the group labeled “Primarily for Undergraduates,” provided the student’s department approves such registration. Normally these courses may not be counted toward the minimum course requirements for a higher degree. The undergraduate pass-fail option is not open to graduate students. However, with the permission of the instructor, graduate students may enroll in designated language courses on a SAT/UNS basis. GSAS degree candidates who wish to enroll in one of the designated language courses on a SAT/UNS basis must file a petition at the Registrar’s office, 20 Garden Street.
If a student’s program includes a half-course extending throughout the academic year (a so-called hf course), the student must register for at least four additional half-courses in each term in order to maintain full-time status. The same is true if a student is cross-registered in another faculty for a course with quarter-course credit only: the student must register for at least four additional half-courses.
Simultaneous Course Enrollment
Students ordinarily may not enroll in courses that meet at the same time or overlapping times. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that there is no overlap in the meeting times of his or her courses. Exceptions to this rule may be granted only by the deputy registrar and are rarely granted. Graduate students requesting exemption to this rule must file a petition with the Registrar’s office, 20 Garden Street. The petition, which is available in the Graduate Records office, must include the reason for the simultaneous enrollment and an explanation of how the work will be completed for both courses.
Students may audit courses with the permission of the instructors concerned. However, auditors may not take course examinations or receive course grades; audited courses do not appear on students’ transcripts.
Part-Time Students
Once admitted, a degree candidate may, under certain circumstances, petition the department and the dean of the Graduate School for permission to work as a part-time student. Part-time students are charged at the per-course rate (see Chapter IV). The tuition requirements are described in Chapter VIII. Ordinarily, Harvard grants will be reduced to reflect part-time status.
Applications for part-time study are available from the Dean’s office in Holyoke Center or can be downloaded from the Web. Completed applications are due in that office by the date indicated in the Academic Calendar (Chapter I). Separate applications must be filed for each academic year. On the application students should indicate the reasons that part time status is sought and the number of courses for which they wish to register each term. Part-time study ordinarily is approved for the following reasons:
1) having to care for small children at home;
2) personal ill health;
3) severe illness of other family members;
4) extreme financial strain in cases in which the student has dependents.
In addition, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has provision for a limited number of students who are admitted to the Master of Science (SM) program to study on a part-time basis.
Part-time students are subject to the same requirements and regulations as full-time students. All Harvard University students are automatically enrolled in the Harvard University Student Health Plan, including part-time students. Charges are applied to the student’s term bill. Part-time students with less than three courses who meet certain requirements may be eligible to waive all or a portion of the Harvard University Student Health Plan. All waivers must be completed online prior to the waiver deadlines (fall term deadline 9/30; spring term deadline 2/28). For details on the Student Health Plan, including waiver information, eligibility requirements, and forms, please visit the Student Health Insurance Website.
Foreign nationals with student visas who are not permanent residents of the United States may only register for part-time study if they are in their last term and have three or fewer courses remaining to complete their program. International students must have their part-time petitions signed by the Harvard International office.
NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS
There are three categories in which students may register with non-resident status: Traveling Scholar status, for students outside the Boston area who are engaged primarily in their degree work; leave of absence status, for degree candidates whose time will be devoted primarily to activities other than degree work; and GSAS degree candidates who are registered and studying at another Harvard school. The registrar’s calculation of Graduate-year (G-year) does not stop while the student is non-resident. The department’s G-year clock may stop under certain circumstances as described below while the student is on leave or at another Harvard school. Non-resident students register by filing applications for non-resident status with their departments; forms are available in the Dean’s office, in most departments, and on the Web www.gsas.harvard.edu/current_students/non-resident.php). Students may apply for non-resident status for a term or an academic year, but separate applications must be filed for each academic year. Applications must be approved by the student’s advisor, the departmental director of graduate studies, and the Dean’s office. International students must obtain approval from the Harvard International office.
Applications for non-resident status are due in department offices by August 1 for the fall term or academic year, and by January 1 for the spring term. After those dates the late registration fees apply. The student will be charged $50 plus $5 for each week that the application is late. Applications will not be approved if a student has an outstanding term bill or is delinquent in repayment of a Harvard loan. When a student’s application is held up for such reasons, the date the bill is paid may be taken as the date of registration, with late fees charged accordingly. Any student who is not registered or has not submitted a non-resident application by September 28 in the fall or February 27 in the spring will have his or her tuition and health-care fees removed from his or her term bill.
