Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Cell Biology
Genetics
Human Biology and Translational Medicine
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Pathology

IMMUNOLOGY
NEUROSCIENCE
VIROLOGY

The Division of Medical Sciences (DMS) at Harvard Medical School with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University offers four interdisciplinary programs leading to the PhD degree in the biomedical sciences: Biological and Biomedical Sciences (includes faculty from the Departments of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Pathology, and additional faculty from other departments, hospitals and research institutes), and three programs with faculty from the medical school and university: Immunology, Neuroscience, and Virology. These four programs share a common purpose: to foster a stimulating and supportive environment for research training in the -biomedical sciences.

The Division of Medical Sciences was established at Harvard University in 1908 and was designed to provide students wishing to pursue careers in research and teaching with a broad education in basic biomedical science fields and specialization in one of them. Classroom and laboratory instruction are conducted primarily by the 400 faculty members of the basic science departments and the affiliated hospital laboratories of Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston. The PhD degree is awarded by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) of Harvard University. For more than 100 years this fruitful collaboration between HMS and GSAS has spawned research achievements across the spectrum from basic science to experimental medicine. Since 1909 over 1,900 division graduates, including five Nobel Laureates, have gone
on to distinguished careers in biomedical research, university teaching, and a growing number of increasingly diverse careers.

Research Facilities

Located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, the division brings together faculty in the biological sciences throughout Harvard University. The Medical Area, which includes Harvard Medical School, a cluster of affiliated hospitals and research institutes, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the Harvard School of Public Health, comprises one of the most concentrated areas of scientific research facilities in the United States. The interaction between the various programs in the division, through joint teaching and research as well as the contact with the affiliated hospitals investigating clinical problems enables the division to serve as a meeting place for the biological, medical, physical, and chemical sciences, providing -students and faculty with a wider range of experience and techniques than can be found in any single discipline or department.

Many of our faculty is based in the six preclinical departments on the Medical School Quadrangle: Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics-, Neurobiology, Pathology, and Systems Biology. Other faculty have their laboratories at:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Biomedical Research Institute
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Center for Blood Research
Children’s Hospital
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Institutes of Medicine (HIM)
Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard University in Cambridge
Joslin Diabetes Center
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), including Charlestown East Research                     Laboratories, Cutaneous Biological Research Center of HMS/MGH
Massachusetts Mental Health Center
McLean Hospital
New England Regional Primate Center
New Research Building, Harvard Medical School
Schepens Eye Research Institute
West Roxbury VA Hospital

The main Harvard University campus in Cambridge encompasses a wide variety of strong academic departments and facilities in the humanities and sciences. The division specifically interacts with the biological sciences programs in biophysics, chemical biology, molecular and cellular biology, organismic and evolutionary biology, biological sciences in public health, and systems biology.

Program of Study

There are many areas of biomedical research excellence in the Division of Medical Sciences (DMS). These are described for each program, and some are available in more than one program. Along with other areas, research in cancer, developmental biology and HIV, are examples that are well represented in several DMS -programs. Details on these and the other themes in biomedical sciences and biology are available on our Website.

Academic programs fulfill needs and goals through core and advanced courses, seminars, rotations in laboratories, and a qualifying examination. Courses may be chosen from the offerings of Harvard University as well as from those of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rotations are an integral part of each program; they allow students to investigate several types of research and laboratories before choosing a dissertation laboratory. Many students choose a dissertation laboratory by the end of the first year.

Although individual programs vary, generally students take a qualifying examination at the end of their first year or during their second year. After successful completion of the qualifying examination, the dissertation advisor supervises the doctoral candidate’s research and study, with an advisory committee periodically reviewing progress. Typically, about four years of laboratory work are needed to complete the dissertation research, which is defended before three examiners. Students are expected to complete the degree in four to five years.

The Informal Curriculum

Outside of the classroom, the division sponsors a variety of activities that bring together students and faculty with a broad range of research interests. Important elements of this “informal curriculum” are the seminars, journal clubs, and retreats organized by the programs. These sessions give students the opportunity to interact with faculty and post- doctoral fellows from laboratories throughout the Medical Area, and to learn about research in diverse fields. Student-run journal clubs and seminars provide opportunities to learn how to give talks, critically evaluate scientific literature, present data, and take part in group discussions. Each year students organize their own symposium with talks and poster sessions. City-wide seminars draw researchers from all area institutions into a larger scientific community. Many students serve for at least one term as teaching assistants for graduate and medical school classes, or for undergraduate courses taught in Cambridge. The Biomedical Graduate Student Organization plans various academic and social activities, and works with other student representatives in the Graduate School and at Harvard Medical School.

Combined Degree Programs

The division, in conjunction with Harvard Medical School, offers a combined MD/PhD program to train physician-scientists to work at the forefront of biomedical research and to provide an interface between the most basic and technical research and its clinical application at the bedside. The program seeks to provide students with the most thorough and up-to-date medical education and training for research careers. Students who are interested in working toward simultaneous MD and PhD degrees should complete the application for admission to Harvard Medical School and the MD/PhD Program.

Admissions

Each year, nearly 90 students begin graduate study. Total enrollment for 2006-2007 was over 570, with affiliated faculty numbering approximately 400. Our students come from a variety of undergraduate institutions throughout the United States and from many foreign countries. Women account for almost one-half of the enrollment.

To qualify for admission, applicants must demonstrate strong enthusiasm and ability for the vigorous pursuit of scientific knowledge. Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in calculus, physics, biology, and chemistry, both physical and organic. Strong consideration is given to letters of recommendation, particularly to comments from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of the applicant’s research experience. Some programs may request a personal interview.

Applicants should apply to only one of the four DMS programs. Once enrolled, degree candidates may arrange rotations in laboratories affiliated with other programs. Transfer between programs may be accommodated if justified. We welcome discussion with applicants who would like assistance in determining the most appropriate program for their interests.

The application deadline is December 7, 2007. A completed application includes the online application, fee, statement of purpose, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, scores from the Graduate Record Examination (General), and transcripts. Subject test is optional in the subject of your choice. Applicants whose native language is other than English can satisfy the English proficiency requirement by having the bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a university whose language of instructions is in English or by taking the TOEFL examination and receiving a score of 600 on the paper test, 250 on the electronic version or 100 on the internet based test (IBT). Applicants having only the master’s degree from a university whose language of instructions is in English will need to present scores for the TOEFL test. All materials, including online letters of recommendation and official reports of the GRE, must be received by the December 7 deadline. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) tests should be taken no later than October 2007 for official scores to arrive in time.

Applicants wishing to do research in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, human biology and translational medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, molecular pharmacology, and pathology usually apply through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Program. Applicants wishing to do research in Immunology, Neuroscience, or Virology should apply directly to the program of that name.

In addition to the programs described here for the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University offers other graduate programs in the biological sciences: Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) and Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health, Biological Sciences in Dental Medicine (BSDM) at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Chemical Biology and Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School; and Biophysics, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB), and Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) in Cambridge. For more application information on any of these programs, please contact the programs directly.

Online submission of the application only.

Harvard University’s policy is to make decisions on the basis of the individual’s qualifications to contribute to Harvard’s educational objectives and institutional needs. It is unlawful, and contrary to Harvard University policy, to discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job or course of study requirements.

Financial Aid and Cost of Study

Division of Medical Sciences students receive full tuition and stipend support while they
are enrolled and making satisfactory progress toward the PhD degree. The division strongly encourages applicants to apply for support from extramural agencies. Students who receive competitively funded extramural fellowships, which will be used toward our student support upon matriculating to our programs, may be eligible to receive an additional educational allowance from the division.

Life in Boston

Harvard Medical School is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, across the Charles River from Cambridge. The two cities offer a geographically compact, yet rich and varied academic and cultural environment. More than 40 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area sponsor a multitude of cultural and intellectual activities, all easily accessible via public transportation. The close proximity to MIT, the natural science departments at Harvard in Cambridge, and the medical schools at Boston University and Tufts University provides an unusual concentration of scientific research which draws visiting scientists from around the world. The main Harvard campus in Cambridge supports a wide variety of facilities for athletics and graduate student activities. Students have access to all the libraries of Harvard University, which is the largest university library system in the world.

In addition to a long list of renowned institutions, such as the Museum of Science and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston itself is a museum, with hundreds of historical sites and an exciting range of architectural styles as well as ethnically diverse neighborhoods offering an international flavor.
Recreational opportunities in the Boston area are many and varied. Sports fans can follow the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, or the Red Sox—Fenway Park is only a short walk from Harvard Medical School. Within the city, the Charles River offers an afternoon of sailing and windsurfing, while the network of parks known as the “Emerald Necklace” winds its way from Kenmore Square, through Olmsted Park and past Jamaica Pond to the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum, which is both a city park and a Harvard research facility. Walden Pond and the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Concord are within biking distance. The beaches of Cape Cod, and skiing, hiking, and camping in the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are accessible in day trips.

The Longwood Medical Area

Immediately adjacent to the Medical School are the Harvard Dental School, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Countway Medical Library, one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the country, and the research laboratories of seven affiliated hospitals and institutes. A free shuttle bus links the area with MIT and Harvard Square in Cambridge. Many students live near the Medical School or in neighboring Brookline; others find affordable housing elsewhere in Boston or in Cambridge. Harvard University provides dormitories for married students and graduate students in Cambridge. Harvard @ Trilogy is a new residential housing facility adjacent to the Longwood Medical Area offering apartments to graduate students. University housing is also available for single students in Vanderbilt Hall at the Medical School, along with athletic facilities and a branch of the Harvard University Health Services. The Tosteson Medical Education Center houses the Division of Medical Sciences offices as well as a graduate student lounge and computer facilities.

Programs and Disciplines

The four interdepartmental programs of the Division of Medical Sciences are described briefly below. Interested applicants can obtain more information on the programs in which they are interested from the Division of Medical Sciences.

Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)

The PhD Programs in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) at Harvard Medical School combines faculty and affiliates from five basic science departments (Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and Pathology) with additional faculty from other departments at Harvard Medical School, hospitals and research institutes. A rigorous curriculum covering the fundamentals of cell and molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms is at the heart of the program. In the first year, students can take core courses covering this material. In addition, students take upper-level courses designed to teach reading skills for in-depth analysis of the literature. Rotations form an integral part of the program and allow students to investigate several research areas before choosing a dissertation laboratory. In addition to formal instruction, BBS also offers dinner seminars, rotation and data clubs, poster sessions, and a yearly retreat.

The Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology (BCMP) offers a broad range of medical and basic research topics using the analytical tools of biochemistry and molecular biology. The research interests of the faculty include the structure and function of proteins, the structure and control of viral and eukaryotic genes, the biosynthesis of membrane lipids and cell surface carbo-hydrates, the mechanisms of DNA replication and recombination, and the induction of morphological and biochemical differentiation of cells. For students interested in pharmacology, there are courses and research opportunities in molecular, cellular, and neuropharmacology. Specific research interests include molecular mechanism of drug–receptor and drug-enzyme interaction; mechanism of action of antiviral, antibacterial, and antitumor drugs; molecular aspects of receptor cell membrane function; the molecular basis of regulation of cell growth; DNA replication and cell differentiation; endocrinology; and toxicology.

The Department of Cell Biology seeks to understand mechanistically all the processes that drive individual cells and their interactions with other cells during development and adult life. In effect, cell biology is defined operationally by the questions asked rather than by the methods used to answer them. Thus, the experimental approaches used range widely from experimental morphology to biophysics. The diversity of the department reflects the research interests of more than 25 faculty members. Topics include signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, early embryonic and germ cell development, protein turnover, and extracellular matrix.

The Department of Genetics provides training in the major areas of modern genetic research by using a variety of systems with which to investigate fundamental genetic processes-. These systems range from the complex immunoglobulin loci of humans to the nitrogen-fixing genes of plant-associated bacteria. The department’s focus on molecular genetics and molecular biology provides a unique approach to fundamental problems in the operation and regulation of genes.

The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics offers opportunities for advanced study in the genetics, physiology, and biochemistry of bacteria and viruses. -Faculty research interests include bacterial and viral genetics, the molecular mechanisms of gene replication and expression, and the molecular biology of bacterial and viral pathogenesis. To analyze these fundamental microbiological processes, department members employ classical approaches in genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology, as well as structural biology, computational biology, proteomics, and combinatorial chemistry. Department members also have access to the extensive clinical resources of Harvard-affiliated- teaching hospitals.

The Department of Pathology provides research training opportunities in a broad range of basic and medical sciences and in areas directly relevant to human diseases and pathogenesis. The major areas of research interest include cancer biology, cardiovascular research, virology, and immunology. The department’s focus on the mechanisms of pathogenesis provides a unique opportunity to study the cell biology, physiology, molecular biology, and genetics underlying disease processes.

Program in Human Biology and Translational Medicine (HBTM)

The new Harvard Program in Human Biology and Translational Medicine (HBTM) within BBS builds on and enhances current efforts in human biology and disease-oriented translational research at Harvard Medical School, at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and at Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research centers, and provides a structure for the integrated training of students in the translation of advances in basic investigation to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease. This new BBS initiative facilitates integration of the academic efforts of Harvard teaching hospitals across the university, and includes new courses in human metabolism, pathophysiology, pharmacology, genomics/proteomics, biostatistics/clinical trial design, and the biology of specific human diseases. HBTM faculty and students pursue human disease-oriented translational research using the experimental paradigms of genomic/proteomic, cellular, organismal, and populations-based approaches to the study of clinical therapeutics and disease prevention. The HBTM curriculum provides rigorous training in the fundamental mechanisms and essential methodologies of human biology and disease-oriented translational research.

The Curriculum Fellow Program (CFP) at HMS

As a recent commitment to innovation in graduate education at Harvard Medical School, a Curriculum Fellow Program (CFP) has been created to attract full-time Ph.D.-trained individuals to design and coordinate new courses, student resources and community-building activities in partnership with HMS faculty. Curriculum Fellows will help propel new initiatives in the BBS portfolio, such as the Program in Human Biology and Translational Medicine (HBTM), as well as other research affinity groups like the Integrative Developmental Biology (idb) Initiative. The CFP Fellows will interact closely with students in BBS to help make curriculum innovation responsive to student interests, and to develop new educational formats that meet the needs of our broad and dynamic community.

Immunology

Advanced study and research in immunology are offered in the Immunology Program, which has members from the Departments of Biological Chemistry, Molecular Pharmacology, Genetics, Medicine, Pathology, and Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine, and from the Department of Biology of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Recent rapid advances have transformed immunology from an adjunct to the diagnosis and control of infection into a major field of biology and medicine. The problems posed by studying the immune response and its role in inflammation and resistance to malignancy and infection attract scientists from every discipline. The Immunology Program offers education and research in a wide range of areas, including molecular genetics, cell activation, immunochemistry, cellular immunology, tumor immunology, allergic inflammation, immunogenetics, immunoparasitology, and immune deficiency and autoimmunity.

Programs of study take into account the interests and goals of the individual student and may stress either the more chemical aspects of proteins, their synthesis, structure, and interaction, or the more biological aspects such as cell growth, cell control, and cell interaction. Students take courses and at least three laboratory rotations. Students are expected to participate in weekly research seminars, monthly dinners with faculty, an annual program retreat, regular lunch meetings with upper-level graduate students, and a student research forum.

Students select their dissertation lab by September of their second year. An oral qualifying exam is taken during the middle of year two, followed by 3 – 3.5 years of dissertation research. Students’dissertation research can be carried out in a number of fields, including, but not limited to, the analytical study of lymphocyte receptors, activation and differentiation, cytodynamics of antibody formation, the mechanisms underlying methods of altering the immune response, the reactions and chemical mediators of immediate and delayed immune responses, and the immunogenetics of tissues and tumors.

Neuroscience

Students in the Neuroscience Program have access to a large group of clinical and basic science faculty at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research centers, and the Harvard Faculty of Arts and -Sciences. The faculty has diverse research interests which include neurophysiology and biophysics, neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, genetic and molecular biological approaches to the nervous system, immunology, psychiatry, diseases of the human nervous system, and related areas. The Program in Neuroscience is housed in the Department of Neurobiology and graduates of the Neuroscience Program obtain their PhDs in neurobiology.

The 12 to 18 students admitted each year to the program take a sequence of courses offered by the Program in Neuroscience faculty as well as appropriate courses in related fields. Students take part in an annual retreat in the fall and organize a scientific symposium in the spring. They also participate in a variety of journal clubs and seminars. Students usually complete rotations in three laboratories during their first year in order to obtain appropriate experience to guide the selection of a dissertation advisor. Students are expected to have selected a dissertation advisor by the start of their third term and to have completed a preliminary exam by March 31 of their second year of study.

Virology

New viruses, such as the sudden acute respiratory syndrome or SARS virus, have emerged around the world; the AIDS epidemic continues to sweep across sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. New vaccines for HIV, smallpox, avian influenza, and genital herpes are direly needed. Researchers at Harvard University are working on all of these biomedical problems as well as conducting basic research that is defining new molecular structures of viruses and virus-encoded enzymes, new mechanisms within cells for molecular and organelle trafficking and function, and new mechanisms that control cell growth. Harvard researchers are among the world leaders in the design and testing of AIDS, genital herpes, and small pox vaccines. The Harvard Program in Virology provides extraordinary opportunities to conduct graduate study for the PhD degree in these exciting areas of biomedical science.

The program is a joint effort of 49 faculty from throughout Harvard University. Specific research areas include: the molecular genetics, molecular biology and molecular pathogenesis of latent, persistent, or cytolytic virus infections, the characterization of virus-receptor interactions and the mechanisms of cell entry, structural studies of viruses and viral proteins, mechanisms of cell growth control, transformation, signal transduction, and transcriptional regulation, the use of viruses vectors for heterologous gene expression and for gene therapy, the interaction of viruses with innate immunity, the pathogenesis of viral infection and rational antiviral drug design.
Applicants for graduate training in virology should have a firm background in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. In their first and second years, students are advised by the Student Advisory Committee. This committee meets with the student at the beginning of each of the first three terms to discuss courses and laboratory research rotations or other academic matters of concern to individual students. Students are expected to attain graduate-level competence in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and animal virology. Students frequently take additional coursework in immunology and developmental biology. Students also do research in laboratories of their choice. By the end of the third term, students will have completed three substantive research rotations, passed qualifying examinations, selected a dissertation laboratory, and begun dissertation research. For the remainder of the graduate program, students are engaged full-time in dissertation research. We anticipate student completion of dissertation research within four years.

The PhD Program

The degree of doctor of philosophy is awarded to students who have demonstrated their mastery of the basic techniques of mathematics and their ability to do independent research. The former is tested in the qualifying examination; the latter in the dissertation. The dissertation, however, is the more important of the two.

The qualifying examination is given twice annually, and students are encouraged to take it as soon as possible so that they may begin work towards their theses. Most students pass the exam during their first year. For those who do not pass it on their first attempt, it may be retaken any number of times.

The PhD dissertation is an original treatment of a suitable subject leading to new results, usually written under the guidance of a faculty member. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation, a booklet available from the Registrar’s Office.

Many of the more advanced courses and seminars are designed to lead the student to areas of current research.

The University requires a minimum of two years’ academic residence (16 half-courses). (See The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook for financial residence requirements.) On the other hand, the PhD usually takes four to five years.

A reading knowledge of two modern languages, French, Italian (if deemed related to the student’s field of study), German, or Russian, is required of PhD candidates. One language requirement must be passed by the end of the second year of graduate study and the other by the end of the third year. Each candidate must also write a “minor dissertation.” This is an original presentation of a standard subject about which the student is ignorant but wishes to learn. It is intended to give the student experience in assimilating and presenting unfamiliar material. The research and writing must be done during a three-week period, soon after the qualifying examination is passed. Each candidate must also participate in the Teaching Apprentice Program and have two semesters of classroom experience of teaching, usually as a teaching fellow.

Applications for transfer from other programs granting PhDs in mathematics are not ruled out, but are discouraged.

AB-AM Degree

Candidates for the AB-AM degree in mathematics must meet both the academic and course requirements for the AB degree in mathematics and for the AM degree in mathematics. A given course can be counted for only one of the two degrees, i.e., one course cannot meet the requirement for the AB degree and then be counted again for the AM degree. See below for the AM requirements. Any undergraduate who wishes to apply for this degree must file an application form for the graduate program in mathematics just as any other student files for graduate work at Harvard. Only students with advanced standing are eligible to apply for this four-year program. Undergraduates taking graduate courses in their third year may bracket those which they wish to apply on their graduate degree.

Requirements for the AM Degree

The master of arts degree is not a prerequisite for the PhD, but is often obtained by students on their way to a doctorate. However, applicants are not accepted for the terminal master of arts in mathematics. The formal requirements are a minimum academic residence of one year, eight half-courses in mathematics at 100 or 200 level, with at least four at the 200 level; a reading knowledge of one of three languages—French, German, or Russian—is also required. (See The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook for financial residence requirements.)

Financial Aid

All students in the Department of receive substantial financial support during their graduate training. This support may be in the form of grants or teaching fellowships from Harvard, or fellowships and research assistantships from outside organizations such as the National Science Foundation. Students are strongly encouraged to apply for outside awards.

Sources from outside the University support a great many graduate fellowships. In particular, students who are US citizens should investigate the predoctoral fellowship opportunities provided by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation (Box 5032, Livermore, CA 94551-5032), the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (200 Park Drive, Suite 211, P.O. Box 13444, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3444), the National Physical Science Consortium for Minorities and Women (c/o New Mexico State University, O’Loughlin House, University Boulevard, Box 30001, Department 3 NPS Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001), and the National Science Foundation (Washington, DC 20550).

Students without outside support are required to teach as part of their financial aid package. Usually they do not teach in their first year, are a teaching fellow for one half-course (i.e., for a one-semester course) in their second through fourth years, and are a teaching fellow for two half-courses if they stay for a fifth year. Teaching fellows ordinarily teach their own sections of undergraduate calculus, but have a course assistant to help with grading and to teach a problem section. There are a few upper-class tutorials taught by experienced teaching fellows. All students must participate in the Teaching Apprentice Program run in conjunction with the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning before they may teach.

Applications for admission and for scholarships or nonteaching fellowships, together with information regarding admissions procedures, may be obtained by writing directly to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application. See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS

While all PhD candidates are expected to acquire a solid background in contemporary linguistic theory, the department places great emphasis on the inseparability of good theoretical work and detailed empirical research, and on the interrelatedness of diachronic and synchronic approaches to the study of linguistic phenomena.

Since the department is relatively small, discussion among faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates is ongoing and informal. Special workshops funded by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, together with frequent departmentally sponsored lectures and seminars, bring an unusually large number of outside speakers to Harvard every year. Widener Library contains a matchless linguistic and philological collection, supplemented by a special non-circulating collection accessible only to linguistics students and faculty.

Further information regarding departmental courses, faculty, and facilities can be obtained from the Department of Linguistics, Boylston Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (telephone: 617-495-4054; fax: 617-496-4447), or by visiting the departmental Website at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~lingdept/index.html .

Admission and Financial Aid

Requirements for admission are flexible. Preference is normally given to candidates with a previous background in linguistics, but students with a mature interest in the field and a strong language background are encouraged to apply as well. GRE scores are required of all applicants.

All new graduate students in Linguistics receive a five-year support package, either from GSAS, or from an outside funding source (e.g., the National Science Foundation), or from a combination of the two. The standard GSAS package provides sufficient funds to make teaching unnecessary in the first and second years. Support in the third and fourth years takes the form of teaching fellowships. The department regards teaching as an essential part of the PhD program. Courses open to participation by teaching fellows include undergraduate tutorials, beginning-level linguistic theory courses, and large-enrollment undergraduate courses such as Social Analysis 34 (Knowledge of Language). Full support is again provided in the dissertation-completion year, freeing the student of teaching obligations. Stipends are provided for summer research in the first two years.

Inquiries regarding admission and financial aid should be directed to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center 350, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application. See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS.

The Structure of the Program

Coursework - To acquire a basic grounding in the core areas of the field, students must complete the following courses, normally in their first two years of residence:

Linguistics 112a (Introduction to Syntactic Theory)and 112b (Intermediate Syntax)

Linguistics 115a (Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology) and 115b (Intermediate Phonology)

Linguistics 116a (Introduction to Semantics)

Linguistics 117r (Linguistic Field Methods)

Linguistics 224 (Historical and Comparative Linguistics)

In addition, second- and third-year students are required to enroll in Linguistics 241r (Practicum in Linguistics).

There is also a language requirement, which is described separately below. Course requirements are flexibly enforced. Students with a substantial background in one or more areas of linguistics may substitute more advanced courses for those listed above, with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Only rarely are course requirements waived completely.

Advising — First-year students are advised by the DGS until they choose a major field (see below), at which time they also choose a major advisor from the regular departmental faculty. Thereafter, progress toward completion of the PhD requirements continues to be monitored by the DGS, but primary responsibility for overseeing study in the major field shifts to the major advisor. Students may change their major advisor at any time. By the end of the second year they should also select a co-advisor, who serves as a second advisor and faculty mentor.

Major and Minor Fields — Students choose a major and a minor field during their first year. The major field is typically a large subarea of linguistics, such as phonology, syntax, semantics, or historical linguistics. The minor field may either be another major subarea or a more specific one (e.g., Germanic syntax, psycholinguistics, Greek historical grammar). Competence in the major field is demonstrated by a) advanced coursework, as determined in consultation with the major advisor; b) submission of an original research paper of publishable quality (see below); and c), optionally, in certain fields, a special written examination. Competence in the minor field is demonstrated by satisfactory performance in three courses above the introductory level, or in two courses with submission of a research paper.

Research Paper Requirement — In lieu of a formal admission to candidacy examination (“general exam”), students are required to submit and orally defend two publishable research papers, preferably by the end of the third year. One of the two papers should be in the area of the declared major field, and the other should be in a different area of linguistics, which may, but need not be, the same as the minor field. If the second paper is in the area of the minor field, it may count in place of a third course in the minor field (see above).

Language Requirement — The department’s language requirement has two components:

(1) Reading knowledge of two languages of scholarship other than English. Native speakers of qualifying languages may count their native language for this purpose. Non-native speakers may satisfy the requirement by completing a second-year language course at the university level, or by passing a one-hour departmental reading exam (dictionary permitted).

(2) Knowledge of the structure of a non-Indo-European language. This requirement may be met by taking a “structure” course (e.g., Linguistics 171 (Structure of Chinese), a course in linguistic typology, or a second semester of Linguistics 117r (Linguistic Field Methods). Practical reading and/or speaking knowledge cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.

Satisfactory Progress — A B+ average must be maintained in each year of graduate study. Grades below B- cannot be counted toward departmental requirements; two grades below B- in required courses may result in termination of candidacy. Ordinarily, a grade of Incomplete can only be converted into a letter grade if the work is made up before the end of the following term. No grade of Incomplete can be used to satisfy a departmental requirement.

All requirements, including the research papers, should ideally be completed by the end of the third year, but in no case later than the end of the fourth. The dissertation prospectus (see below) is also due by the end of the fourth year. Failure to meet program requirements in timely fashion may result in termination of candidacy.

AM Degree — Graduate students who have completed two years of residence and who have fulfilled all the course requirements and language requirements for the PhD may upon petition receive an AM degree.

The Dissertation

Dissertation Prospectus — A prospectus of the PhD dissertation must be submitted to the department by the end of the fourth year. The prospectus should contain a summary (in approximately ten pages) of the goals and methodology of the dissertation research, a bibliography of relevant literature, and a schedule for progress toward completion.

Committee — As part of the prospectus submission procedure, students nominate a three-person committee to serve as readers of the completed dissertation. Final membership of the dissertation committee is subject to departmental approval. The head of the committee, if not already the major advisor, assumes this role as soon as the prospectus is approved. Students are urged to maintain regular communication with all three members of the dissertation committee during the dissertation-writing process.

Dissertation Defense — Acceptance of a PhD dissertation requires a successful public defense, which should take place one to three months before the Registrar’s due date for final submission of the dissertation. Sufficient time must be allowed to permit any required corrections or revisions, as well as to have the dissertation bound.

The Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies was established in the fall of 1972 for the purpose of stimulating and integrating instruction and research in these areas.Harvard is preeminent among the very few universities where Inner Asian and Altaic studies may be pursued. Harvard’s library holdings in East European, East Asian, Islamic, and South Asian areas led to a development of strength in the Inner Asian and Altaic fields prior to the actual establishment of this program. The research centers and degree programs that exist at Harvard on the four sides of the Inner Asian area have contributed much material directly relevant to the study of this region. Harvard possesses outstanding collections in the Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, Arabic, Indian, and Russian languages which comprise the most important primary sources for the study of this area, as well as in Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan. These collections are variously held by the Widener, Harvard-Yenching, Houghton, Dumbarton Oaks, Gibb, Tozzer, and Fine Arts libraries. The East Asian Research Center, the Jewett Collection, and Harvard’s microfilm collection also contain important source material in this field.

The PhD program in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies is modeled on similar joint degree programs for adjacent areas, in particular the PhD programs in History and East Asian Languages and in History and Middle Eastern Studies. Like these, the PhD program in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies is not training in area studies as such but rather a program in an established discipline (i.e., anthropology, art and architecture, history, linguistics, literature, or religious studies) with emphasis on Inner Asia and/or the Altaic languages. The program includes a language requirement and a general examination in three fields, and is restricted to candidates for the PhD degree. It does not offer an AM program.

Prerequisites for Admission

All students in the program are expected to meet the requirements of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, including a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution, a superior undergraduate record, and the reading knowledge of at least one appropriate foreign language such as, for example, Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Russian, or Turkish. An AM degree in hand is advantageous.

The requirements for the degree are:

Academic Residence

Minimum of two years. In most cases, however, fulfillment of all requirements for the degree will involve at least one additional year of course work. The committee members will arrange particular programs for each student.

Financial Residence

See GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid or The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

Introductory Courses

All first-year students in this program should take an introductory course in at least one of the following fields given by members of the committee.

1. History of Inner Asia
2. Archaeology and Art of Inner Asia
3. Comparative and Historical Turkic, Mongolian, Manchu, Tibetan, Tunguz, or Altaic Linguistics
4. Inner Asian Philology (Khotanese Saka, Sogdian, Tibetan, Tokharian, Gandhari [Niya] Prakrit, etc.)

Language Examinations

Upon enrolling in graduate school the candidate should offer proof of competence in at least one foreign “tool” language (this will be done by way of examination in the first term of study), and sometime during the first two years of residence, he or she should also demonstrate competence by way of examination in a second “tool” language, selected from among those especially pertinent to the student’s topic of specialization. “Tool” languages, such as French, German, Italian, Russian, and Japanese, are to be distinguished from “source” languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Persian, Tibetan, Turkic, and Sanskrit; in particular cases, where one of the latter is not a “source” language it may be considered a “tool” language. Students are expected to be competent in the language(s) of their primary focus and will be required to take written examinations in their “source” language or languages, both with and without the aid of a dictionary.

General Exam

Normally at the end of the second year of residence or in the third year of residence, the candidate will write a general examination in three fields approved in advance by the committee. One of these fields should cover the history or culture of a major society outside of Inner Asia (e.g., Western Europe, Russia, Islamic Middle East, East Asia, South Asia, or the Americas). The other two will be focused on:

1. Pre-Islamic History of Inner Asia (to the 10th century)
2. Medieval and Early Modern History of Inner Asia (10th century to 1750)
3. Modern History of Inner Asia (1750 to the present)
4. Philology and Religion of Pre-Islamic Inner Asia (to the 10th century)
5. Philology and Religion of Medieval and Early Modern Inner Asia (10th century to 1750)6. Altaic or Tungusic Linguistics
6. Archaeology and Art of Inner Asia
7. Ethnology and Anthropology of Inner Asia There will be a three-hour written examination in each of the three specified fields, plus one three-hour oral examination in Inner Asian studies, broadly defined. In some cases, students may, with the approval of the committee, choose to take an additional fourth general examination field.

Prospectus

Within one academic year of completing the general examination, students will be required to present a written prospectus of their dissertation, of at least 5-10 pages in length, for approval by the committee.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to use primary source material and to produce a piece of original research. After the acceptance of the dissertation, the candidate must defend his or her dissertation in a special oral examination. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

In addition to courses in history, history of science, and the sciences, related work is often selected from fields such as philosophy, government, literature, sociology, law, and public policy. Courses from the Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may be taken by cross–registration.

In the history of science program the methods of historical research are employed to explore the genesis and evolution of the sciences and to analyze the growth of science as part of the intellectual and social experience of humankind. Science is its subject and history its method. To pursue advanced work in the field, therefore, it is desirable to have some preliminary training in the natural and social sciences and in history.

Students in the doctoral program are eligible for financial support administered under the direction of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, as described in the application for admissions and in Financing Graduate Study. Harvard grants are awarded for the first and second years primarily on the basis of financial need as determined by the Graduate School at the time of application. Ordinarily, living stipend support is limited to the first two years, including summer support, and tuition grants are limited to five years. After the completion of two years in residence, candidates for the PhD degree in history of science ordinarily are eligible for appointments as teaching fellows in the history of science to serve as tutors in the undergraduate program of history and science. A candidate may also lead discussion sections in departmental courses and courses given under the Committee on the Core Program. In latter years, students become eligible for awards to support dissertation research and writing. Applicants are encouraged to apply for non-Harvard fellowships, such as those offered by the National Science Foundation, the Jacob Javits Fellowship Program, and the Mellon Foundation.
Students in the master’s program must show the capacity to finance themselves without University help.

Master of Arts (AM)

This program is suitable for postbaccalaureate students in other disciplines and professions who wish advanced training in the history of science. It also is appropriate for students who are advanced degree candidates in foreign universities.

Academic Residence — The minimum residence requirement is one year of full-time study (eight half-courses or equivalent). Of the four full courses required, the student must include the half-course Methods Seminar (History of Science 201), two half-course seminars in the history of science, one half-course seminar in history, and two additional half-courses in the history of science. The remaining two half-courses may be chosen from offerings in science, history, the history of science, or other related fields. An average of B must be maintained throughout the year.

Languages — A reading knowledge of a foreign language other than English is required. All students will be expected to take the language examination in October of the year of their admission.

Essay — An essay of 20-30 pages, on a subject to be determined in consultation with the student’s advisor, must be submitted to the department toward the end of the second term, but no later than the last day of Read-ing Period. A paper written for a seminar may be expanded for this requirement.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Prerequisites for Admission — Undergraduate training should ordinarily include courses in history and a major or strong minor in natural science. Any student who,
in the opinion of the department, has not had sufficient scientific or historical preparation will be required to make up this deficiency by appropriate course work, which may be counted toward fulfillment of the residence requirement. The GRE General Test is required.

Academic Residence — The minimum residence requirement is two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent of which ordinarily a maximum of four may be reading courses in the history of science or history). A candidate who maintains a record of high distinction in the first year at Harvard may petition for academic credit of up to four half-courses for graduate work of high quality done at another institution, provided these courses are in accepted fields. During the first two years at Harvard the candidate must pass sixteen half courses, with an average grade of B or above. These courses must include: the half-course Methods Seminar (History of Science 201); six additional half-courses in the history of science, of which at least two must be seminars at the 200-level; one half course seminar (at the 200/2000 level) outside the department. Students writing dissertations on a post-1800 topic are required to take two history of science courses on pre-1800 topics, and vice versa.

Program of Study — Studies for the PhDare thought of in terms of fields rather than merely in terms of courses. While each candidate is expected to become generally familiar with the whole subject of the history of science, more specifically, each candidate is expected to attain a demonstrable mastery both of the history of a single scientific discipline (e.g., chemistry, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geology, zoology, botany, health sciences, medicine, experimental psychology, or anthropology) and of either the history of the science of a particular epoch or the relations of science with, for example, society, technology, philosophy, or religion. In addition to these two fields, one oriented toward the history of a scientific discipline and the other oriented either toward a chronological period or toward the interdisciplinary relations of science, at least one additional field must be defined by the candidate in consultation with her or his advisor. Consistent with these aims, students are free to pursue graduate study of a scientific field (for residence credit).

Students must plan the “fields of study” that they intend to submit for the general examination. Study programs, courses, seminars, and fields of study are selected in consultation with the faculty advisor assigned to the student at the beginning of the first year of residence. By the end of the first term, but not later than the end of the second term of residence, all students must give their advisor a written plan for fulfilling the department’s requirements. At the end of the first year, and periodically thereafter, the student’s program, including written work, is reviewed by the department, and a determination is made of the student’s qualification for continuing graduate work.

All or part of these requirements may be waived if a student can present an equivalent preparation successfully completed elsewhere.

Languages — A good reading knowledge of two foreign languages is required. Ordinarily these languages are French and German. However, by petition one alternate language may be substituted. The student’s proficiency is tested by written examinations or as otherwise -specified by the department. As a rule, the student is expected to pass one language examination prior to the end of the first year of residency and the second language examination prior to the end of the second year of residency. The language requirement must be fulfilled by the time the student sits for the General Examination.

Teaching — As part of the program that prepares students for careers in teaching and research, the department requires each student to participate as a teaching fellow or course assistant in at least one course offered by a member of the department faculty.

General Examination — The General Examination, which is oral, will ordinarily be taken at the end of the fourth term. Prior to scheduling the General Examination, the student must submit for departmental approval an application to take the examination.

No encyclopedic command of detail is expected. Rather, the general exam committee will seek evidence of an understanding of the main intellectual developments within a branch of science, familiarity with the chief historiographic traditions associated with a particular content area, and the ability to set a particular branch of science within its institutional, political, and social contexts.

The General Examination ordinarily includes at least three fields:

1. The history of a recognized scientific discipline (e.g., astronomy, botany, chemistry, physics, psychology, etc.) during an interval covering at least two recognized historical periods (e.g., the history of physics from Aristotle to Newton, the history of biology from the Renaissance to Darwin).
2. Selected topics that bring the history of science into constructive dialogue with other theoretical traditions in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, cultural studies) or topics that address relations between the history of science and “other” histories (e.g., science and religion, science and philosophy).
3. One field outside the History of Science.

Dissertation — After passing the General Examination, generally in the fifth term, a candidate for the doctorate is required to submit to the department a dissertation proposal. The proposal should follow the departmental Dissertation Proposal Guidelines. The student should discuss a draft of the proposal with the intended dissertation advisor at least one month prior to submitting it to the administrative coordinator of graduate studies. In conjunction with her or his advisor, the student selects a prospectus committee, which gives its recommendation for the department’s approval. The names of faculty members ordinarily available for the direction of the doctoral dissertation are listed in the course catalogue under History of Science 300. The dissertation director is assigned by the faculty of the department in consultation with the student.

Work for the degree must be completed within a total of five years, or in certain fields where additional preparation is necessary, a total of six years. An extension is considered only upon submission of a petition to the department, showing just cause.

Advising — A student entering the program is assigned a preliminary, primary advisor
(the individual most likely to serve as dissertation director post-generals), who serves as the primary front-line advising resource for the student during the first two, and sometimes three, terms. In addition, all first year doctoral candidates will be assigned a continuing graduate student (post-generals) who will act as a peer mentor during the first year, helping the candidate to acclimatize to departmental expectations and routines.

Once the fields for generals have been set, the three persons who will be working with the student to prepare her or him for the exams are consolidated into a formal Generals Advising Committee. The coordinator of graduate studies, working with the student and primary advisor, will generally arrange for this committee to meet once with the student, generally some four-six weeks before the actual exam; outside examiners will have been informed by the department chair of this requirement at the beginning of the generals process. Following the successful completion of the generals exam, the committee will no longer meet, but will generally remain available as a collective resource until the dissertation prospectus, overseen by the primary advisor, has been completed.