Students applying for non-resident status may request to delay payment of the required full or reduced tuition, and instead pay the active file fee or the facilities fee, ordinarily for a total of no more than two years prior to completion of the tuition requirements (see Chapter VIII). Students delaying payment of tuition should be aware that the required tuition, at the rates current at the time of payment, must be paid prior to the receipt of the degree (see Chapter VIII). Non-resident students must pay the facilities fee in their final term in which they submit their dissertation. Any student charged full or reduced tuition, or the facilities fee, is entitled to have a resident student identification card and to use University facilities. Access to Harvard facilities, including unlimited library privileges, HOLLIS catalog and library e-resources, will be available to all students paying the facilities fee and will not be available to students on leave paying the active file fee. Traveling scholars paying the active file fee will have access to HOLLIS catalog and library e-resources. However, all non-resident students, irrespective of the fees paid, will continue to have e-mail access. Once an application for non-resident status has been approved, there is a $30 processing fee if a student requests a change in tuition/fee charges.
Traveling scholars may receive a formal letter of introduction, the “Dazzler,” from the Dean’s office in Holyoke Center. This letter may be helpful in obtaining access to libraries, archives, and resources. (See www.gsas.harvard.edu)
All Harvard University students are automatically enrolled in the Harvard University Student Health Plan, including traveling scholars. Charges are applied to the student’s term bill. Part-time students who meet certain requirements may be eligible to waive all or a portion of the Harvard University Student Health Plan. All waivers must be completed online prior to the waiver deadlines (fall term deadline 9/30; spring term deadline 2/28). For details on the Student Health Plan, including waiver information, eligibility requirements, and forms, please visit the Student Health Insurance Website. Students on leave may purchase two consecutive semesters of Health Insurance. Students must purchase both the SHF fee and the BCBS coverage. The date the student goes on leave will determine the student’s health insurance options through Harvard. If the student goes on leave before October 1 for the fall term or March 1 for the spring term the charges for SHF and BCBS will be removed from the student’s term bill. If the student wishes to purchase the insurance he/she must go to the Member Services Office to enroll within 30 days of going on leave. Coverage will be retroactive to the beginning of that term which will be considered the first of two eligible consecutive terms. If a student is going on leave on or after October 1 for the fall term or March 1 for the spring term, the health insurance coverage in which the student originally enrolled will be retained through the end of the term the student is on leave, and the charges will remain on the term bill. This term is not considered one of the two consecutive terms of coverage available to students on leave.
Ordinarily, a student will not be granted non-resident status during his/her first year in the Graduate School and will be granted a leave of absence for only one year prior to the successful completion of general examinations. Only in unusual circumstances will an extension be considered. If a student has non-resident status for more than two years, the Dean’s office will contact the department or committee to discuss the student’s situation. Generally, the department G-year will be stopped for up to one year for medically documented severe illness (documentation to be submitted to the Accessible Education Office), childbirth or another major, family-related disruption, or for entering a PhD program from a related GSAS AM program. An adjustment to the department G-year for all the years that a student is on active service in the U.S. military or is fully engaged in another Harvard School as an official participant in the MD-PhD or JD/PhD coordinated program will be made. Students may take a leave of absence for such reasons after informing their advisor and departments and obtaining the approval of the Dean’s office.
Repayment of educational loans cannot be deferred by students registered on leave of absence unless they are simultaneously registered in another school. Harvard grants toward tuition usually are not available for students on leave of absence.
Degree candidates on leave of absence in the Boston area ordinarily are charged the facilities fee, rather than the active file fee, and retain resident privileges. If a student does not need access to Harvard facilities, faculty, or services for the period of leave, the student may request to be charged the active file fee.
Degree candidates who are full-time Harvard employees should register on leave of absence with GSAS, and are ordinarily charged the active file fee. Any student who is teaching more than three-fifths averaged over the year must be a teaching assistant instead of a teaching fellow, and must register on leave of absence rather than in residence. Immigration regulations require F-1 or J-1 visa holders to maintain full-time enrolled status while in the United States. F-1 or J-1 students who are considering applying for leave of absence or traveling scholar status must speak to an advisor in the Harvard International office, Holyoke Center 864, 617-495-2789, and must obtain a signature of approval on the non resident application, before submitting an application form.