When the student’s dissertation proposal has been approved by the full faculty (follow-ing a vetting by the dissertation prospectus committee), a Dissertation Advising Committee will be set up. This will generally consist of the primary advisor/dissertation director and at least two additional dissertation consultants. Two members of the dissertation committee must be members of the department. Together, these three individuals act as a collective intellectual resource for the student.

In addition, there is an expectation that the student will meet with each member of the dissertation advising committee, as convenient, each term and that the committee as a whole will meet with the student once each year to review progress until the student submits the dissertation. The annual meeting schedule can be modified at the student’s request, if a student is doing research abroad, or if other circumstances dictate a different rhythm of review.

The department offers strong programs in the main aspects of the history of Western art, in Islamic and Asian art, and in architectural history as well. Approximately 20 scholars constitute the regular teaching staff.

While the department has long been a center for advanced research, its faculty also conducts undergraduate instruction for both concentrators in history of art and architecture and students of the College in general. History of Art and Architecture doctoral candidates are often invited to participate in these programs as teaching fellows and tutors, and thereby gain valuable pedagogical experience as well as financial aid. The Harvard University Art Museums also offer students the opportunity to serve as curatorial assistants.

The many colleges, museums, and commercial galleries in the greater Boston area provide a stimulating environment for study and research. Students may enroll for credit in graduate courses in the history of art and architecture offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, the department regu-larly invites authorities from other universities and museums to offer instruction in Cambridge, and the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture in the History and Theory of Art each year brings outstanding authori-ties to the campus for lectures and meetings with students and faculty.

Collections of Western, Asian, and Ethnographic art housed in the Harvard museums enrich the student’s training by providing fine original works of art for study. The Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Study offers instruction in the history of techniques and materials. Harvard’s library holdings include more than 200,000 books on art and archaeology, more than 800,000 photographs and slides, and an extensive collection of rare books and manuscripts. Finally, students of history of art and architecture are encouraged to take full advantage of the University’s course offerings in the humanities and social sciences and the rich intellectual and cultural life of the campus at large.

Harvard University’s program of financial assistance to graduate students is among the most generous in the country. The program is administered directly by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in consultation with the department. The Graduate School strives to insure that all students have sufficient resources from the University or elsewhere to support them for the entire period of work toward their degrees—and not merely at the beginning.

Teaching fellowships are available to students who conduct section meetings in introductory courses or instruct small groups of undergraduates in the department’s tutorial program. Teaching fellowships are not awarded to students in their first or second year of residence.

Scholarship funds for residence in Cambridge or for foreign travel are available from endowments restricted to the department’s use. Harvard graduate students in the history of art and architecture also receive aid from outside sources such as Fulbright programs, Merit Scholarships, the American Academy in Rome, the Japan Foundation, and fellowships administered by the National Gallery in Washington. As the costs of graduate training and foreign study continue to rise and University resources come under increasing pressure, students are urged to exert individual initiative in seeking funding from sources outside of the University.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Prerequisites for Admission — The department seeks students who have strong motivation for the study of the visual arts and the ability to develop as professional scholars. A college major in art history is a desirable but not necessary prerequisite to admission to graduate study here. The department welcomes students who have received sound training in other branches of the humanities or other disciplines, or who have engaged in practical work in museums and galleries.

Master of Arts (AM) — The department does not admit candidates for a terminal AM degree. PhD candidates may, however, apply for a master’s degree after having completed, with satisfactory grades, eight half-courses. The degree may also be offered to students unable to complete the doctorate.

Qualifying Paper

The qualifying paper (QP) is required of all students, even those who have completed a master’s thesis elsewhere. Emphasis is placed upon the student’s independence of thinking and research, ability to use primary source materials, and proficiency in writing and presentation.

The QP will be written in the fourth term of residence. The QP will be a revised and in-depth version of a paper written for a HAA graduate seminar or any other course at Harvard in one of the preceding three terms. Papers written for courses at other institutions, before or during enrollment in the HAA program, are not admissible. The QP will be no longer than about 10,000 words; double-spaced; separate bibliography; standardized references and citations; illustrations with captions.

Program of Study

The doctoral program in History of Art and Architecture usually requires six to seven years to complete and is divided into four stages: course work, qualifying paper, General Examination, and dissertation. Ordinarily three years are spent in academic residence in Cambridge prior to beginning work on the dissertation. Dissertation research usually involves travel in America and abroad.

Coursework — To fulfill residence requirements students take 16 half-courses, chiefly in history of art and architecture. However, with the approval of their advisors, they may take courses in related fields.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requires all full-time students to
register for credit in four half-courses or equivalent study in each term. In order
for students to be in good standing, the department stipulates that they maintain a
B+ average in course grades.

History of Art and Architecture does not give credit for courses taken elsewhere, before coming to Harvard. Only in exceptional cases can the department depart from the rule. This requires: first, the consent of the intended thesis supervisor; second, the approval of the DGS to submit the request to the Faculty; third, the approval of the Faculty. Consideration of this request is given only after completing a full year of coursework.

Languages

For all fields, the Department’s minimum language requirement is a reading knowledge of two languages that are relevant to the student’s field of study and research interest (excluding his/her native language). The languages will have to be deemed necessary, and approved of, by a faculty member in the field and the DGS. The student will be required to provide proof of proficiency in the languages.

The requirements for languages should be met by the end of the fourth term. Two half courses of language study relevant to the field of study may be counted toward fulfilling departmental course requirements.

Language skills are a vital resource of the art historian, and those planning to apply to the department’s graduate program are urged to give high priority to language training. Since a single standard cannot be applied to all, students are expected to master the languages necessary for their own fields of specialization. Ideally, students should acquire competence in the required languages before entering the department’s graduate program.

General Examination

The General Examination will be taken no later than the sixth term in residence, typically in the spring term G3. The exams should take place during reading period of the spring term. Following completion of the qualifying paper and at least two months prior to the date of the examination, the student should consult with advisors and present to the department a written proposal describing the general and specific fields to be covered in the
examination.

The general field ordinarily consists of a combination of broad areas of art and architectural history such as Romanesque and Gothic, southern Renaissance and Baroque, 19th- and 20th-century Europe and America, medieval and early modern Japan.

The specific field is a narrower area of study chosen by the student and subject to faculty review; in principle it should comprise a coherent and clearly defined area of scholarly inquiry. Ordinarily this specific field will cover no less than 50 years.

The examination committee will ordinarily consist of three members, at least two of whom belong to the department faculty. They will be appointed by the faculty in consultation with the student and advisor. During preparation for the examination, students should meet regularly with the committee and, with its help, should formulate possible examination questions.

The examination is designed to test the students’ mastery of their scholarly fields and their ability to proceed to writing a dissertation. Students are allowed access to the library and to other resources while answering Parts
1 and 2.

The examination consists of four parts:

1. Written essay(s) (8 hours). Interpretation. General field. One or two questions designed to test the student’s grasp of broad art-historical issues.
2. Written essay(s) (8 hours). Methods and Historiography. Specific field. One or two
   questions designed to bring out the student’s knowledge of sources, both primary and secondary, and of methodological issues.
3. Oral examination (3 hours). Analysis of visual material. General field. The student will have one-and-a-half hours to examine eight to 12 works of art or sets of photographs in preparation for an oral discussion of all but one of them with the examination committee. The discussions may involve such issues as attribution, connoisseurship, contextualization, formal analysis, patronage, technique, and condition.
4. Oral examination (11/2 hours). Evaluation and review. Within one week of Part 3, the student and the examination committee will meet to evaluate the entire examination and discuss plans for the dissertation. Students whose performance on the examination is not satisfactory will be given one opportunity to repeat all or part of it.

Dissertation

Dissertation Proposal. The student should submit a dissertation proposal of no more than 1,500 words to the department for its approval within three months after passing the General Examination. This proposal, which outlines the proposed topic and plan
of research, will form the subject of a colloquium which will consist of a committee of no fewer than four faculty members and the student. Other interested faculty and students may attend. Students whose travel plans preclude participation after passing the General Examination must participate in a colloquium at the preceding period.

Students ordinarily devote three years to research and writing the dissertation, and complete it prior to seeking full-time employment. The dissertation will be judged according to the highest standards of scholarship, and should be an original contribution to knowledge and to the interpretation of its subject. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation distributed by the department and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. When the dissertation has been approved by the dissertation committee, a dissertation defense should be scheduled in agreement with the department, student, and dissertation committee.

Admissions

For admission and financial aid applications write to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center 350, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; phone (617) 495-5315 or e-mail to admiss@fas.harvard.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . We encourage online submission of the application.
See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS .

A writing sample in proposed field of study (if possible) and GRE scores are required for application for admission to the Department of History of Art and Architecture. The writing sample should consist of a single (one) document only of reasonable length. (A term paper or a chapter of a thesis, rather than the entire thesis.)

The proposed field of study should be specified on the application. Candidates have the option of specifying architecture as their main area of interest in any period or field.

The program is governed by a faculty committee drawn from the Departments of African and African American Studies, English and American Literature and Language, Government, History, History of Art and Architecture, History of Science, Music, and Sociology. The committee also includes professors from the Graduate Schools of Business, Design, Divinity, Education, Government, and Law.

Prerequisites for Admission

A general knowledge of American and European history and literature. Undergraduate study in the history of philosophy, political science, and sociology is recommended.

Requirements for the Degree

Academic Residence

A minimum of two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent). Normally a student is not permitted to engage in part-time study prior to the General Examination.
For the financial residence requirement, see the GSAS Guide to Admissions and Financial Aid.

Program of Study

The interdepartmental nature and purposes of the program require that students cut across departments in selecting courses. However, to ensure a coherent program of study, they should plan their schedules in consultation with the program chair.

All students are required to enroll in the Colloquium in American Civilization during the fall term of their first and second years. Among their courses students should include two courses in a coherent field from outside the United States (e.g., English literature; Latin American history; comparative gender).

In the course of their residence, all students will take two seminars. These seminars should be taken from among the offerings of two different departments. Normally the student will take one seminar in each term of the first year of residence.

The remainder of the student’s program (lecture courses, reading courses, and, with the approval of the chair, TIME) will consist of work in fields appropriate to the student’s general examination. (See under Examinations.) Reading courses and TIME are ordinarily not part of a student’s program until the second term of the second year. If such courses are taken earlier, 11 half-courses (lectures, conference courses, and seminars) must be completed by the end of the fourth term. All coursework and language requirements must be met before taking the oral exam. All programs must be approved by the chair.

Languages

Candidates for the degree must have a reading knowledge of two of the following languages: French, German, Spanish. Other languages may be substituted only with the permission of the committee. For example, on the basis of the student’s research interest and work with primary or secondary sources, knowledge of such languages as Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Yiddish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or an American Indian language may replace one of the languages generally required by the Program. No student may take the General Examination until the language requirements have been met.

The student must fulfill language requirements by passing two examinations given
by the History Department or the English Department; and in case of a substitution,
by passing an equivalent examination in a language department. Fellowships for developing language fluency are available for the summer between the first and the second year. Students are also encouraged to enroll in at least one course for credit in which advanced work with texts in other languages is undertaken.

One language examination must be passed in the course of the student’s first year of residence. Students who fail to do so may be denied continuation in the program.

Students who have one language requirement unfulfilled at the beginning of their second year of residence must pass a History or English department language examination in September of their second year. If they do not pass the language examination, they must enroll in an approved language course and pass a history or English department language exam in January. Students who have demonstrated fluency in one or more languages will receive a language citation with their PhD degree.

Grade Requirements

Students must maintain a grade average of B+ or better in each year of graduate work. Each student must do work of A or A- level in at least one seminar.

Examinations

Students must pass a two-hour oral examination conducted by four members of the faculty no later than the end of September in their third year. One hour of that exam will be devoted to the student’s major field, and one half-hour each to two minor fields.

The major field must cover the full chronological sweep in a single discipline such as history, literature, law, or musicology. Normally, there will be two examiners in the major field. They may divide the field chronologically or thematically as long as there is full coverage of themes central to teaching and scholarship in the discipline.

Minor fields should be chosen from two areas of study distinct from the major field.
A minor field may be defined chronologically or thematically as long as it covers a significant range of material, minimally a century. For example, a student whose major field is American literature and whose primary area of interest is 19th-century fiction, might prepare one minor field in 19th-century US history and another in 19th-century music. Or, a student whose major field is US history, and who plans to write a dissertation on race relations in the 1930s, might prepare a minor field in American protest literature over time and another in African American studies.

Field preparation should be seen as laying a broad foundation for future teaching and scholarship rather than as specific preparation for writing a dissertation. Although the pro-gram will supply guidelines, students should work closely with individual faculty in selecting courses appropriate to their fields and in designing reading lists for oral exams. In the semester before taking exams, they should submit their reading lists to the committee for approval.

If a student fails the oral examination, and the examining committee agrees that the student may retake it, the committee will set a date (not earlier than six months after the date of the first examination) by which the second examination must be taken.

Dissertation

After the general examination has been passed, the student will select a dissertation topic and arrange for dissertation advisors. The choice of a topic and advisors must be submitted to the committee for approval. Students must also submit a draft of the dissertation prospectus to their primary advisor no later than April 1 in their third year. The dissertation should be characterized by a familiarity with the historical treatment of two or more fields in the program. Before the end of May of their third year the student will present at a conference at which a discussion of the prospectus will take place before faculty and students in the program. Upon completion of two substantial chapters and upon recommendation of the advisors, students defend the finished part of the work as well as an outline for the completion of the dissertation in front of an audience consisting of faculty and students in the program as well as a broader academic public.

At least one month before the date set by the Graduate School for the deposit of dissertation for the award of the degree in November, in March, or at Commencement in June, the candidate must submit to the dissertation advisors a completed draft of the dissertation for final approval. Ordinarily the course of studies can be completed within six years. Any candidate for the degree who has not submitted a completed dissertation within five years after passing the General Examination will be dropped from candidacy unless, prior to the deadline, the candidate presents evidence that the dissertation can be finished within a specified extension and therefore receives an extension from the committee. See The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Academic Residence — The minimum academic residence requirement of graduate study in history at Harvard is two years of full-time study. For information on financial residence see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid.

Advising – When applying, students often make quite explicit statements regarding their research interests and the faculty with whom they wish to work. Based on this information, students are assigned an advisor with whom they consult from the point of initial enrollment. The advisor must approve the student’s plans of study in the first four terms, and is often the chair of both the general examination and dissertation committees. Effecting a change of advisors typically involves conversations with both the new advisor and the original advisor. Once an agreement has been reached, the coordinator of graduate studies must be informed.

Plan of Study — A candidate upon entering the first year must, before filing his or her study card with the registrar, submit a formal Plan of Study, approved by his or her faculty advisor, to the director of graduate studies. This plan will state the candidate’s choice of courses and language examinations during the first two years.
During these years, the candidate must take at least nine half-courses, chosen in consultation with his or her faculty advisor. Of these half-courses, at least six must be in history, and of these six half courses, two must be research seminars in history with letter grades. A minimum grade of B is required in eight courses; a grade of satisfactory is required in “The Writing of History: Approaches and Practices” in the fall term of his or her first full year of residence.
It is expected that students will ordinarily complete coursework in the term of enrollment in the course. Incompletes are not permitted in any course, unless there is a certified medical excuse.

Languages — Candidates admitted to graduate study in history will be required to show a satisfactory reading knowledge, met by a performance judged proficient or satisfactory on the departmental language examination, of at least two foreign languages. All incoming first-year students must take at least one language examination in September of their first year of graduate study, and the second in January of that year. All examinations must be completed prior to taking the General Examination. The required languages, based on the candidate’s historical field of research, are listed below:
African History — One European language (preferably French) and Arabic or another African language

Ancient History — French, German, Ancient Greek, and Latin

British History — French or German and one other European language

Byzantine History — French, German, Byzantine Greek, and Latin

Early Modern European History — French, German, and one other language (if required     for research)

East Asian History — Two East Asian languages, or one East Asian language plus German, French or Russian

International History — two major international languages, e.g., French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic

Latin American History — two of the following: Spanish, Portuguese, French, or German

Medieval History — Western Medieval and Renaissance History: French, German, and Latin

Middle Eastern History — French, German, and a Middle Eastern language

Modern European History — Modern History of Western and Central Europe: French or Russian and German; Modern History of Eastern Europe: French or German, and two approved languages pertinent to the area studied

Russian History — Modern Russian History: Russian and either French or German; Medieval Russian History: Russian, Old Church Slavonic, and either French or German

South Asian History — two South Asian languages (e.g., Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil) or one South Asian and one non-South Asian language (e.g., French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic)

United States History — two of the following at a satisfactory level, or one at a proficient level: French, German, or Spanish

Economic and Social History of Europe and the United States — French and German

Intellectual History of Europe and the United States — French and German

These examinations will be graded “proficient,” “satisfactory,” or “unsatisfactory,” and the grades will be part of the candidate’s record. Candidates who receive a grade of “unsatisfactory” on an examination will be required to take that examination again, ordinarily the next time it is offered. In case of another failure at that time, the candidate will be permitted to remain registered but will be expected to follow a program giving emphasis to further language preparation, ordinarily including a course offered by the appropriate language department. Failure to meet the requirement following this term of remedial study will oblige the candidate to study the language intensively during the fourth term. The candidate may be required to spend this term full-time in the study of the language not yet satisfactorily known.

No more than two half-courses in a foreign language will count for credit toward the degree.

Certification of competence in languages in which the Department of History does not offer examinations may be made by other departments or committees of the University.

Before approving a student’s dissertation topic, the chair, in consultation with the prospective dissertation director, must be sat-isfied that the candidate commands the necessary languages for the projected research.

General Examination — The purpose of the general examination is to expand and deepen students’ general historical knowledge, provide them with the tools to conduct research in history, and prepare them to teach. The examination is composed of four fields; the candidate is examined orally in each field for 30 minutes, so that the entire examination occupies two hours.

Guidelines for constructing fields:
1. Field definitions should be constructed with the guidance of the candidate’s advisor and individual examiners and must be approved by the director of graduate studies. Fields may be defined temporally within regions, nations or empires (e.g., Byzantine Empire, colonial Latin America, China since 1800) or thematically or comparatively (e.g., European intellectual history, comparative empires, comparative gender history, diasporic histories). Within each field, an encyclopedic knowledge of detail is not expected, but the candidate should demonstrate familiarity with the important problems and substantial mastery of the basic literature in each field.
2. Since the purpose of the general examination is to achieve breadth of knowledge, the selection of the four fields should be made with the aim of achieving range across time and space. Students are required to include an early and a modern field (with chronological coverage suitable to the particular regional frame). It is strongly recommended that all students present a field that includes a region of the world beyond their area of specialization
3a. Students whose main pursuit is European history will ordinarily cover three of the following four periods in their choice of fields: ancient, medieval, early modern, modern. If one examination field is outside the history of both Europe and the United States, however, fields in two of these temporal periods will suffice.
3b. Students whose main pursuit is United States history will ordinarily cover fields in the US to 1815 and the US since 1815. If one additional examination field is outside the history of both Europe and the United States, these two fields will suffice for temporal diversity.
3c. It is strongly recommended that students in Asian, African, Latin American, or Middle Eastern history, in addition to the early and modern fields in their area of specialization, present at least one field outside these areas, or an international or comparative field.
3d. Students are permitted to present a field outside the history department comparable in scope to departmental fields.
3e. A candidate may not present more than two fields in a single national history.

Preparation for Examinations
Candidates prepare for General Examinations both by taking graduate seminars and by arranging for reading courses (History 3010) with the faculty members who will serve as examiners in the several fields. Faculty members may conduct History 3010 either as individual tutorials or as small-group discussions (when several students are simultaneously preparing similar fields for examination). The four fields are prepared with four different faculty members, one of whom is ordinarily the primary advisor.

Examiners
Candidates may select a faculty member at the assistant professor level or above and must consult the graduate coordinator if proposing to select a faculty member outside the University.

Extensions
The examination is taken late in the fourth term. Candidates may petition the director of graduate studies for extension to the fifth term. The last possible extension, to the sixth term, requires a petition to the director, subject to the approval of the department. Candidates make examination arrangements with the graduate coordinator.

Evaluation
A candidate’s advisor ordinarily chairs the examination committee. The candidate determines the order of fields to be examined. At the conclusion of the examination, the chair will ask the candidate to wait outside the room while the committee deliberates. The candidate will be informed directly after the examination whether he or she has passed, and the department will follow up with official notification. The grade is final. The overall grade may be requested from the graduate coordinator one month after the examination date.

Interpretation of the Final Grade
The passing final grades are Excellent, Good, or Fair, and a plus or minus can be attached to each grade. A candidate can be failed with no bar to reexamination, or failed without the possibility of reexamination. If one fails the General Examination with no bar to reexamination, he or she will be allowed to take the examination a second time in the fifth or sixth term. The mark of Excellent is rare and represents an exceptional performance. A mark of Good shows a solid grasp of the historiography and problems of each field, with no significant weaknesses, although varying (Good Plus to Good Minus) in articulateness. A mark of Fair indicates significant weaknesses in at least some fields, and some difficulty in articulating historiography and problems.
The grade does not become public record; it is held internally by the department, not by the Office of the Registrar. It is used when assessing departmental nominations for Harvard fellowships but will not be a part of the candidate’s dossier for applying for academic positions.

Master of Arts (AM) – The interim AM degree is ordinarily awarded, by formal application, to doctoral candidates after they have met the coursework, language, and residency requirements.

Dissertation — As soon as possible after pass-ing the General Examination, and in no case later than two terms after passing it, doc-toral candidates must identify a dissertation director, a dissertation committee, settle on a dissertation topic, and, with the director’s approval, present a proposal on the subject of their projected dissertation to their committee members. The committee is composed of the director, who should ordinarily be a permanent member of the department, and two others, one of whom may not be a permanent member

After the fifth term, candidates are required to present their dissertation propos-als in a conference of faculty and graduate -students. Beginning in their fourth year, all students will present an annual statement of progress report to the members of their dissertation committee.

A prospective sixth-year or more advanced student must have a written statement from the supervisor of the dissertation indicating that there is satisfactory progress in research and writing.

An unbound copy of the completed dissertation must be distributed to each member of the dissertation committee no later than December 1 for the degree in March, April 1 for the degree in June, or September 1 for the degree in November. The final dissertation manuscript should conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

An oral defense of the dissertation is required. The defense committee will consist of the student’s dissertation committee plus one external member drawn from the Department of History, another academic department at Harvard, or from beyond the University. Prior to the oral defense, each member of the defense committee will write a detailed report on the dissertation. The defense itself should last approximately two hours. It will be open to the intellectual community of faculty and graduate students as well as any friends or family of the candidate. Once the dissertation has been successfully defended, the members of the dissertation committee will sign the dissertation acceptance certificate to which their written reports will be appended.

As of May 1994, an overall Graduate School of Arts and Sciences policy has been established that students will not be permitted to register beyond their tenth year in the Graduate School.

If eight years after passing the General Examination a candidate has not completed all the requirements for the degree, he or she may be dropped from candidacy. A candidate who has been dropped can be reinstated only by formal readmission to the Graduate School and to the Department of History.

This degree is intended for students seeking teaching careers in institutes of higher learning and/or research careers in health policy. Joseph P. Newhouse, John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management, is chair of the Committee on Higher Degrees in Health Policy that administers the program; Katherine Swartz, Professor of Health Policy and Economics, is director of graduate studies; Joan P. Curhan is director of the PhD Program in Health Policy, and Deborah Whitney is associate director.

Candidates for the PhD in health policy will generally be in residence for two years before undertaking qualifying examinations. Satisfactory completion of those examinations is a prerequisite for writing a dissertation. Students are strongly encouraged to remain
in residence in the Cambridge area until they have passed the dissertation proposal orals. How-ever, the program encourages students to remain in residence throughout the dissertation stage as well. Continuation of candidacy is contingent upon suitable progress and achievement during each academic year.

Please visit our Website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~healthpl. It is recommended that applicants obtain additional information about the PhD Program in Health Policy from Deborah Whitney, associate director, PhD Program in Health Policy, (617)-496-5506, deborah_whitney@harvard.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Admissions

A distinguished undergraduate record, as well as excellent performance in any graduate work undertaken, is required for admission to the PhD Program in Health Policy. Preference will be given to applicants who have had either some work experience or some graduate work after completion of a bachelor’s degree, although a previous graduate degree is not required. Scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) that are five years old or less are required for all applicants. In addition, applicants whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

The PhD Program in Health Policy is particularly committed to increasing the diversity of its doctoral student population. Minority candidates, including African-Americans-, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans are especially encouraged to apply.
Those wishing to apply to the MD program at the Harvard Medical School, as well as to the PhD Program in Health Policy, must apply separately to each program and indicate in the application to the PhD Program that a concurrent application has been submitted to the Harvard Medical School. Those admitted to both programs can combine some of the coursework to save time.

Similarly, applicants interested in the Coordinated JD/PhD program must apply to and be separately admitted to both the Law School and the PhD Program in Health Policy before applying to the Coordinated JD/PhD Program. Applicants should indicate in the application to the PhD Program that a concurrent application has been submitted to Harvard Law School.
Applicants are asked to

1. include a curriculum vitae or résumé with the application to the program;
2. indicate on a separate page in the application which area(s) of concentration and which policy area(s) within the program are of special interest; up to two areas of concentration may be specified; applicants interested in pursuing the medical sociology concentration should contact the Health Policy Program Office before applying for this concentration;
3. include letters of recommendation. Recommenders may submit letters online instead;
4. send fall term grades when available if attending school while applying to the program.

The application deadline is in mid-December for admission in the following fall.
To request admissions material, applicants should contact the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617) 495-5315. Prospective applicants may visit the GSAS Website (www.gsas.harvard.edu ) to apply online or to request an application.

Financial Aid

The department offers funding for financial support of graduate study, based both on need and merit. For example, thanks to grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Library of Medicine, the program can offer some traineeships to students who are US citizens or permanent residents of the US. As the program is committed to increasing the diversity of the doctoral student population, Harvard provides Graduate Prize Fellowships (tuition for five years in the program and a stipend for three years) to underrepresented minority applicants, with financial need, who are admitted to the program. Applicants are encouraged to apply for external grants and fellowships whenever possible. The program has created a list of fellowship opportunities in health policy, which will be sent to you upon request.

Degree Requirements

The PhD program has the following components:

• two years of coursework, including a core course
• concentration in one academic discipline (decision sciences, economics, ethics,     evaluative science and statistics, management, medical sociology, or political analysis) and specialization in one policy area (environmental health, health care services, international health, mental health, or public health)
• three one-term courses, chosen from three concentrations outside a student’s field of concentration. The statistics requirement (noted below) may be used to satisfy one of the three requirements, except for students concentrating in evaluative science and statistics
• two one-term courses in statistics
• one course in epidemiology
• written general and concentration examinations following two years of course work; the general exam may contain an oral component
• a weekly research seminar starting in the third year
• a dissertation prospectus and examination
• a dissertation based on research and a dissertation defense

Concentrations

Students in the PhD in health policy program choose a concentration and meet specific curriculum requirements in one of the following seven disciplines. For complete information on each concentration, including course requirements for each, please visit the program Website at: www.fas.harvard.edu/~healthpl.

Decision Sciences

(Professor Milton C.Weinstein, chair).Decision sciences are the collection of quantitative techniques that are used for decision making at the individual and collective level. They include decision analysis, risk analysis, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, decision modeling, and behavioral decision theory, as well as parts of operations research, microeconomics, statistical inference, management control, cognitive and social psychology, and computer science. The concentration in decision sciences prepares students for research careers that involve the application of these methods to health problems-.

Economics

(Professor Joseph P. Newhouse, chair). The concentration in economics focuses on the economic behavior of individuals; providers; insurers; and international, federal, state, and local governments and actors as their actions affect health and medical care. In addition to examining the literature on health economics, the training emphasizes microeconomic theory, econometrics, and interactions with other disciplines, including clinical medicine. The concentration prepares students for research and teaching careers as health economists.

Ethics

(Professor Norman Daniels, chair). The ethics concentration integrates quantitative, qualitative, and normative approaches to the analysis of ethical issues in health policy and clinical practice. Increasingly, the investigation of ethical issues in medicine and health policy has not only drawn on normative ethics and political philosophy, but has included empirical research concerning attitudes and practices in clinical and broader institutional settings. A grasp of normative theories and tools is important because ethical principles and approaches underlie, explicitly or implicitly, the formulation of particular health policies at both the macro and micro level. Students in this track will focus on developing skills in a range of disciplines, with the goal of evaluating how ethical and socio-cultural values shape—and should shape—health policies as well as clinical and public health practices. Students with a strong background in ethics and political philosophy will have a chance to deepen that understanding and apply it to issues in health policy while at the same time acquiring necessary quantitative skills. Students with degrees or training in related fields, such as law or medicine or public health, will acquire both normative and quantitative skills needed for research and teaching in ethics and health policy.

Research in health policy and ethics would include such topics as: policies for the allocation of scarce resources to individuals (e.g., human organs for transplantation, newly developed drugs, hospital beds) and across categories of patients (treatment vs. prevention for HIV/AIDS, or for HIV/AIDS vs. malaria); policies for care at the beginning and end of life; evaluation of informed consent protocols and their effectiveness; issues of equity in the evaluation of policies determining access to health services and the reduction of risk factors; policies responding to cross-cultural variation in ethical norms; ways in which health professionals are educated; policies regarding the balance between the individual and the collective (e.g., in bio-terrorism, epidemic control, etc.). While not abandoning the concerns of traditional work in bioethics, the program aims to produce students who are interested in the ethics of population health. Accordingly, students in this track will develop core skills for the conduct of both normative analysis and empirical research in ethics.

Evaluative Science and Statistics

(Professor Stephen B. Soumerai and Professor Alan M. Zaslavsky, co-chairs). The concentration in evaluative science and statistics includes research design, statistics and probability, and quantitative methods in biometry, economics, epidemiology, psychology, and sociology. This training enables students to design experiments and surveys, to perform health outcome assessment studies, to develop statistical models and analyses to evaluate these studies, and to make statistical inferences from observational data sets that arise from health policy and medical care processes. This concentration prepares students to evaluate alternative policy options in health care.

Management

(Professor Amy Edmondson and Associate Professor Robert S. Huckman, co-chairs). The management concentration prepares students to do research on the organizational, managerial, and strategic issues facing health care providers, payers, and other players in the health care market. Students in this track will learn how theories and concepts from fields such as technology and operations management, organizational behavior, organizational economics, and competitive strategy can be applied to health care organizations. Students in this track should have a strong interest in pursuing research on such issues as the design and improvement of health care delivery processes, approaches for improving health care quality and productivity, the development and adoption of new medical technologies, financial incentives in health care, the new role of patients as consumers in health care, the appropriate ownership and organizational structure of hospitals and other health care providers, and the management of professional health care staffs. We expect students completing this track to find jobs in academic and research institutions that have an interest in the impact of management on health care.

Medical Sociology

(Professor Peter V. Marsden, chair). In this concentration, students will learn about, and contribute to knowledge in, several research areas that are extremely important to health policy, including the study of professions and professional behavior, the structure of health care organizations and systems, the impact of organizational and professional change on the structure of medical work, organizational improvement programs and their evaluation, evaluation of intervention programs, the diffusion of innovations across providers and organizations, and the behavior of patients and consumers—including consumer evaluations of health care quality and patient perspectives on the process and outcomes of care.

Political Analysis

(Professor Robert J. Blendon, chair). This concentration is intended for students who wish to do research on the relationship between politics and health policy. Students will study theories of individual opinion formation, voting behavior, legislative organization, and interest group formation. In addition, students will examine the role of public opinion, interest groups, the media, and institutions in influencing health policy outcomes. The research methodologies most utilized in this track include survey research methods and quantitative statistical methods appropriate for large-scale databases. Graduates of this concentration will likely teach and do research on the politics of health care and will be involved with government, professional, and consumer groups on research projects related to the politics of public policy in the public health and health services fields.

Policy Areas

In addition to choosing a concentration, students specialize in one of five areas of policy interest:

Environmental Health

(Professor James Hammitt, chair). This area is designed for students whose interests relate to environmental pollution. Examples of topics for study include community right-to-know laws, marketable pollution permits, effluent fees, technology-forcing regulation, and mass toxic tort litigation.

Health Care Services.

This area is designed for students whose primary interests are access to health care, medical technology assessment, quality of health care, and the costs and financing of health care services.

International Health

(Professor David E. Bloom, chair). This policy area focuses on the economic determinants and consequences of health and health care in countries other than the US, especially less developed countries.

Mental Health

(Professor Richard G. Frank, chair). This area is designed for students who wish to specialize in mental health policy, including the financing of services, the roles of public and private sectors, and the links between mental health and human services.

Public Health

(Professor Sue J. Goldie, chair). This area is designed for students who are interested in policies directed at the rates of disease and injury in the population. Major topics include smoking behavior, control of alcohol abuse, mental health, traffic accidents, dietary and nutritional recommendations, occupational safety, gun control, control of infectious diseases including AIDS, and food and drug regulation.

Program of Study

The Virology Program includes graduate study in molecular cell biology, molecular genetics, structural biology, virology, and immunology. The core of the program is mentored laboratory research.

The 50 independent virology laboratories at Harvard offer a broad spectrum of research activities including the molecular mechanisms of virus effects in infection, latency, persistence, immune evasion, signal transduction, cell cycle control, transcriptional regulation, protein processing, macromolecular assembly, protein structure, immune responses, and pathogenesis, as well as the development and use of viral expression vectors in cell and developmental biology and medicine.

In their first and second years, students are advised by the Student Advisory Committee, which meets with the student at the beginning of each of the first three terms to discuss courses and laboratory research rotations or other academic matters of concern to individual students.

Students are expected to attain graduate-level competence in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and animal virology.

Students frequently take additional coursework in immunology and developmental biology. Students also do research in laboratories of their choice.

By the end of the third term, students will have completed three substantive research rotations, passed qualifying examinations, selected a thesis laboratory and begun thesis research.

For the remainder of the graduate program, students are engaged full-time in thesis research. It is anticipated that students will complete thesis research within four years.

For more program information, visit the Virology Program Webpage.

Academic Background

Applicants should have a firm background in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Introduction to Program and Program Rationale

The goal of the Systems Biology Program at Harvard University is to prepare investigators with diverse backgrounds for independent research careers in which combined theoretical and experimental approaches are used to address biological problems.

The program is administered by the Committee on Higher Degrees in Systems Biology, which comprises senior representatives from the Departments of Systems Biology (DSB), Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology (BCMP), Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB), and the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS). Students may choose advisors from any science department at Harvard, including the research departments of the 11 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals.

The Systems Biology program will engage graduate students in creating a new approach to biology, with the aim of explaining how the higher-level properties of complex systems appear from the interactions among their parts. Because both the field and the program are new, this program will require unusual levels of independence and creativity from its participants and attention from faculty in return.

The courses offered in the first year are intended to equip students to use appropriate experimental and theoretical approaches to develop physical and quantitative models of biological processes. Each of the courses offered by the Program will aim to emphasize concepts, unsolved problems and novel technology, and to develop an understanding of how and why theoretical approaches can drive new experiments and deliver novel insight. Students should leave the program better able to identify important unsolved problems in biology, and with an appreciation of how to select problems for which quantitative and theoretical approaches will be productive.

Students will meet participating faculty and hear about their research, both in formal lectures and in informal settings. After the first two years a student may choose a single faculty member as their advisor, or may elect to initiate a collaboration between two or more labs. The research topic chosen may be entirely theoretical, or entirely experimental, or anything in between.

For more information, please visit http://sysbio.med.harvard.edu/phd.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

The Office of Admissions and Financial Aid is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

A number of candidates will be invited to interview in late January. Final decisions concerning admission are made by the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the candidates are notified by letter from the Admissions Office.

Combined MD-PhD Program

Students admitted to Harvard Medical School as candidates for the MD degree may also apply for admission to the Systems Biology program in order to earn a PhD degree in systems biology.

This program may be of particular interest to prospective medical students with a strong theoretical background and to students enrolled in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Suggested Undergraduate Preparation

The Program aims to recruit students from a variety of backgrounds including all areas of biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. Students who are in doubt about whether their background is appropriate are encouraged to contact the Program Administrator with a resume.

Program of Study

Each student’s program of graduate study is planned in consultation with faculty advisors. The degree program is designed to be completed in a maximum of six years. The program consists of three parts:

Coursework

This will be designed, in consultation with faculty advisors, to meet the individual student’s needs. Four courses will be offered through the program:

(1) A Systems Approach to Biology
Introduces theoretical tools and computational approaches from mathematics, physics, computer science and engineering in the context of biological problems and situations.

(2) Systems Cell Biology
An exploration of modern basic cell biology and cutting edge research approaches that used chemical, physical or computational tools to address important problems.

(3) Introduction to Systems Biology Research
Introductory lectures by Systems Biology Program members. Weekly one and a half hour lectures will introduce the research areas of faculty performing research in systems biology.

(4) Special Topics in Systems Biology
An exploration of new directions for the field of systems biology. This course will identify major unsolved questions in biology and discuss the possible new approaches to these questions offered by systems biology.

In addition, a wide variety of courses taught at Harvard and MIT are available.

Students are required to take four courses during their first year; there are only 2 required courses: Special Topics in Systems Biology and Introduction to Systems Biology Research. Students are encouraged to continue to take courses in later years.

Lab rotations.

To facilitate choice of advisor(s), we recommend that students temporarily join research groups for periods of 6-12 weeks during their first year of study. Two to four “rotations” are allowed, with the last to be completed by summer of the first year, after which the student will select an area of research and one or more advisors.

Independent research

Acceptable modes of thesis research will include molecular/cell biology-type experiment-based research, computer science/math/physics/engineering theoretical research, and combinations of the two. The program will not attempt to constrain students to thesis research in the traditional formats of systems biology’s parent disciplines. Collaborative research will be encouraged.

Dissertation Qualifying Examination

By spring of the second year, students will be required to submit a brief discussion of the research they wish to undertake. At the same time, they will form a Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC). At the first meeting of the DAC, the research proposal will be reviewed and the student will be required to defend it.

Dissertation

Independent research begins once the qualifying examination is successfully completed. The DAC, in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor(s), will periodically evaluate the progress of the student’s dissertation research and will determine at what point the student is ready to defend his or her dissertation.

The final manuscript of the dissertation must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the Doctoral Thesis.

Participating Faculty and Their Research Interests

A total of 39 members of the Harvard faculty are currently affiliated with the Systems Biology Program; dissertation research with other faculty members is possible by arrangement.

Introduction to Program and Program Rationale

The goal of the Systems Biology Program at Harvard University is to prepare investigators with diverse backgrounds for independent research careers in which combined theoretical and experimental approaches are used to address biological problems.

The program is administered by the Committee on Higher Degrees in Systems Biology, which comprises senior representatives from the Departments of Systems Biology (DSB), Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology (BCMP), Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB), and the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences (DEAS). Students may choose advisors from any science department at Harvard, including the research departments of the 11 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals.

The Systems Biology program will engage graduate students in creating a new approach to biology, with the aim of explaining how the higher-level properties of complex systems appear from the interactions among their parts. Because both the field and the program are new, this program will require unusual levels of independence and creativity from its participants and attention from faculty in return.

The courses offered in the first year are intended to equip students to use appropriate experimental and theoretical approaches to develop physical and quantitative models of biological processes. Each of the courses offered by the Program will aim to emphasize concepts, unsolved problems and novel technology, and to develop an understanding of how and why theoretical approaches can drive new experiments and deliver novel insight. Students should leave the program better able to identify important unsolved problems in biology, and with an appreciation of how to select problems for which quantitative and theoretical approaches will be productive.