GSAS students who are also registered in another Harvard school should not register in residence simultaneously in GSAS and in the other Harvard school, rather they should file an application for non-resident status with GSAS. Ordinarily, no GSAS fees are charged and scheduled tuition is delayed for terms in which a student is registered in residence at another Harvard School (see Chapter VIII). To receive a PhD degree from the Graduate School, these students will be responsible for paying two years of full tuition and two years of reduced tuition to GSAS unless the PhD degree is completed in fewer than four years from initial registration. The student’s year of graduate study is calculated from the first date of registration in GSAS and will include those terms for which the student is registered at another Harvard school. These students are responsible for GSAS tuition requirements outlined in Chapter VIII.
Students Returning to Resident Study in Mid-Term: Non-resident students returning between registration dates who were formerly paying the active file fee may recover their resident student identification card and regain access to all University facilities. Students should obtain a receipt for payment of the appropriate fee indicated below and take it to the Registrar’s office, 20 Garden Street, in order to obtain a resident student ID card. On or before November 25 in the fall or April 25 in the spring, a returning student must pay the full facilities fee for that term. After November 25 or April 25, the returning student pays one-half the facilities fee. In either case, the fee for the Harvard Student Health Plan (Student Health Fee and BCBS) will be applied to your term bill. This fee is not prorated. You will be charged the full amount for the remainder of the term you return. All Harvard University students are automatically enrolled in the Harvard University Student Health Plan, including resident students. For details on insurance policies, benefits, limitations, and exclusions please visit the Student Health Insurance Website.
Students Returning to Resident Study in Spring Term: (see Registration for Resident Students, Chapter V.)
Students Leaving in Mid-Term: Students planning to depart on leave or travel midway through a term should register for the term either in residence or as a non-resident student paying the facilities fee. Those registered in residence should then apply for non-resident status for the remainder of the term, stating on the application when they plan to leave. In either case, if students turn in their resident student ID card to the deputy registrar, 20 Garden Street, immediately prior to their departure and explain their situation, their charges can be adjusted as follows: students leaving on or before November 25 in the fall or April 25 in the spring will be charged one-half the facilities fee for the term. Students leaving after November 25 in the fall or April 25 in the spring will be charged the full facilities fee for the term. In either case, the Harvard Student Health Fees charged to their term bill will not be refunded. The coverage they have at the time of leave will continue until the end of the term that the leave began. For information regarding continuing coverage beyond the term in which the leave began, please view the Leave of Absence Policy on the Student Health Insurance Website. Prior payments in excess of these amounts will be refunded on request.
Use of the Libraries: Students on leave paying the active file fee may make arrangements at the library privileges desk in Widener to use Harvard libraries for a brief period during their non-resident term. As a courtesy, a student can obtain six days of stack access and checkout privilege for six books during a calendar year. Use of stacks (without borrowing privileges) may be arranged for a small monthly fee for up to three months per year. For more extensive borrowing privileges, students can check out books for three months for $25 or $100 for the academic year. The book loan period will be 28 days. Traveling scholars who pay the active file fee will have access to the HOLLIS catalog and library e-resources. Students on leave will need to pay at least the facilities fee to have that access.
WITHDRAWAL
A degree candidate who does not intend to register for a term should file a withdrawal notice with the Dean’s office in Holyoke Center.
Students withdrawing in the middle of a term should see Chapter VIII.
Students who withdraw from the Graduate School and are later readmitted to the same PhD program are charged the active file fee for the intervening terms during which they were not registered.
If a student fails to register by September 28 in the fall or February 27 in the spring (but does not formally withdraw), the student’s degree candidacy lapses. Such students must apply for readmission to the Graduate School in order to register again. The student will be charged a $250 lapse-of-candidacy fee as well as the back active file fees if readmitted (as above).
Upon the recommendation of a department, the dean may advise a student that registration in the forthcoming term is not permitted and that degree candidacy is terminated (see Chapter VII).
DEPARTMENTAL WITHDRAWAL NOTICE
Ordinarily graduate students who have not met satisfactory progress requirements or who have not maintained contact with their departments for more than two terms are subject to being withdrawn from the program at the discretion of the department. The department will make a reasonable effort to contact the student to determine the steps necessary to obtain satisfactory progress. If the effort to make contact is unsuccessful or if the student continues to not make satisfactory progress, the student will then be withdrawn. Students who are withdrawn by the department and would like to apply for readmission should consult the section on readmission in this chapter.