Students will meet participating faculty and hear about their research, both in formal lectures and in informal settings. After the first two years a student may choose a single faculty member as their advisor, or may elect to initiate a collaboration between two or more labs. The research topic chosen may be entirely theoretical, or entirely experimental, or anything in between.

For more information, please visit http://sysbio.med.harvard.edu/phd.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program of Study

The members of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) share a common interest in understanding the structure, function, and variation of biological systems.

The research interests of the OEB faculty include the flow of energy and material through ecosystems, the development and structure of communities and populations, the diversity of plant, animal, and microbial groups, and the mechanisms that have permitted diversity to evolve.

These studies span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and include many different levels of biological organization. A variety of theoretical, descriptive, and experimental approaches are used in the laboratory and field studies carried out by members of OEB. There is representation in anatomy, behavior, biogeochemistry, development, functional morphology, physiology, paleontology, population genetics, molecular evolution, systematics, and the biology of global change.

The Harvard University Herbaria and the Museum of Comparative Zoology house essential libraries, extensive natural history collections, and experimental laboratories that are utilized by faculty and students of the department. Other resources include the Harvard Forest and the Arnold Arboretum.

More program information is available at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Website.

Academic Preparation

Applicants should have the equivalent of seven full (two-term) courses in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or geology, at least a third must be intermediate-level courses.

GRE General scores are required. GRE subject scores are recommended. Foreign students should have first class honor degrees, recent TOEFL scores of at least 550, or hold a degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction.

OEB has relatively few requirements, generally designed to ensure that entering students have a broad background. These include: college-level calculus, statistics, a reasonable combination of courses in cell biology, molecular biology, and genetics, and courses on the biology (including lab work) of at least two kingdoms.

If deficiencies in an applicant’s academic background warrant, courses may be prescribed by the Graduate Committee. These will be identified at the time of the offer of admission.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program of Study

The Neuroscience Program offers comprehensive training across the spectrum of neurosciences, ranging from cellular and molecular processes at the foundation of neural function and development, to integrative processing in the central nervous system, and mechanisms and treatment of human neurologic disease.

Students in the Neuroscience Program have access to neuroscientists across the entire university, including a large group of clinical and basic science faculty at Harvard Medical School, Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research centers, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The faculty’s diverse research interests include neurophysiology and biophysics, neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, genetic and molecular biological approaches to the nervous system, immunology, psychiatry, diseases of the human nervous system, and related areas.

The Neuroscience Program is housed in the Department of Neurobiology; graduates of the Neuroscience Program obtain their PhDs in neurobiology.

The approximately 15 students entering the program each year take a sequence of courses offered by the Program in Neuroscience faculty as well as appropriate courses in related fields.

Students usually complete rotations in three laboratories during their first year in order to obtain appropriate experience to guide the selection of a thesis advisor.

For more program information, visit the Neuroscience Program Webpage.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program Mission

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
(MCB) provides students with a sophisticated and rigorous program in a
multidisciplinary environment, enabling students to become independent,
creative, and productive researchers.

MCB
hosts two interdisciplinary training programs: Molecules, Cells and
Organisms (MCO) and Engineering and Physical Biology (EPB). Both
programs take advantage of the university’s outstanding faculty and
extensive laboratory resources to provide pre-doctoral students with a
solid foundation in the concepts and scientific approaches used in
laboratories today to prepare them for a future at the forefront of
life sciences.

MCB students in both training
programs spend their first year taking courses and doing research
rotations. By the end of the first year, students select a faculty
thesis advisor and begin independent research.

Undergraduate Preparation

Entering
students should have a record of introductory courses in chemistry,
biology, physics, and mathematics. The following courses are not to be
regarded as prerequisites for admission to graduate study, but most
admitted students have completed them during their undergraduate years:
biology (a general course in biology and two terms of biology at a more
advanced level), biochemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry,
laboratory in biology, biochemistry, or instrumental analysis, physics
(general elementary course), and mathematics (basic knowledge of
differential and integral calculus).

Competence in elementary programming is also desirable.

Admissions

Students
considering graduate work should request an application from the Office
of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences. Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program of Study

Faculty
participating in the Molecules, Cells and Organisms (MCO) training
program come from the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology,
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology,
and Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, as well as the Center for
Systems Biology, the Center for Brain Science, and the Harvard Stem
Cell Institute.

MCO training
involves an initial exposure to a broad sweep of fundamental problems
at every level through a set of core courses, followed by deep
immersion in focused areas. Incoming MCO students are required to take
three core courses during the first semester, corresponding to three
track concentrations: Genetics, Genomics and Evolutionary Biology (MCB
291); Cellular, Neuro and Developmental Biology (MCB 292); and
Physical, Chemical and Molecular Biology (MCB 293). The objective of
these courses is to provide students with a broad foundation in the
life science disciplines and prepare them for a future in science that
will undoubtedly draw from many disciplines in biology. In addition,
these courses will help students choose a specific track for elective
courses to be taken in the second semester, and also to choose their
lab rotations. A course in quantitative methods and approaches to
biological problems is required in the second semester of the first
year. The intent of this requirement is to strengthen the mathematical
skills necessary to approach complex problems in modern biology. The
formal class work and research components of the program are
complemented by a rigorous advising and mentoring program, which
includes a required yearly written and oral progress report, journal
clubs and a permanent non-thesis advisor.

Pre-doctoral students in Molecular and
Cellular Biology continue to interact with students in their cohort
even after joining a laboratory. With “nanocourses,” monthly journal
clubs, and annual retreats, among other activities, fellow students
will continue to share in each others’ research and discovery
processes, and will maintain a broad exposure to advances in life
science research outside of their home laboratory.

Students may also cross-register in courses offered by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A shuttle bus serves
Harvard and MIT.

Laboratory Rotations

In
the first year, MCB students spend their first term carrying out
experimental research in the laboratories of faculty members.

During
the laboratory rotations, students are able to interact with individual
faculty members and explore possible subjects for future thesis
research. A minimum of three laboratory rotations are required, two of
which must be with faculty participating in the Molecules, Cells and
Organisms (MCO) Training Program. During these rotations, students
interact with individual faculty members and explore possible subjects
for future dissertation research. The first two rotation periods are in
the Fall term, and the third is in the Spring. With prior departmental
approval, students may choose to carry out an additional rotation
during the summer preceding their first year, or additional rotations
following the Spring Term.

Program of Study

Recent rapid advances have transformed immunology from an adjunct to the diagnosis and control of infection into a major field of biology and medicine. The problems posed by studying the immune response and its role in inflammation and resistance to malignancy and infection attract scientists from every discipline. The Immunology Program offers education and research in a wide range of areas, including molecular genetics, cell activation, immunochemistry, cellular immunology, tumor immunology, allergic inflammation, immunogenetics, immunoparasitology, and immune deficiency.

Programs of study take into account the interests and goals of the individual student and may stress either the more chemical aspects of proteins, their synthesis, structure, and interaction, or the more biological aspects such as cell growth, cell control, and cell interaction. Students take both courses and at least three laboratory rotations. Students are expected to participate in weekly research seminars and journal clubs.

An oral qualifying exam is taken during year two. Students conduct thesis research, which can be carried out in a number of fields, including, but not limited to, the analytical study of lymphocyte receptors, activation and differentiation, cytodynamics of antibody formation, the mechanisms underlying methods of altering the immune response, the reactions and chemical mediators of immediate and delayed immune responses, and the immunogenetics of tissues and tumors.

For more information on the program, go to the Immunology Webpage.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program Description

The Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology (CCB) offers a program of study leading to the degree of doctor of philosophy in chemistry.  An interdepartmental PhD program in chemical physics is also available.  The graduate student joins a diverse scientific community composed of about 200 graduate students, 200 postdoctoral fellows, and 21 core faculty members.  The Department’s faculty and its affiliated student scientists share a rich training in the unique tools of chemical inquiry and commitment to scientific investigation at the molecular level.  Doctoral research, based on the student’s own interests and those of the faculty supervisor, is concerned with problems of intrinsic interest and importance at the frontiers of chemical science.

The Department’s home research facilities are located in six buildings on the beautiful and historic main Harvard campus: Mallinckrodt, Conant, Converse, Naito, Bauer, and the Mallinckrodt/Hoffman “Link.”  These laboratories are adjacent to the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Center for Genomic Research, and to the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Nearly all CCB faculty are affiliated with multiple cross-departmental programs and research centers at Harvard.  Additionally, considerable opportunity exists for participation in other departments and groups at MIT, and at other research centers in the Boston area.

For more information, please visit www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs/degree/chem.html and www.chem.harvard.edu

Admissions & Financial Support

The Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology admits students with a record of classroom and laboratory training in biological, organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry.  We expect students to possess a strong enough grounding in chemistry to perform well on the required Chemistry GRE subject exam, and to be thoughtful enough about the discipline of chemistry to communicate their desire to pursue doctoral research in our department.

CCB does not require an interview.  Applicants must take the GRE general and chemistry examinations.  These must be taken no later than November of the year prior to admission and preferably earlier so that score reports arrive by the December application deadline.

Prospective students should submit their applications online whenever possible at www.gsas.harvard.edu/admissions/.  We also ask the student’s recommenders to submit their letters online whenever possible.

The Department hosts official Friday visits in March for prospective students who have been offered admission to the program.  An invitation to attend our “G-0 Visits” will be extended by the admissions administrator for the Chemistry & Chemical Biology Department, Kathy Weldon weldon@chemistry.harvard.edu .

CCB meets the financial needs (tuition and stipend) of its graduate students through department scholarships, department fellowships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and independent outside fellowships.  Financial support is awarded on a 12-month basis, enabling students to pursue their research throughout the year.  Tuition and stipend is guaranteed to all graduate students whose academic standing and research work is satisfactory.

Program of Study and Formal Academic Requirements

Coursework

During orientation week, students will formulate a plan of study in consultation with a member of the Curriculum Advising Committee.  It is expected that required coursework be completed no later than the end of the third term in residence.  Students must pass four advanced half-courses in chemistry and/or related fields with average grades of B or higher.

Laboratory Rotations

Students are expected to complete 3 four-week laboratory rotations in the first semester of their first year.  The goal of lab rotations is to give first-year students an opportunity to engage in a variety of areas in chemistry and to become familiar with both the science and the environment of different laboratories in the CCB department.

Second-Year Research Proposal and Oral Examination

During their second year, CCB students will write an original research proposal of no more than five pages in length.  The topic of the research proposal may or may not coincide with the topic of the student’s thesis research, but the content must be well-conceived and original.  The student subsequently delivers an oral presentation of the proposal to a faculty Graduate Advising Committee (GAC) and answers questions about the proposal and allied areas.

The purpose of the research proposal and oral examination is:

• to provide students with an opportunity to think deeply and creatively about a significant problem in chemistry or chemical biology, and to propose how that problem can be addressed experimentally;

• to provide students with an opportunity to develop and present research ideas and results in a professional manner;

• to encourage in depth analysis and advice from faculty members, as well as provide a formal mechanism for students to receive constructive feedback.

Teaching Requirement

Beginning in the second semester of their first year, all students are expected to teach for two semesters.  With the research advisor’s approval, a student may also teach in subsequent semesters.

Thesis Research and Advising

After laboratory rotations have been successfully completed, students will select a thesis advisor, who will then assume the responsibilities of directing the student’s doctoral research.

Over the course of their graduate careers, students are required to participate in a “2-4-6 Graduate Advising Committee” (GAC) advisory structure.  In their second year of residence, students are expected to present and defend a research proposal before their GAC (see above).  In addition, students are expected to meet with the GAC in the fall term of their fourth and sixth years.  The objective of these meetings is to bring focus to the timely completion of degree requirements, to foster faculty-student interactions, and to provide career counseling.

The doctoral degree in CCB is designed to take between five and six years to complete.  The PhD dissertation is based on independent scholarly research, which, upon conclusion, is defended in an oral examination before a PhD committee.

Participating Faculty and Their Research Interests

A complete directory (searchable by research interest, name, and title) of faculty affiliated with the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology can be found at the HILS Faculty Directory’s CCB listing.

Program Rationale

The goal of the Chemical Biology Program is biological discovery, and its approach is the seamless integration of principles and experimental techniques drawn from both chemistry and biology.

The focus of chemical biology is on biology, which distinguishes it from traditional chemistry, and it uses chemical tools, which distinguishes it from traditional biology. The field also has deep connections with medicine and pharmacology.

The program spans the current Cambridge and Boston campuses and will engage HMS faculty from the Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Microbiology and Genetics, Systems Biology, and Cell Biology Departments; FAS faculty from the Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology Departments; and affiliated institutions, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

The Chemical Biology Program will equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical approaches to use or develop chemical tools for understanding biological processes.

Courses offered by the program will emphasize concepts, unsolved (or partially solved) problems, and novel technology along with an understanding how and why chemical approaches can drive new experiments and deliver novel insight. Students should leave the program better able to identify important unsolved problems in biology and with an appreciation of how to choose problems for which chemical approaches will be productive.

For more information, please visit http://chembio.med.harvard.edu/.

Academic Background

Chemical Biology will admit students with strong backgrounds in chemistry or biology. Those with biological backgrounds will need to learn the requisite chemical skills, and those with chemical backgrounds will need to acquire a deep understanding of how biological systems function.

The program’s first priority, then, is to give physical scientists a sense of what the important problems are and how they have been attacked until now and give the biologists a foundation in the underlying chemical principles with which they will need to be familiar, and a sense of the theoretical and practical tools available.

Program of Study and Formal Academic Requirements

The objective of the Chemical Biology Program is to prepare investigators with diverse background for independent research careers in which the concepts and methods of chemistry are applied to biological problems. This objective will be met through individually designed programs involving formal courses both in the Chemical Biology Program and in related fields, rotations in different labs, qualifying examinations, proposal preparation, independent research, and thesis writing.

Three basic courses that define the intellectual tools of the field and case studies of their application are: “Cell Biology for Physical Scientists”; “Organic Chemistry for Biologists”; and “Strategies in Chemical Biology.”

Laboratory Rotations

Students will be expected to complete a minimum of two laboratory rotations, preferably one in a laboratory with a strong biological emphasis and another in a laboratory with a strong chemical emphasis.

Rotations will be of sufficient length to accomplish a substantial body of work, and additional rotations beyond the minimum two would be encouraged.

Laboratory rotations will be approved by the director (co-directors) with some decisions being referred to the entire Committee on Higher Degrees in Chemical Biology (CHDCB). At least one (and preferably two) of the rotations should be in the laboratory of a CB program member.

Preliminary Qualifying Exams

The qualifying examination ensures that the student is prepared to under take thesis research and is normally taken by the end of the third term of residence. The exam will be an oral exam administered by three (or more) faculty members.

The committee should have two members who are CB program members. The exam will emphasize general knowledge, reasoning, ability to formulate a research plan, and ability to engage in high-level scientific discourse.

Teaching Requirement

All students are required to serve as a teaching assistant for one course by the end of their second year of graduate study. The course should be relevant to chemical biology but need not be one of the core courses.

Thesis Research and Advising

Before beginning thesis research, a student must pass one Harvard course in each of five subject areas; do satisfactory work in two laboratory rotations; and submit and defend an original research proposal. The purpose of the oral defense of the qualifying research proposal is to ensure that the student is adequately prepared to embark on thesis research. The exam is usually taken in the fourth term of residence, before the chair and two examiners knowledgeable in the field of the research proposal. Reexamination will be permitted. As a rule, students will not be permitted to enter the third year of graduate study unless the qualifying examination has been passed.

After the initial courses and laboratory rotations have been successfully completed, a student will select a field of study. Most students will also select a thesis advisor, who will then take on the remaining responsibilities of the academic advisor and direct the student’s doctoral research.

A few students may wish to design their own thesis projects taking advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of chemical biology. These students will need to propose a research plan to their academic advisors. The academic advisor will consult with the CHDCB as to the wisdom of proceeding with such a plan. Criteria for approval of a student for this program will include the degree of interaction with the faculty in both formal class settings and more informal settings along with the originality and feasibility of the proposed research plan. For these students, the academic advisor will serve on the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC).

In consultation with their thesis advisor or academic advisor, each student will nominate a TAC to oversee the progress of their research. In most cases, this will be done at the beginning of the student’s third year. The TAC membership will be approved by the CHDCB. At the same time, the student’s proposed program of research will be reviewed and approved in writing by the TAC. The TAC will meet with the student at least once per year to review progress and offer advice.

On receipt of the thesis, the CHDCB chair will appoint a reading committee of three to judge the thesis. The thesis defense is composed of two parts: the public seminar and the private defense. In the private defense, the candidate will be questioned on the subject of the thesis and its relation to the student’s special field and collateral subjects. If the reading committee is unable to agree on its recommendations, the question of accepting the thesis will be decided by the CHDCB.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Students are encouraged to submit their application on-line. Please make it clear that you’re interested in the Chemical Biology Program 9000.  Please refer to the GSAS Admissions Page for further information on applying.

Program of Study

The biophysics program prepares investigators with diverse backgrounds for independent research careers in which the concepts and methods of physical science are applied to biological problems.

Owing to the interdepartmental nature of the program, research may be pursued on the Cambridge campus (including within the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Physics, and in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or the Boston campus, including the Harvard Medical School, Division of Medical Sciences, and the 11 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.

To nurture independent, creative scientists, the first part of the program seeks both to introduce the student to the faculty members and their research directly, enabling the student to make a considered choice of research advisor, and to involve the student in the diverse areas of biophysics through laboratory as well as coursework. These first two years provides a background for the second part of the program in which the student trains to be an independent scientist by a period of intensive research, culminating in publications and the PhD degree.

Most graduates of the biophysics program at Harvard have been undergraduate majors in physics or physical chemistry, though a few have come from biology. Consequently, the course requirements for admission are flexible.

Each student’s program of graduate study is planned in consultation with a faculty advisor.

The degree program is designed for completion in a maximum of six years. The first-year training provides an introduction to five diverse areas of biophysics: structural molecular biology, cell and membrane biophysics, molecular genetics, physical biochemistry, and neurosciences.

The curriculum includes learning experiences in a laboratory environment as well as coursework.

The program is flexible, and special effort has been devoted to minimizing formal requirements.

In the first ten weeks of the fall term, faculty members associated with the biophysics program give seminars describing the current research interests of their own laboratories. Following this, a student spends six-week periods in each of three different laboratories.

To make sure that the student gains familiarity with several fields of biophysics, each of the three laboratory experiences usually are selected from a different one of the areas of biophysics listed below.

It will also be possible to work on a suitable problem in mathematical biophysics in place of one of the three laboratory rotations. For more details on this and other aspects of the program, go to the Biophysics Program Website.

Students with the MD Degree

Students who already have the MD degree will find an opportunity to improve their knowledge of basic science in either of two ways. Opportunities may be available in the several departments to engage in investigations as a research fellow under the direction of a member of the faculty. No university credit toward a degree is given for such work. Questions concerning the appointment of research fellows should be directed to the faculty members.

Under special circumstances, students who have received the MD degree may become candidates for the PhD degree in biophysics, providing their qualifications for admission are approved and providing they are prepared to fulfill the normal requirements for the degree.

Combined MD-PhD Program

Students admitted to Harvard Medical School, as candidates for the MD degree, may also apply for admission to the biophysics program in order to earn a PhD degree in biophysics. This program may be of particular interest to prospective medical students with a strong background in physics and to students enrolled in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Suggested Undergraduate Preparation

Courses in math, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, and biochemistry would provide an ideal background for a student’s coursework in specialized areas of biophysics. No undergraduate major would have taken all these courses in college.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Programs and Disciplines

The Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH), established in 1993, trains leaders who possess expertise in the individual fields of biological research and a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics.

The program trains research scientists in the following areas of emphasizing cellular and molecular biology: nutritional biochemistry; cardiovascular biology; gene regulation; cell-environment interactions; radiobiology; genetic toxicology; carcinogenesis; pulmonary inflammation; immunology; infectious diseases: protozoa, helminths, viruses and bacteria; genetic approaches to disease mechanisms.

Students apply cutting-edge technology to the solution of worldwide problems with a focus toward better treatment and prevention of human diseases. It has become increasingly evident that progress in disease prevention is optimally promoted by a close interaction between epidemiologists and laboratory scientists, where laboratory discoveries and epidemiological observations interact in an iterative manner to advance research in both fields.

This program includes faculty from the school’s Departments of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Environmental Health, Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Nutrition, in addition to faculty at Harvard Medical School and other Harvard-associated institutions. This interdisciplinary program fosters a stimulating and supportive environment for research training in the biomedical sciences.

The BPH program is rooted in the rich and diverse environment of the Harvard School of Public Health, dedicated to advancing the public’s health through learning, discovery, and communication.

The field of public health is inherently multi-disciplinary and so, too, are the interests and expertise of the School’s faculty and students, which extend across the biological, quantitative, and social sciences. With our roots in biology, we are able to confront the most pressing diseases of our time—AIDS, cancer, and heart disease—by adding to our knowledge of their underlying structure and function. Core quantitative disciplines like epidemiology and biostatistics are fundamental to analyzing the broad impact of health problems, allowing us to look beyond individuals to entire populations. And, because preventing disease is at the heart of public health, we also pursue the social sciences to better understand health-related behaviors and their societal influences—critical elements in educating and empowering people to make healthier lifestyle choices.

From advancing scientific discovery to training national and international leaders, the Harvard School of Public Health has been at the forefront of efforts to benefit the health of populations worldwide. Shaping new ideas in our field and communicating them effectively will continue to be priorities in the years ahead as we serve society’s changing health needs.

Research Facilities

Located in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, the program brings together faculty in the biological sciences throughout Harvard University.

The Medical Area, which includes the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and a cluster of hospitals, comprises one of the most concentrated areas of scientific research facilities in the world.

The interaction of faculty working at associated institutions, through joint teaching and research, enables the program to serve as a meeting place for the biological, medical, physical, and chemical scientists. This provides students and faculty alike with a wider range of experience and techniques than may be found in any single discipline or department.

At the Harvard School of Public Health alone, modern research laboratories are housed on 14 floors of three buildings. Students have access to the adjacent Countway Library, the most complete biomedical research collection in the nation.

The main Harvard University campus in Cambridge encompasses a wide variety of strong academic departments and facilities in the humanities and sciences. The program specifically interacts with the biological sciences programs in the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Biophysics.

Program of Study

The program offers opportunities in a wide range of laboratory experiences and considerable interaction among the program components. Academic programs fulfill needs and goals through core and advanced courses, seminars, rotations in laboratories, and a qualifying examination. Courses may be chosen from the offerings of Harvard University as well as from those of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Rotations are an integral part of each program; they allow students to investigate several types of research and laboratories before choosing a thesis laboratory. Students choose a thesis laboratory by the end of their first year.

Although individual programs vary, generally students take a qualifying examination during their second year. After successful completion of the qualifying examination, the thesis advisor supervises the doctoral candidate’s research and study, with an advisory committee periodically reviewing progress.

Typically, about four years of laboratory work are needed to complete the thesis research, which is defended before three examiners. Generally, students complete the degree in five to six years.

Undergraduate Background

To qualify for admission, applicants must demonstrate strong enthusiasm and ability for the vigorous pursuit of scientific knowledge. Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in calculus, physics, biology, and chemistry, both physical and organic.

Applicants wishing to do research in nutritional biochemistry, molecular and cellular toxicology, cardiovascular biology, immunology and infectious diseases, radiation biology, and environmental health/physiology usually apply to the Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) program.

Programs and Disciplines

The department-affiliated BPH program components at the Harvard School of Public Health are described below.

Environmental Health

Physiology

The concentration focuses on normal and pathological functions of organisms. It centers on the respiratory system because the system presents an immense, thin surface area to the environment, and thus is an important route of entry to the body as well as a site of damage from toxins and infections.

Areas of study include mediators and adhesion molecules involved in inflammation; the effects of inhaled particles; lung infections; biomechanics of cells and tissue in normal and inflamed lungs; smooth muscle function in asthma; control of breathing; sleep-related breathing disorders; mechanisms of dyspnea and respiratory sensations; cardiovascular pathobiology; and epithelial cell, macrophage, lymphocyte, and neutrophil lung biology. The biology is broadly based, ranging from molecular and cell biology to integrated organismic, environmental, and comparative physiology.

The concentration integrates a range of scientific disciplines, including physics, bioengineering, physiology, biomathematics, cell biology, molecular biology, clinical science, and epidemiology. By working within this rich interdisciplinary environment, students learn many measurement technologies, discover a variety of disciplinary approaches, and develop mature scientific thinking.

Special facilities are available, including a confocal microscope, analytical electron microscopes, a flow cytometer, a sleep laboratory, and a sensation laboratory.

The program is designed to prepare students for research careers in respiratory physiology, cell and molecular biology, or bioengineering. Graduates ordinarily assume positions as faculty members and research scientists in graduate schools, medical schools, research institutes, or schools of public health. Career opportunities in the biological sciences as they apply to public health are expected to grow in academia and in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Genetics and Complex Diseases

The complex interplay of biological processes with environmental factors as they apply to chronic, multigenic, and multifactorial diseases is the focus of the new Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases. Department faculty aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the intricate interaction between genetic determinants and their divergent responses to environmental signals to affect the health of human populations.

Research focuses on several broad categories, including stress and inflammatory signaling, genomic instability, and molecular transport. Areas of study include diseases such as diabetes and cancer, disease-risk conditions such as obesity, age-related (chronic) diseases, and the normal aging process. These are investigated both at the mechanistic level and in the context of population studies.

Department faculty are involved in multidisciplinary collaborations with faculty members in other HSPH departments and Harvard-affiliated centers as well as other institutions.

Immunology and Infectious Diseases

The Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases focuses on the biological, immunological, epidemiological, and ecological aspects of viral, bacterial, protozoan, and helminthic diseases of animals and humans and the vectors that transmit some of these infectious agents.

Research emphasizes basic pathogenic mechanisms that may lead to better diagnostic tools, the development of vaccines and other immune interventions for prevention and control of infection and disease, and the identification of new targets for antiviral and antiparasite drugs.

Laboratory-based research may be supplemented by field-based studies of epidemiological and ecological aspects of infectious disease transmission and control. Diseases of developing countries are emphasized.

Members of the department take a multidisciplinary approach to infectious diseases, including immunology, molecular biology, public health entomology, cell biology and ultrastructure, biochemistry, pathology, virology, epidemiology, and ecology. They undertake research both within the school and around the world.

Immunologic studies focus on genetic regulation of the immune response; molecular mechanisms of the regulation of class II genes; the function and regulation of T-cell-derived cytokines; and cytokines involved in the regulation of inflammation.

Immunology

The curriculum currently focuses on genetic regulation of the immune response, molecular mechanisms of the regulation of class II genes, and the function and regulation of T-cell-derived cytokines. Students take courses in cell biology, immunology, and molecular immunology.

Nutrition

The mission of the Department of Nutrition is to improve human health through enhanced nutrition. The department strives to accomplish this goal through research aimed at improved understanding of how diet influences health, the dissemination of new knowledge about nutrition to health professionals and the public, the development of strategies to enhance nutrition, and the education of researchers and practitioners.

The Department of Nutrition provides training and research opportunities in basic science relating to nutrition and in epidemiologic aspects of nutrition as they affect public health. Nutrition policy and the evaluation of nutritional interventions are long-standing interests of the department, particularly as they concern the populations of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States. Interests of the department range from molecular biology to human studies of cancer and heart disease. Students learn and use the latest techniques in biochemistry, physiology, biostatistics, epidemiology, and related fields. Departmental research, whether basic or applied, is relevant to human health.

Current research covers a wide range of topics, including large prospective studies of dietary factors in relation to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and ophthalmologic disease; development of methods to assess nutritional status by an analysis of body tissue; the interaction of nutritional factors with genetic determinants of disease; the interaction of nutritional factors and infectious agents; nutritional influence on blood pressure; effects of nutrition programs on the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition; nutritional determinants of blood lipid factors; lipoprotein metabolism; molecular mechanisms of diabetes and obesity and regulation of the intra- and inter-cellular delivery of macromolecular nutrients; determinants of blood lipid factors, lipoprotein metabolism; molecular mechanisms of diabetes and obesity; regulation of the intra-and-inter-cellular delivery of macromolecular nutrients; and the molecular mechanisms leading to atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

Graduates ordinarily assume positions as faculty members and research scientists in graduate schools, medical schools, research institutes or schools of public health. Career opportunities in the biological sciences as they apply to public health are expected to grow in academia and in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Program of Study

The Biological Sciences in Dental Medicine (BSDM) Program, leading to the PhD degree, is located at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and is offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University.

Applicants should be interested in pursuing a career in basic or patient-oriented science in the areas of skeletal biology, cell biology and development, immunology, or microbiology leading to a PhD degree.

The BSDM program combines faculty from the Department of Oral and Developmental Biology and other Harvard School of Dental Medicine departments with faculty from basic science departments at Harvard Medical School, and faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University. This newly established program offers advanced study in the molecular, supra-molecular, cellular, and supra-cellular processes that provide the intellectual basis for dental medicine.

Research Facilities

Located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, BSDM brings together faculty in the biological sciences throughout Harvard University. The Medical Area (Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Forsyth Institute, a cluster of affiliated hospitals, and the Harvard School of Public Health) and Harvard University comprise one of the most concentrated areas of scientific research facilities in the United States.

The interaction between faculty working at the various component institutions, through joint teaching and research as well as contact with the affiliated hospitals investigating clinical problems, enables the program to serve as a meeting place for biological, dental, medical, physical, and chemical scientists. This provides students and faculty alike with a wider range of experience and techniques than may be found in any single discipline or department.

Students also have access to the Countway Library, one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the nation, and the libraries of The Forsyth Institute and Harvard University in Cambridge.

For more detailed information on the Biological Sciences in Dental Medicine Program, go to http://phd.hsdm.harvard.edu.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

Faculty and affiliates from six basic science departments at Harvard Medical School (Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Pathology, and Systems Biology) come together to provide a unique interdepartmental, interdisciplinary approach to research training.

The BBS program emphasizes flexibility in choosing an area of study open for pursuit, and strongly encourages student leadership and community among students as means to maximize the learning experience.

Faculty in the BBS program are located at the main research quadrangle at Harvard Medical School and at affiliated hospitals and institutions, providing students with several distinct training environments spanning pure basic research through translational research that is clinically motivated.

For example, Human Biology and Translational Medicine (HBTM), a new BBS subject area set to launch in Fall 2008, will provide PhDs with training in the translation of basic research into clinical practice and disease prevention. HBTM will engage physician-scientists from Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals as well as research faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; candidates for admission may apply to HBTM starting in Fall 2007.

For more information, visit the BBS Website.

Program of Study

The BBS Program offers a series of core courses that provide rigorous in-depth coverage of cell and molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, developmental biology, translational medicine, computational biology, and the biochemistry of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

In the first and second years, students work with a faculty mentor to design a curriculum that meets their individual needs. The only required course in BBS is a critical reading course taken in the first semester.

Students choose core courses or advanced courses to round out their first year studies as befits their background and interests. Coursework is designed to develop a solid foundation in modern biology and to develop the ability to read critically in all areas related to a student’s research.

Laboratory rotations form an integral part of the program, allowing students to investigate several research areas before choosing a thesis laboratory. Students also perform research rotations during their first year and ordinarily choose a thesis laboratory by the end of the first full year of study.

In subsequent years, students focus on their doctoral research, supervised largely by their thesis advisor, but also periodically by an advisory committee of the student’s choosing. The thesis advisory committee guides the timely progress of his/her thesis work.

During this time, students will also take any additional advanced courses needed to meet the program requirement of eight courses. Ordinarily, about four years are required to complete the thesis research, culminating with a defense of the written thesis.

Admissions

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Online submission of the application is encouraged; see www.gsas.harvard.edu for forms and more information.

As stated in the introductory paragraphs of this announcement, the graduate program of the Department of Government is designed for students preparing for the PhD. Those seeking to enroll for the AM degree only will not be admitted. Active PhD candidates who wish to be awarded an AM in the course of their work towards the PhD must meet all the requirements for the PhD except the dissertation and the special examination.

Students who have met all the requirements for the PhD except the General Examination, the dissertation, and the special examination may also receive the Master of Arts in Political Science provided they state in writing that they shall not pursue the PhD degree any further. This option is available only within the 30 months after first matriculation.

Degrees are conferred three times during the academic year: in November, March, and at Commencement in June. Relevant due dates for degree application are published annually in The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

Joint Degree Program in Government and Social Policy

The Department of Government also offers a joint degree with social scientists in the Kennedy School of Government: the PhD in Government and Social Policy. This program is particularly suitable for students who wish to combine theoretical and methodological expertise in political science with policy training in the fields of urban poverty, inequality, segregation, labor market studies, and the like. Details may be obtained by referring to the entry on PhD Programs in Social Policy on this website.

Students interested primarily in training for public service, and in a master’s program in public administration for this purpose, should consult Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Admission, Financial Aid, and Residence Requirements

A distinguished undergraduate academic record is a prerequisite for admission. The GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid specifies the supporting documents to accompany applications for admission. Applicants are requested not to submit writing samples.

Applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).
Applicants whose native language is not English must submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Failure to submit the TOEFL will ordinarily result in rejection unless a transcript is submitted verifying receipt of a degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction.

Applications for admission and financial aid, together with information regarding admissions procedures, may be obtained by writing to the:

Admissions Office
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Holyoke Center, 3rd Floor
1350 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
(617) 495-5315.

The Department of Government strongly recommends submission of the entire application for admission online.

There is no interviewing process in the Department of Government.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is administered under the direction of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). Harvard grants are awarded primarily on the basis of financial need and academic merit covering a period of five years. The department intends that all graduate students should have support adequate to enable them to complete their studies while enrolled full-time. Prospective students apply for financial aid at the same time they apply for admission and are also required to submit a Statement of Financial Resources. The financial aid package for government students typically includes tuition and fees plus a stipend and a summer research grant for the first two years; tuition and fees plus guaranteed teaching fellowships for years three and four; and tuition and fees plus a stipend for the final year.

The Department of Government requires all eligible first-year students to apply for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Additional information is available from www.orau.org/nsf/nsffel.htm.

Renewal of financial aid for the second year of study is contingent upon the student having received satisfactory first-year grades. Most third- and fourth-year students who have passed the General Examination are awarded teaching fellowships; a normal teaching load is two-fifths.

Having teaching experiences in political science courses is an important part of the graduate experience and an essential part of graduate training. Therefore, to complete the PhD program, all graduate students will normally be required to teach a minimum of two sections in departmental courses sometime during the period that they are in residence. To ensure diversity of experience, one section will normally be in an introductory course and one section will be in an advanced course (such as a 1000-level course).

Residence Requirements

The Graduate School has a minimum academic residence requirement of two years; i.e., a student must do resident graduate work for a minimum of two full academic years, or the equivalent of 16 half-courses. Beyond the 12 courses required by the department, the remainder of the two-year residence may be devoted either to further courses or to special study under the direction of a department member of faculty rank.

It is expected that a student who chooses the latter option will attend a substantial number of courses and seminars as an auditor and do such other work as his or her advisor may suggest. For that portion of the residence requirement not covered by courses, a student registers in the Graduate School in terms of TIME.

Financial Residence Requirement

Every PhD candidate must be registered continuously until receipt of the degree. Students must pay two years at the full tuition rate and two years at the reduced tuition rate if the elapsed time from initial registration to the receipt of the degree is four or more years. After the payment of the required full and reduced tuition charges, candidates who continue to use Harvard facilities will be charged the facilities fee. Students who do not use Harvard facilities will be charged an active file fee. Students must pay a fee equal at least to the facilities fee in the term in which the dissertation is received and accepted by the department.

Reporting Requirement

Every graduate student must submit a progress report every year, signed by a faculty advisor, to the director of graduate studies. Graduate students in the first two years should report on their progress through courses, among other topics. Graduate students in the third or subsequent years should report on their progress through the dissertation, their completion of any other pending requirements, teaching, and other professional activities within and outside Harvard.

Departmental Requirements Prior to General Examination

Note: These regulations apply to those students who will enter the graduate program beginning September 2000 and beyond. Those students who entered the program prior to September 2000 should consult the Government Graduate Office.

Students can complete the PhD program in four years, although many will need an additional year or two and others may be able to complete it in less time. A typical schedule consists of two years of coursework and preparation for the General Examination, followed by two or three years of work on a dissertation, combined with supervised teaching.

Students are expected to complete the required coursework for the PhD during their first two years of graduate study and take the General Examination at the end of the second year.

First- and second-year students are not normally permitted to serve as teaching fellows.

Courses — A student must successfully complete at least 12 half-courses, of which eight must be in government. At least ten of these 12 half-courses and seven of the eight half-courses in government must be listed in the catalogue as 1000- or 2000-level courses.

Students must complete six half-courses by the end of their second term in residence and nine by the end of their third.

Minor Course — Students must enroll in one government department half-course, ordinarily at the 2000-level, in their minor field. The department is organized into four fields: American government, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Two of these four fields will be assessed during the General Examination (see below). The minor field to be fulfilled through one half-course may be either of the remaining two fields not assessed during the General Examination.

Incompletes — A grade of Incomplete can be converted into a letter grade if the student completes the work before the end of the term following that in which the course was taken. If an Incomplete has not been completed within the period, the student must petition the Administrative Board of the Graduate School for an extension. University rules allow only one Incomplete to be converted per term. No grade of Incomplete can be used to satisfy any departmental requirement.

Seminar Papers — In order to ensure that students secure adequate training in research and writing, at least three seminar-style research papers must be completed. The usual means is through enrollment in seminars, but the requirement may be satisfied also by reading or lecture courses in which papers of this type are written.

It is the student’s responsibility to obtain written verification from the instructor that the completed paper is of seminar quality.

One of three seminar papers must be submitted to the graduate office (after grading by a faculty member) for assessment for the general examination.

A student who chooses to offer empirical political methodology as a focus field on the General Examination must write one of these three seminar papers combining empirical political methodology with work in a substantive field.

Students who wish to submit graduate seminar papers written outside the government department should consult the director of graduate studies. In order to receive credit, each paper must be read and evaluated by a faculty member designated by the director of graduate studies.

Language Requirement — Every student must demonstrate competence in a language other than English. (In many cases, of course, the student’s research interests will make additional language competence desirable.) Competence in a language is defined as the ability to translate from the foreign language into English approximately 750 words of a political text in one hour with the aid of a dictionary. The translation should accurately capture the essential meaning of the original text and be free of major grammatical and syntactical mistakes. A student may choose to be examined in any language in which there is substantial political science literature, such as French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek, Latin, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or in any other language specifically appropriate to the student’s doctoral program and approved by the director of graduate studies. Students whose native language is not English must also satisfy this requirement even if that language is specifically appropriate to their doctoral work.

Quantitative Methods Requirement — Every student must also successfully complete, with a grade of B or better, a course in quantitative methods, such as GOV 2000: Quantitative Methods for Political Science I, or with the approval of the director of graduate studies, and equivalent course.

The General Examination

The General Examination consists of a 90-minute oral examination plus the submission of one written seminar paper, and is structured as follows:
1. Major Field

This part of the examination covers one of the four areas of political science: American government, comparative politics, international relations, or political theory.
2. Focus Field

This part of the examination covers in greater depth one subfield within the student’s major field, or, if the student chooses, it covers either the field of empirical political methodology or the field of formal political theory. Examples of appropriate focus fields other than empirical political methodology or formal political theory are listed here.

Major Field Illustrative Focus Field

American Government

Congress
Presidency
Bureaucracy
Law and Courts
Federalism
Urban Politics
Political Parties
Interest Groups
American Political Development
Public Opinion and Elections

Comparative Politics

Government and Politics of (a major foreign country or region)
Comparative Political Development
Comparative Legislatures
Comparative Executives
Comparative Bureaucracy
Comparative Elections and Party Systems
Comparative Political Economy
Comparative Public Policy
Comparative Political Behavior

International Relations

Foreign Policy of (a major country or region)
International Conflict
International Political Economy
International Law and Organization
Nationalism and Imperialism

Political Theory

All students whose major field is political theory will be examined in both ancient/medieval and modern political thought.