INVOLUNTARY LEAVES OF ABSENCE
The administrative dean of GSAS may place a student on involuntary leave of absence for the following reasons:
1. Medical circumstances: (a) The student poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the student or others or has seriously disrupted others in the student’s residential community or academic environment; and (b) the student’s behavior or threatening state is determined to be the result of a medical condition, or the student refuses to cooperate with efforts deemed necessary by the University Health Services to evaluate the cause of the student’s behavior or threatening state. In some circumstances, the level of care and accommodation may exceed the resources or appropriate staffing capabilities of a university or may be beyond the standard of care that a university health service can be expected to provide or monitor, in which case continued enrollment may constitute a serious disruption of the residential community or the academic environment, justifying an involuntary leave of absence.
2. Alleged criminal behavior: The student has been arrested on allegations of serious criminal behavior, or has been formally charged by law enforcement authorities with such behavior.
3. Risk to the community: The student has allegedly violated a disciplinary rule of GSAS and the administrative dean concludes that the student poses a significant risk to the safety or educational environment of the community.
Prior to placing a student on involuntary leave of absence, the administrative dean will consult with the associate dean for student affairs, with other officers of the University (for example, with the office of the Director of Harvard University Health Services in the case of leave for medical reasons) or with the Administrative Board.
The student will be notified in writing of the decision to place him or her on involuntary leave of absence. The student may ask the dean, in writing or in person, to reconsider the decision. If the decision remains unchanged, the student may petition the Administrative Board.
Placement on involuntary leave of absence is not disciplinary, and a student who wishes to take a voluntary leave of absence rather than being placed on involuntary leave of absence will ordinarily be allowed to do so. Transcripts and other external reports will not distinguish between voluntary and involuntary leave of absence. However, an incident that gives rise to an involuntary leave of absence may subsequently result in disciplinary action.
A student who has been placed on involuntary leave of absence is subject to the same rules that apply to a student granted a voluntary leave of absence. Any student on a leave of absence must remain away from Harvard if so instructed by the administrative dean or the Administrative Board.
A student who has been placed on involuntary leave of absence and who subsequently petitions to return to GSAS will be required to demonstrate to the Administrative Board that the circumstances that led to the placement on leave of absence have been satisfactorily addressed. Any disciplinary matter must be resolved before a student on leave of absence will be allowed to return. If the leave was for medical reasons, evidence for the student’s readiness to return will include consultation with Harvard University Health Services so that the Health Services may advise the Board whether the medical condition that resulted in the behavior or threatening state is under control through treatment or no longer exists.
The decision whether to allow a student to return to GSAS rests with the Administrative Board.
READMISSION
Students who previously registered in GSAS long enough to have paid some tuition, who then were not registered for a full term or longer, and who wish to return to the Graduate School, should apply for readmission through the Dean’s office in Holyoke Center.
Applications for readmission are due by December 15. Applications for financial aid from students who have not previously completed two full years of graduate study and from all students who are applying for financial aid for the following year are due by December 15. Applications must be supported by two new letters of recommendation, as well as by transcripts of any formal academic training taken since leaving the Graduate School. Readmission students should contact departments to which they are applying to determine what additional supporting documentation should be submitted with their application. Consideration is given to the record of each applicant, the length of absence, the activities undertaken during the absence, and the number of student places available in the department. Readmission, if approved, may be conditional, requiring performance of specific tasks at a specific standard, either prior to or following readmission. There is no application fee for applying for readmission. The Graduate School will not accept more than three applications for readmission from any individual during the course of his or her academic career, or more than two during one admission season.
Any student who was required to withdraw from the Graduate School ordinarily may not submit an application for readmission until two academic terms have passed. If a student withdrew and needs to be readmitted in order to receive his or her degree, that student should complete a readmission for degree application and submit it with a letter from his or her advisor indicating that the student is ready to defend the dissertation.
Readmission applications can be downloaded from the Web (www.gsas.harvard.edu/current_students/readmission.php) or are available in the Dean’s office in Holyoke Center.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR READMISSION
Students readmitted to the Graduate School, whether to the same degree program in which they were formerly enrolled or to a different one, receive financial credit for tuition paid when they were previously registered.