The director of graduate studies, in consultation with the chair and other relevant faculty members, may authorize alternative focus fields, defined in other ways, but comparable in scope to those listed above. Requests for the approval of alternative focus fields must be approved by a member of the faculty and submitted to the department at least three months before taking the examination.

Students are welcome and encouraged to discuss any questions they have about the General Examination with any member of the faculty. Students are expected to have developed with a member of the faculty a focus field within their major at least three months before taking the examination.

3. Political Theory

All students must include political theory as one part of the General Examination. Students not majoring in political theory are expected to have a basic knowledge of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics in addition to the writings of major political philosophers from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Such students should take Government 1061 and the GOV 2030 field seminar in political theory or have equivalent preparation.

The examination for students for whom political theory is a minor field has two parts. One part of the oral examination deals with concepts (such as those discussed in Government 2030); students are not expected to be familiar with the work of any particular contemporary writer. The second part of the exam covers Plato, Aristotle, and major theorists since Machiavelli.

Students whose major field is political theory must take one minor field in the government department on the General Examination. This part of their General Examination covers a second one of the areas listed in section 1 (with the exception of political theory and of the minor field where the requirement will be met by means of one half-course), but in somewhat less depth.

Every student must submit one of the three required seminar papers for assessment as part of the General Examination. This seminar paper will ordinarily pertain principally to the student’s focus field but, at the student’s discretion, it may pertain to any of the four fields or to a combination thereof. The paper must be graded (on a seminar paper form) by the professor for whom it was written and submitted to the graduate office no later than one month before the beginning of oral examinations. The paper cannot be coauthored or revised before submission to the graduate office. The paper must be one that was written since the student’s matriculation in the government department.

The director of graduate studies will then distribute the paper in its original form for assessment by the appropriate examiner on the student’s examination board. The paper will count as 20 percent of the final General Examination grade.

All seminar papers must represent substantial research. The seminar paper to be submitted for assessment as part of the General Examination should identify a significant research problem, nest it within the pertinent scholarly literature and arguments in its field, and conduct original research to address the problem. The student has the right to choose which seminar paper will be submitted for the purposes of the General Examination. If the student has completed just one seminar paper prior to the normal date for the General Examination, then this paper will automatically serve as the General Examination paper. An assessment of a seminar paper is a prerequisite for taking the oral examination.

The 90-minute oral examination covers all three of the fields being presented by the student. The oral examination is conducted by three faculty members, two of whom are ordinarily professors with whom the student has worked. The student is normally informed of the composition of his or her General Examination board seven days before the oral examination.

The department regularly offers “field seminars” introducing each of the four major fields of the discipline. However, no examination field is coterminous with any one course, or even with any group of courses. The student is held responsible for preparation in the field and should not assume that satisfactory completion of a course or courses dealing with the material in that field will constitute adequate preparation for the examination. The student should consult faculty members in each field to ensure such preparation.

The General Examination must be taken by May of a student’s second year of study; in exceptional cases the student may petition the department for special permission to take the examination in December.

Progress Toward the Degree after the General Examination

Students in their third year and beyond spend most of their time researching and writing the PhD dissertation. These students are eligible for teaching fellowships, which enable them to participate in Harvard’s undergraduate tutorial program, teach sections in the introductory government courses, or assist undergraduates in middle-group courses by leading discussion sessions or directing papers. Some research assistantships are also available from individual faculty members and research centers.

In the third year, most teaching fellows devote two-fifths TIME to teaching, the remainder to work on the dissertation. The fourth year may be devoted entirely to writing the dissertation or to a combination of teaching and research. Students who have passed the General Examination may teach three-fifths TIME for four years, with the following exception: those who have taught fewer than 16 term-fifths may be appointed in a fifth year up to that total.

Requirements relating to courses, seminar (research) papers, languages, and quantitative methods should normally be completed before the General Examination, that is, during the first two years of graduate work. In special circumstances, a student may defer the fulfillment of two of the following until after the General Examination:

* one seminar paper
* two half-courses
* the quantitative methods requirement
* the language requirement, although work toward fulfillment of the language requirement should be under way, in any case, prior to the General Examination.

Within six months of passing the General Examination, the student must have fulfilled one of these deferred requirements. Within 12 months, he or she must have completed both deferred requirements.

Within 16 months of passing the General Examination, each student shall discuss and receive approval of his or her written dissertation prospectus with at least three faculty members at an informal prospectus conference. These faculty members, one of whom must be non-tenured, are chosen by the student with the approval of the director of graduate studies. The student shall inform the department of the composition of the committee and will arrange the conference. Students may receive formal consent for the proposed dissertation topic at that conference, but final approval must be obtained no later than 18 months after the General Examination. Students must petition the director of graduate studies for any exception to this rule. (The prospectus, typically 10- 20 pages in length, should set the proposed topic in an appropriate theoretical framework, allude to relevant literature, and describe the proposed research methods.) Students who have not received final approval of their dissertation prospectus by 18 months after the General Examination may not be appointed as teaching fellows until they have had their dissertation prospectus approved. The dissertation title and name(s) of the advisor(s) must be registered with the director of graduate studies. By May 15 of each year, each student must submit a progress report, approved by his or her major faculty advisor, to the director of graduate studies.

If these conditions are not met, the student will be classified “not in good standing” by the Graduate School and the department and will become ineligible for a teaching fellowship, other financial aid, or employment within the University. After completing these requirements, the student may petition the department to be reinstated “in good standing.” However, in the case of students for whom the necessary language training is unusually burdensome, if the student has made a good-faith effort to master the language in the allotted time, the director of graduate studies may grant one extension of up to an additional 12 months for meeting the language and/or dissertation conference requirements.

Dissertation and Final Examination

Dissertation — A student is required to demonstrate ability to perform original research in political science by writing a dissertation that makes a significant contribution to knowledge in the field. Dissertations must be approved by three committee members, two of whom must be members of the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The chair must be a member of the government department. Any member of the committee who is not a member of the department must be approved by the director of graduate studies. Before a student can defend, the dissertation committee must have received a copy of the dissertation and agree that it is ready to be defended. The final copies of the dissertation must conform to the requirements described in the booklet The Form of the PhD Dissertation. Any student who wishes to be considered for one or more of the available prizes should submit an extra copy of the completed dissertation to the department graduate office.

Special Examination — After the dissertation has been approved, and after all other degree requirements have been met, a student will take the “special” oral examination or defense. This examination is focused on the dissertation and on the relevant special field, which is ordinarily one of the fields which the student presented in the general examination, or an approved portion of that field. At the defense a student will be expected to show such mastery of the special field, and such an acquaintance with the literature, general and special, bearing on it, as needed to qualify to give instruction to mature students. The defense of the dissertation is open to the faculty of the Government Department of Harvard University. Unless the candidate prefers a closed defense, the defense of the dissertation will also be open to graduate students in the Department of Government. Questions of the candidate will be asked initially by committee members. Others in attendance may then ask questions as long as the defense does not exceed two hours in length. The dissertation defense is announced to faculty and students and a one-page abstract is circulated to the faculty in advance of the defense.

Students who defend their dissertation later than six years after taking the General Examination must retake the focus field of the General Examination. Students who defend their dissertations more than eight years after taking the General Examination must retake two fields of the General Examination. Approved parental leave extends this period by one year per child, but no other reason for leave does.

Depositing Dissertation Data – Students are required to make available to the Harvard-MIT Data Center all of the quantitative data that they have compiled in machine-readable form (together with accompanying explanatory materials) upon which the findings in their dissertations depend. These data will be made available to other users five years after receipt of PhD or sooner, if the PhD recipient permits.

The director of graduate studies will consider petitions for exemption from or modifications of this requirement, if reasonable extenuating circumstances are given.

Prerequisites for Admission — Permission to proceed, granted by the department on the basis of course work, performance in the AM examination, and scholarly potential as judged by the department. Alternatively, an AM degree or equivalent from another university.

Academic Residence — A minimum of three years of full-time study. Credit for graduate work done elsewhere may be granted in accordance with procedures detailed in The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid or The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

Program of Study — The satisfactory completion of an approved program of eight half-courses beyond the AM degree. All graduate students, except those in the Older Germanic Languages track, are required to take German 226r, the Proseminar (an introduction to literary research and theory). PhD students must also take at least two half-courses in Germanic philology, normally German 200 (Middle High German) and German 225 (History of the German Language). Linguistics 168 (Introduction to Germanic Linguistics) or Linguistics 247 (Topics in Germanic Linguistics) may be substituted for German 225. Not more than two half-courses from the group “For Undergraduates and Graduates” may be counted, including courses taken for the AM degree, unless the student arranges with the instructor to upgrade the course; all others must be “Primarily for Graduates.” Permission may be obtained from the director of graduate studies to take a course in some other department, such as Comparative Literature, History, Philosophy, or Music. Such courses are expected to be relevant to the main study program in German and should serve to enrich and broaden the program.

The teaching methods course (Germanic Philology 280) and courses taken to fulfill language requirements are not included in the minimum requirement. The student must generally be a member of a seminar taught by a member of the German Department for at least three terms and earn a grade of A- in at least one of the seminars.

Students enrolled in the department’s PhD program may achieve formal recognition for completing a secondary field in Film and Visual Studies by fulfilling the following requirements: Completion of four graduate-level courses in Film and Visual Studies, two of which must be VES 270 (Proseminar in Film and Visual Studies: History) and VES 271 (Proseminar in Film and Visual Studies: Theory), with grades of B+ or above, and successful completion of an examination or alternative means of demonstrating mastery in the field of Film and Visual Studies as agreed upon by the directors of graduate studies in Film and Visual Studies and in German. Students interested in declaring this secondary field should consult with the director of graduate studies as early as possible in their studies.

Languages — All students, except those in the Older Germanic Languages track, are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in French, normally achieved by passing French Ax (Reading French), offered by Harvard’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, with a grade of A or A-, or by passing a French Ax final examination, administered by the instructor of the course, with a grade of A or A-.

Those students wishing to specialize (i.e., to write their dissertations) in philology (historical linguistics) or in the literature of the earlier periods (medieval, sixteenth century, the Baroque) must also demonstrate considerable reading ability in Latin. This requirement may be fulfilled by a departmental examination. The texts to be translated or summarized will be taken from Latin works of literary merit written by German authors, mainly during the medieval period. The requirement may also be fulfilled by an honor grade (B- or higher) in any course in medieval Latin or in any intermediate course of readings of classical authors given by the Harvard Classics Department.

All students in the Older Germanic Languages track are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in at least two of the older Germanic dialects. Reading proficiency in German, English, and one or more of the modern Scandinavian languages is also required, with native or near-native fluency in either German or one of the modern Scandinavian languages.

Applicants are strongly urged to prepare themselves in French (and Latin where applicable) before entrance. Graduate students have to satisfy the requirement in French and, where applicable, in Latin before they can be admitted to the PhD general examination.

Satisfactory Progress — Students must have a grade record showing more A’s than B’s, and no grade lower than B-.

General Examination — After completing course work and meeting the language requirement, students must present themselves for the general examination. Students entering the program with an AM degree or equivalent from another university present themselves for the examination at the end of their second year; students taking the AM degree at Harvard will present themselves for the examination at the end of their third year of residence.

The written examination consists of two four-hour sessions, a week apart. The first covers any one of the following periods: (i) medieval literature, (ii) 1500-1750, (iii) 1750-1830, (iv) 1830-1910, (v) 1890-1945, (vi) 1945-present. The students will be responsible both for the principal literary texts in their chosen period and for the pertinent scholarship. The second examination will cover any one of the following fields: (i) lyric poetry, (ii) drama, (iii) narrative fiction, (iv) a special topic defined by the student in consultation with the examination committee, (v) Germanic philology (linguistics).

A two-hour oral examination generally follows within two weeks.

Dissertation — After passing the general examination, the candidate must present
a dissertation on a subject that has been approved by the department and one that will normally fall within the area where the special period and special field converge. The object of the dissertation is to show the candidate’s ability to pursue independent research and to present the results of this research in a readable and convincing form.

Dissertation Defense — No dissertation defense is required unless the student wishes it or there is some doubt in the department about the dissertation.

Teaching Experience — Some time before receiving the PhD, all students are required to acquire some teaching experience at Harvard or elsewhere.

Admissions

Inquiries about admission and financial aid should be addressed to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Byerly Hall, 2nd floor, 8 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-6531. We encourage online submission of the application. See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS. Applicants wishing information regarding courses and programs not included in the materials accompanying application forms may write to the Chair, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Barker Center 365, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3879. Or you may visit the department’s Website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~german/.

Financial Aid

Graduate students in the department have for some time benefitted from the need-based financial aid plan of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. During their first two years and their dissertation year, eligible students receive financial support adequate to meet both tuition and partial or full living costs. During the other years of graduate study, students supplement tuition grants by working as teaching fellows (see below). The department has set the median length of graduate study for the doctorate (excluding leaves) at five years. Eligible students are guaranteed adequate financial support (grants, teaching fellowships) for this period.

Substantial additional benefits derive from three endowed competitive prizes reserved primarily for graduate students in the department:

1. The Bernhard Blume Awards for Excellence in the Study of German. Established in 1969 by an anonymous donor in honor of the late Bernhard Blume, Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture, Emeritus. Two prizes award approximately $1,500 each to graduate students who have attained the best record in course work in the first three terms and the second three terms.
2. The Jack M. Stein Teaching Fellow Prize in German. An award of $1,000, sponsored annually by the Graduate School Fund and named in honor of the late Professor Jack M. Stein, who was instrumental in raising the quality of language instruction in the department. The prize is awarded each year to a teaching fellow who, in the judgment of a faculty committee visiting classes, conducts undergraduate sections with the highest measure of pedagogical skills, linguistic proficiency, enthusiasm, and commitment to students’ learning and
   welfare.
3. The Esther Sellholm Walz Prize, established in 1977 by Hans G. Walz, class of 1924, in memory of his mother. A prize of approximately $1,000 is “awarded annually to a graduate student pursuing studies in German or Scandinavian language with the intention of entering the teaching field for the best paper or essay” as determined by a faculty committee.

Teaching

Graduate students may hold annual appointments as a teaching fellow, normally beginning with their third year of study. Opportunities are provided to teach -elementary and intermediate language classes, to tutor undergraduates in literature, and to assist in courses in literature given by members of the department. Teaching fellows in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures may also participate in the Core Curriculum of Harvard College, usually as leaders of discussion sections.

Prerequisites for a teaching fellowship in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures are a good command of spoken German and Germanic Philology 280.

The coordinator of language instruction tests the proficiency in German of incoming students at the beginning of their first term. If deficiencies are evidenced, the student is required to remedy them before beginning teaching. A variety of options are available for improving language skills.

The department does not ordinarily admit applicants who only wish to study for the AM degree. The AM is normally taken as a step toward the PhD. The requirements for the AM are described below.

Prerequisites for Admission — Under-graduate or graduate work in German approximately equal to the requirement for an AB degree at Harvard; deficiencies must be made up.

Academic Residence — Three terms of full-time study. For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid or The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

Program of Study — The satisfactory completion of an approved program of eight half-courses or the equivalent (see The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook). Four of these courses must be in the group designated in Courses of Instruction as “Primarily for Graduates.” Two of the half-courses normally consist of the Proseminar and a seminar. One half-course must be wholly or partly linguistic in character. All new graduate students normally take both German 200 (Middle High German) and German 226r, the Proseminar (an introduction to literary research and theory).

Satisfactory Progress — Students must have a grade record showing more A’s than B’s, and no grade lower than B-.

Examinations — A four-hour written examination (administered at the end of the student’s third term) in which the student demonstrates an ability to interpret literary texts and to place them into their historical contexts, and a one-hour oral examination, which includes a brief presentation in German. The AM examinations are based on a departmental reading list. No master’s thesis is required.

German was first taught in Harvard College in 1825 when Carl (Charles) Follen, a young -anti-monarchist and poet, who had fled from Giessen to escape political persecution, became an instructor in German. The impetus for this appointment came, in part, from George Ticknor and Edward Everett (later to become president of Harvard College), who had just returned from studies at the University of Göttingen. By 1850, several instructors were teaching German and by the 1860s, all sophomores were required to study the language. After such Harvard notables as George Ticknor, H. W. Longfellow, and J. R. Lowell had given some coverage to major German poets (from Walther von der Vogelweide to Goethe) in their lectures, a graduate program in German was organized in the 1870s, with the first PhD granted in 1880.

The most eminent scholar in the early years was Kuno Francke, professor of the history of German culture (d. 1929), who in 1903 established the Germanic Museum, now the Busch-Reisinger Museum. Its collections, particularly strong in 20th-century painting and sculpture, are a unique resource for the study of German literature and culture within the broader context of German and Central European art.

The library holdings in German literature had an auspicious beginning when Goethe, in 1819, presented to Harvard College an autographed copy of his Werke. Through informed selection and support by the University and generous donors (Karl Viëtor among them), these holdings, housed mainly in Widener Library, have now grown into what many scholars consider the best German studies research collection in North America. It is supplemented by extensive holdings in Scandinavian and Dutch. This scholarly resource is augmented by manuscripts and rare printed books in Houghton Library, which, next to a number of medieval manuscripts and incunables, contains the Nachlässe, papers, and letters of such major German poets as Hofmannsthal, Rilke, Brecht, and Heine.

The Harvard Film Archive houses an extensive and unique collection devoted to German cinema, which includes 35- and 16-millimeter films, videocassettes, press booklets, and photographs.

Fields of Study. Special fields of interest to staff members vary but generally include: ecology, forest soils, forest dynamics, land-use history, paleoecology, wetland biology, tree physiology, and anatomy. Current research is available in detail in the Annual Report of the Harvard Forest. This publication is available at http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu or upon request.

Fellowships and Assistantships. The Harvard Forest awards fellowships through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Degree of Master in Forest Science (MFS) Graduates of forestry schools or of colleges of liberal arts, and others who have had equivalent training in plant sciences, may be admitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to work toward the MFS degree.
The program is designed primarily to train students for research in aspects of forest ecology and biology covered by members of the faculty.

Full-time registration for a minimum of one academic year is required. In addition, students are expected to work as paid research assistants for the summer immediately preceding their registration. Thus, students are able to participate in the research program at the Harvard Forest for three months, starting about June 1, before they register for the academic year.

Instruction at the Harvard Forest is informal and personal. No courses have to be attended and no formal examinations are held. However, a dissertation is required and will have to be defended.

The Harvard Forest has been a center for ecological research and education since 1907 and was designated as one of 21 national centers for Long-term Ecological Research by the US National Science Foundation in 1988. Research in this project focuses on forest ecosystem response to natural and human disturbance and stress and involves studies in physiology, population, community, and ecosystem ecology. The Forest consists of approximately 1,200 hectare representative of the “transition hardwood” forests of central New England which have received a wide variety of silvicultural and experimental treatment, the history of which is thoroughly documented. Additional research sites owned by the Harvard Forest include the Pisgah Tract, an eight-hectare remnant of virgin forest centered in the 6,000 hectare Pisgah State Park, southwestern New Hampshire, and the Matthews plantations, 40 hectare of plantations and second growth forest in Hamilton, north of Cambridge.

Facilities at the Harvard Forest include laboratories for nutrient analysis, physiological and population ecology, isozyme and pollen analysis; greenhouses; herbarium; -computer laboratory, including Geographic Information Systems; library; and the Fisher Museum of Forestry. Living quarters for staff and students are available in apartment houses owned by the Forest.