Students readmitted to the same PhD program in which they were formerly enrolled are charged the active file fee, at the rate current when readmission is approved, for the intervening terms since their last registration, with a maximum charge of $1,000. Students who failed to register for a term, without formally withdrawing from the Graduate School, are also charged a lapse-of-candidacy fee of $250. These fees, as well as any other indebtedness to the University or overdue loan payments, must be paid before readmission can be completed.
Students applying to re-enter the Graduate School in a program different from the one in which they were formerly enrolled are not charged the back active file fees. However, they must pay any outstanding University bills or overdue loan payments before they can be readmitted.
PROGRAMS OFFERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER FACULTIES
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences formally cooperates with other faculties and schools in several degree programs leading to a PhD, which is awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Such PhD programs currently include: Business Economics, Organizational Behavior, and Information Technology and Management with the Business School; Political Economy and Government, Social Policy, and Public Policy with the Kennedy School of Government; Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning with the School of Design; the Study of Religion with the Divinity School; the several medical sciences, Chemical Biology and Systems Biology, with the Medical School; (medical) Physics, Applied Physics, or Engineering, with the Medical School and the Harvard- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Health Policy with the Medical School, the School of Public Health and the Kennedy School of Government; Biological Sciences in Public Health and Biostatistics with the School of Public Health; and Biological Sciences in Dental Medicine with the School of Dental Medicine (see Chapter VI for departmental requirements).
Students in such collaborative programs are PhD candidates, and as such are subject to the rules and regulations of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
MD-PhD SIMULTANEOUS DEGREE PROGRAM
A simultaneous degree program is one in which the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has agreed to integrate its PhD program with a professional degree program so that students pursue both degrees at the same time. Currently, the only such program is the MD-PhD program, in cooperation with the Harvard Medical School.
Students in the MD-PhD program should register as noted in the “Registration in Two Harvard Schools” section. This program is offered to students in the natural sciences and on a limited basis to students in the social sciences. Students applying for the MD-PhD Program in the social sciences need to make separate applications to HMS and to the GSAS PhD program of their choice. For information of the MD-PhD program contact Linda Burnley, linda_burnley@hms.harvard.edu and specifically about the program in the social sciences contact Professor Allan Brandt, brandt@fas.harvard.edu. An adjustment will be made in the departmental G-year for the years a GSAS student is enrolled in the Medical School.
HARVARD INTEGRATED LIFE SCIENCES (HILS) PROGRAM
The Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) Program was created in 2004 to bring together faculty and students from eleven PhD programs across four Harvard faculties: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the School of Dental Medicine, the Medical School, and the School of Public Health. This new structure will allow the examination of—and provide research opportunities in—emerging interdisciplinary areas of investigation in the life sciences.
HILS oversees and supports programs and subject areas leading to the PhD in:
• biological and biomedical sciences
• 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
These academic areas represent the depth and breadth of current thinking in the life sciences. Please visit each program’s Website for further details. Additional information about HILS can also be found on the HILS Website
JD/PHD COORDINATED PROGRAM
Students completing the Coordinated Program receive a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD from Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Coordinated JD/PhD Program is available to all students in the Humanities and Social Sciences who have the support of an advisor in both their GSAS department and in the Law School. Students who wish to explore the coordinated program are encouraged to contact Catherine Claypoole, associate dean for academic affairs at the Law School (claypool@law.harvard.edu); or Rise Shepsle, assistant dean of student affairs at GSAS (rshepsle@fas.harvard.edu).
Prospective students must apply to and be separately admitted to both the Law School and a GSAS PhD program before applying to the Coordinated JD/PhD Program. Once a student has been admitted to both programs, he or she applies to the coordinated program by submitting a plan of study, which must be approved both by the student’s GSAS advisor and their Law School advisor or Assistant Professor Matthew Stephenson. Acceptance of this plan of study constitutes admission into the coordinated program. Students will be registered in only one school during any given term. Students admitted to the coordinated program are required to spend five terms in residence at the Law School, rather than the traditional six terms, and to pay five terms of Law School tuition. Students will be eligible for Law School financial aid during the five terms in which they are enrolled and pay tuition to that school. Students will be eligible for GSAS funding during the terms they are enrolled in GSAS, following the standard pattern of funding for students in the social sciences and the humanities. An adjustment will be made in the departmental G-year for the years a GSAS student is enrolled in the Law School.