The Program

The program takes from four to seven years to complete, with the majority finishing in five or six years. The first two years are devoted to course work and to preparation for the PhD Qualifying Exam (the “General” exam) at the beginning of the second year. The second and third years are devoted to preparing for the Dissertation Qualifying Exam (the “Field” exam) and to writing the Dissertation Prospectus. The fourth, fifth, and, when necessary, sixth years are spent completing the doctoral dissertation. From the third year until the final year (when they are generally supported by Dissertation Completion Fellowships), students also devote time to teaching and to developing teaching skills. Students with prior graduate training or those with a demonstrated ability may complete their dissertations in the fourth or fifth years. Students are strongly discouraged from taking more than seven years to complete the program, except under the most exceptional circumstances.

The program aims to provide the PhD candidate with a broad knowledge of English and American literature and language, including critical and cultural theory. Additional important skills include facility with the tools of scholarship—ancient and modern foreign languages, bibliographic procedures, and textual and editorial methods. The program also emphasizes the ability to write well, to do solid and innovative scholarly and critical work in a specialized field or fields, to teach effectively, and to make articulate presentations at conferences, seminars, and symposia.

Residence

The minimum residence requirement is two years of enrollment in full-time study, with a total of at least fourteen courses completed with honor grades (no grade lower than B-). The minimum standard for satisfactory work in the Graduate School is a B average in each academic year.

Courses

A minimum of fourteen courses must be completed no later than the end of the second year. At least ten courses must be at the 200- (graduate) level, and at least six of these ten must be taken within the Department. Graduate students in the English Department will have priority for admission into 200-level courses. The remaining courses may be either at the 100- or the 200-level. Students typically devote part of their course work in the first year to preparing for the “General” exam, focusing increasingly on their field in the second year.

Independent Study and Creative Writing

Students may petition to take one of the 100-level courses as independent study (English 399) with a professor, but not before the second term of residence. Other independent study courses will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances and with the consent of the professor and Director of Graduate Studies. Only one creative writing course, which counts as a 100-level course, may be taken for credit.

Advanced Standing

Once the student has completed at least three 200-level courses with a grade of A or A-, a maximum of four graduate-level courses may be transferred from other institutions, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. Transferred courses will not count toward the minimum of ten required 200-level courses, but will be counted as 100-level courses.

Incompletes

No more than one Incomplete may be carried forward at any one time by a graduate student in the English Department. It must be made up no later than six weeks after the start of the next term.

In applying for an incomplete, students must have signed permission from the instructor and the Director of Graduate Studies, or the course in question may not count toward the program requirements. If students do not complete work by the deadline, the course will not count toward the program requirements, unless there are documented extenuating circumstances.

Language Requirements

A reading knowledge of two languages is required. Students will be expected to show proficiency in either two ancient languages, or two modern languages, or one ancient and one modern language. (Normally, Latin, Greek, French, German, Spanish, and Italian are the accepted languages. Other languages may be acceptable if deemed relevant and appropriate to a student’s program of study.) Should students opt for two modern languages, they must take one term of History and Structure of the Language or of Old English.Students may fulfill the ancient and modern language requirements

1. by passing a two-hour translation exam with a dictionary,
2. by taking a one-term literature course in the chosen language, or [for the ancient requirement]
3. by taking two terms of elementary Latin or Greek.

Any course taken to fulfill the language requirement must be passed with a grade of B- or better. Literature-level language courses count for course credit; elementary language courses do not.

The (Non-Terminal) Master of Arts Degree

In order to apply for the AM degree, students must complete, with a grade of B or better, no fewer than a total of seven (7) courses, including a minimum of four (4) English courses, at least three (3) of which MUST be at the graduate (200-) level, and one (1) additional course which MUST be taken at the graduate level, but may be taken in another department. Students must also fulfill at least one of their departmental language requirements.

General Exam

At the beginning of the second year, students will take a seventy-five minute oral exam, based on a list of authors and/or titles which the Department will make available for each entering class in the summer prior to its arrival. The examiners will be three regular members of the Department (assistant, associate, or full professors), whose names will not be disclosed in advance. Candidates whose performance on the exam is judged inadequate will be marked as “not yet passed” and must retake the exam at a time to be determined. If candidates do not pass on the second attempt, they will not be able to continue in the program.
Note: Students must fulfill at least one language requirement by the end of the first year in order to be eligible to take the General Exam.

Field Oral Exam

The purpose of the Field Oral is twofold: to examine students’ preparation in primary teaching and scholarly fields they mean to claim, and to explore an emerging dissertation topic. The two-hour examination is taken in December of the third year of graduate study, and is conducted by a three-person examination committee, chosen by individual students no later than September of the third year, normally from among the tenured and ladder faculty of the English Department. One faculty member acts as chair of the committee and assists students in selecting its other members. This committee, or some part of it, will likely continue to serve as individual students’ dissertation advisors.

During the exam, students are asked to demonstrate an adequate knowledge of both of the major primary works and selected scholarly works in their chosen fields, and to give a first account of a dissertation project. The exam focuses on a list of primary and scholarly works, drawn up by each student in consultation with the examination committee. When desired by candidates and their respective committees, the fields list may be informed by longer lists of works provided by the Department, augmented by students to accommodate their particular scholarly interests. Each committee meets with its advisee at least four weeks before the exam (i.e., before the Thanksgiving break) to finalize fields lists and discuss the exam format. This exam is graded Pass/Fail.

Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus, signed and approved by three advisors (one of whom may be the DGS), is due in the Graduate Office by May 15 of the third year. The prospectus is neither a draft chapter nor a detailed road map of the next two years’ work, but a sketch, no longer than seven to ten pages, of the topic on which students plan to write. It gives a preliminary account of the argument, structure, and scope of the intended treatment of the topic. The overview will be followed by a bibliography.

The prospectus is written in consultation with the dissertation advisors, who will meet students at least once in the spring of the third year to discuss the prospectus and to draw up a timetable for the writing of the dissertation. In planning a timetable, students need to bear in mind (1) that two draft chapters of the dissertation must be completed by the middle of their fourth year if they are to be eligible to apply for fifth-year completion fellowships, and (2) that students generally enter the job market in the fall of the fifth or sixth year, with at least two final chapters and a third draft chapter completed. They should also remember that term-time fellowships and traveling fellowships may be available to them in the fourth year, but that these require applications which are due as early as December or January of the third year.

Dissertation Advising

Students should assemble a group of faculty members to supervise the dissertation. Several supervisory arrangements are possible: students may work with a committee of three faculty members who share nearly equal responsibility for advising, or with a committee consisting of a principal faculty adviser and a second and third reader. If the scope of the project requires it, students should consult the DGS about including a fourth faculty adviser from a department other than English. The advising mode chosen will be indicated to the Department when the prospectus is submitted. Regardless of the structure of advising, three faculty readers are required to certify the completed dissertation.

The Dissertation

After the dissertation prospectus has been approved, candidates work with their dissertation directors or their dissertation committee. All of the designated advisors must approve the final work.

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original and substantial work of scholarship or criticism, excellent in form and content. The Department accepts dissertations on a great variety of topics involving a broad range of approaches to literature. It sets no specific page limits, preferring to give students and directors as much freedom as possible.

Teaching

Students begin teaching in their third year. Ordinarily they teach discussion sections in courses and in the Department’s program of tutorials for undergraduate honors majors.
Preparation for a teaching career is a required part of students’ training, and Teaching Fellows benefit from the supervision and guidance of Department members. Teaching Fellows are required to take English 350, the Teaching Colloquium, in their first year of teaching and are encouraged to avail themselves of the facilities at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.

General Guidelines for Admission

The following is a set of general guidelines for the English Department’s admissions process. It should be noted that while several areas are emphasized here, the Admissions Committee carefully examines the overall profile of each applicant, taking these and other aspects of the application into consideration:

The Writing Sample: The writing sample is one of the most important portions of the application. Candidates should submit only one double-spaced, fifteen- to twenty-page paper, in twelve-point type with normal margins. The writing sample must be an example of critical writing (rather than creative writing) on a subject directly related to English and American literature and language. Applicants should not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt or excerpts, but should edit the sample themselves so that they submit only up to twenty pages. Candidates who know the field in which they expect to specialize should, when possible, submit a writing sample related to that field.

Grades: While candidates’ overall GPA is important, it is more important to have an average of no lower than A- in literature courses (and related courses). In addition, while we encourage applications from candidates in programs other than English, they must have both the requisite critical skills and a foundation in English and American literature for graduate work in English. Most of our successful candidates have some knowledge of all the major fields of English literary study and advanced knowledge of the field in which they intend to study.

Letters of Recommendation: It is important to have strong letters of recommendation from professors who are familiar with candidates’ academic work. Applicants who have been out of school for several years should try to reestablish contact with former professors. Additional letters from employers may also be included. Recommenders should comment not only on the applicant’s academic readiness for our PhD program but also on the applicants’ future potential as teachers and scholars.

GREs: High scores in the Verbal (700) and Subject test (650, i.e., English & American Literature) are positive additions to the application but are by no means the most important aspect of one’s candidacy. (The Quantitative and Analytical scores carry less weight than the Verbal and Subject scores.) Applicants should make timely plans to take these examinations in order to ensure that the scores arrive by the January application deadline. Scores received after mid-January may be too late to be considered.

Statement of Purpose: The Statement of Purpose is not a Personal Statement and should not be heavily weighted down with autobiographical anecdotes. It should focus on giving the admissions committee a clear sense of applicants’ individual interests and strengths. Applicants need not indicate a precise field of specialization, if they do not know, but it is helpful to know something about a candidate’s professional aspirations and sense of their own skills, as well as how the Harvard English Department might help in attaining their goals. Those who already have a research topic in mind should outline it in detail, giving a sense of how they plan their progress through the program. Those who do not should at least attempt to define the questions and interests they foresee driving their work over the next few years.

Languages: While there are no specific prerequisites for admission, a strong language background helps to strengthen the application, and students who lack it should be aware that they will need to address these gaps during their first two years of graduate study.

Please Note: Applicants should make every effort to ensure that all supporting materials (e.g., recommendations, transcripts, etc.) arrive by the application deadline.

The PhD requires a minimum academic residency of two years beyond the bachelor’s degree. Programs are individually tailored and approved by a committee on higher degrees. Normally, students spend one-and-one-half to two years on coursework—12 half-courses, with at least six but no more than eight in a major field and at least four but no more than six in adjacent areas. Wide latitude is allowed in the selection of adjacent areas in order to promote diversification of academic interest. Depth and breadth of knowledge are important guiding principles in the PhD program.

The first year is ordinarily spent principally on coursework, although some students may begin research. The second year is usually divided between coursework and research, with coursework completed during the third year if necessary. As soon as coursework is completed, students conduct research full time. Original research culminating in the dissertation is usually completed in the fourth or fifth year. No foreign language is required.

Oral Qualifying Examination: Preparation in the major field is evaluated in an oral examination by a qualifying committee. The examination has the dual purpose of verifying the adequacy of the student’s preparation for undertaking research in a chosen field and of assessing the student’s ability to synthesize knowledge already acquired.

Dissertation: Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, a committee chaired by the research supervisor is constituted to oversee the dissertation research. The dissertation must, in the judgment of the research committee, meet the standards of significant and original research.

Final Oral Examination: This public examination devoted to the field of the dissertation is conducted by the student’s research committee. It includes, but is not restricted to, a defense of the dissertation itself.

Engineering and Physical Biology PhD Track

Students admitted to the EPB program through the SEAS will have somewhat different degree requirements than those described above. During the first year, an EPB student will take three courses (equivalent to five half-courses) specifically designed for this program plus an EPB-specific summer tutorial in computation. Three other half-courses taken in the first year and four half-courses taken in the second year must include one half-course in bio-engineering, bio-materials or bio-physics, and six half-courses drawn from offerings in Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, and Engineering Sciences. Within these guidelines, the individual program of coursework will be developed by the student in consultation with an EPB Mentoring Committee and representatives of the SEAS. Students will also be speakers each year in an annual one-day EPB/daVinci symposium.

Each student in the EPB program will be required to be a teaching fellow in two approved half-courses, with this requirement to be fulfilled by the end of the third year.

Oral Qualifying Examination: Suitability for PhD dissertation research will be determined by a qualifying examination to be taken in the spring of the second year. This oral examination will be conducted by faculty representing biology, biochemistry, engineering and physics and will require the student to respond to questions regarding subject, experimental approaches and conclusions in abstracts of four scientific papers, one from each of the above areas.

Dissertation: Research may begin as early as the end of the first year or as late as the end of the second year and may be undertaken in the laboratory of any member of the daVinci Group which supports this program, or with another member of the FAS science faculty. Dissertation research will normally be completed in five or six years from matriculation.

Admission

Students with bachelor’s degrees in science, mathematics, or engineering are invited to apply for admission. Since the undergraduate programs of entering students are diverse, the courses students must take to round out their training are extremely varied, and a committee on higher degrees helps students design appropriate plans of study. Many students embark on programs that lead to careers only peripherally related to their undergraduate majors.

Students begin graduate study only in the fall term. Completed applications should
be returned as early as possible in the fall of the preceding academic year. We will begin processing and reviewing applications in mid-January. Our preferred deadline is December 15. Submitting your application and supporting materials to us by December 15 will expedite the processing and review of your application. Our final deadline is January 2. Applications for the fall term received after January 2 may not receive full consideration for admission and financial aid. Applications for admission for the spring term are not ordinarily accepted.

Applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test. Although the GRE Subject Test is not required, performance on the relevant GRE Subject Test will be considered if it is available. Our experience indicates that the results of this test can be especially helpful in the case of foreign applicants. Students whose native language is not English and who do not have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from an institution where English is the language of instruction must submit, as part of their application, the results of the test of English as a foreign language, administered by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey.

Applications from minorities and women are particularly welcome. We encourage online submission of the application. See www.gsas.harvard.edu. Application forms may also be requested from the website, or by e-mailing admiss@fas.harvard.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by writing: Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Financial Aid

Candidates for master’s degrees are not eligible for financial aid. Students are expected to complete their PhD requirements in four to six years. Typically all students admitted to the PhD program in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences receive full financial support, comprising tuition, fees, and a cost-of-living stipend ($2,300 per month before taxes in 2007-08), independent of need as long as they are in good academic standing and making satisfactory progress toward their PhD degree. All students who receive financial support from the division participate in the division’s educational program for about ten hours a week for one term—usually as quarter time teaching fellows or in a similar capacity, during their second year of study.

To provide full support throughout the program for all PhD candidates, the SEAS anticipates that a certain number of entering students will gain support from sources outside Harvard. Applicants are therefore expected to apply for all non-Harvard scholarships for which they are eligible, especially those offered by the National Science Foundation.

Because bringing in external fellowship support helps us support more students with internal funds, NSF fellows will receive a supplemental fellowship to bring their stipends up to $3,000 above the standard SEAS amount in the first year, and will be eligible for supplemental research assistantships in subsequent years. Recipients of other external awards made on the basis of open competition receive similar considerations on a pro-rated basis.

Financial support takes several forms: grants-in-aid (fellowships), teaching fellowships, and research assistantships. Ordinarily, first-year PhD students are supported with full fellowships so that they may devote all their time to coursework. Beyond the first year, when students are in a better position to teach and assist in research, support is ordinarily provided through research assistantships, or a combination of a teaching fellowship and a research assistantship.

Candidates for PhD and master’s degrees can occasionally be employed as technical assistants on one of the numerous research projects in the SEAS or in a similar capacity in other parts of the University. During the academic year, full-time students may not accept employment inside or outside the University, other than teaching fellowships or research assistantships, that involves a commitment of more than ten hours per week, without special permission.

Part-Time Master’s Program

The SEAS admits a limited number of part-time students as candidates for the SM degree to study at a rate of one or two half-courses per term. Under unusual circumstances, full-time candidates for graduate degrees may petition for permission to study part-time, ordinarily at a rate of two half-courses per term. Similarly, candidates for the master’s degree who need fewer than four half-courses to complete the requirements for the degree can arrange to be charged tuition on a per course basis. Visa regulations prohibit foreign nationals who are not permanent residents of the US from registering for part-time study.

The SM degree is awarded for the successful completion at Harvard of eight half-courses (one half-course runs one term) comprising an integrated program of both depth and breadth of preparation. Students admitted to the PhD program can apply for and receive the SM on completion of the requirements for the master’s degree.

Master of Engineering (ME)

Students who wish to pursue more advanced formal training without undertaking the research required for the PhD degree may earn the ME degree by successfully completing one year of coursework beyond that required for the SM degree. The ME is considered a terminal degree. No dissertation, foreign language, or general examination is required.

In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of modern research, SEAS does not have traditional academic departments and does not award degrees by specific research area. Students may instead work towards a Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in one of four subjects—Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Computer Science, and Engineering Sciences—or graduate with a PhD in the Science, Technology and Management program (with Harvard Business School).

Students may also pursue collaborative options through the Ph.D. track in Engineering and Physical Biology (EPB), which is joint with Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences or the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program, which is part of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

The faculty members in the SEAS, nearly 30 percent of whom have joint appointments in other research areas, have close ties with the science departments (especially physics, biology, chemistry, and earth and planetary sciences) in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and increasing ties to Harvard’s professional schools (including business and medicine).

The majority of the course offerings, most of which span across disciplines, are listed in the Courses of Instruction under the following broad headings: applied mathematics, applied physics, computer science, and engineering sciences. In addition to lecture courses and seminars, students may take directed reading and research courses in connection with their dissertations and, on occasion, use them to explore topics not covered in regular courses. Up to half a graduate student’s courses may be taken outside the SEAS, and programs that include considerable work in one or more science departments are common. Students may supplement their studies by cross-registering in other Harvard graduate schools or at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Certain limitations apply.)

Degree Requirements

Students may work toward one or two of three graduate degrees (master of science, master of engineering, doctor of philosophy) in one of four subjects—applied mathematics, applied physics, computer science, and engineering sciences. The requirements for each degree are summarized below.

This program is administered by a standing committee composed of members of the Department of Economics and the Graduate School of Business Administration. It is described in the section of this publication entitled “The PhD in Business Economics.” Additional information can be found on the Web at www.hbs.edu/doctoral . Inquiries about this program should be directed to Doctoral Programs@bschool.hbs.eduThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Harvard Business School, Doctoral Programs Office, Sherman Hall, Boston, MA 02163.

PhD in Political Economy and Government

This program is administered by a standing committee composed of members of the Departments of Economics, Government, and the JFK School of Government and is described in a section of this publication -entitled “The PhD Under the Committee on Political Economy and Government.” Written inquiries about this program should be sent to Director of Doctoral Programs, JFK School of Government, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Applications for admissions and for grants, together with information regarding admissions procedures, may be obtained by writing directly to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application. See www.gsas.harvard.edu .

There are six major requirements for the doctoral degree. They are

1. taking a written examination in economic theory,
2. satisfying course requirements in distribution and in quantitative methods,
3. writing a research paper in the second year,
4. taking an oral examination on two special fields selected by the student,
5. presenting a seminar on the student’s research, and
6. preparing a doctoral dissertation.

The student is expected to satisfy the first four requirements within two years of residence. The department does not assume that students will have completed their professional training by that time, but does expect them to have formed an appreciation of the discipline of economics, to have settled on their personal fields of interest, and to have learned to apply their discipline to those fields. The examinations are designed to verify that the candidate has attained a broad integration of this sort.

Course of Study

Several kinds of knowledge are required of a professional or academic economist. An economist must understand the nature of long-term changes in the economy (economic history); the best thinking about the ways in which economic units interact with each other and with their environment, respond to change, and develop over time (economic theory and its intellectual development); and the techniques by which economic data are assembled, evaluated, and analyzed (statistical method and its application). In addition an economist needs the discipline and versatility gained by detailed study of some economic problems and policy areas (the optional fields).

Admissions Requirements

Concentration in economics is preferred but not required. Students will need a strong undergraduate training in both economics and mathematics. All applicants are required to take the GRE. If English is not the candidate’s native language, there are two acceptable ways to demonstrate English proficiency: 1) Hold a degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction; 2) Score at least 215 on the computerized test and 550 on the written Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS); Box 899; Princeton, NJ 08541.

To request an application for admission, write to the Admissions and Financial Aid Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; or visit www.gsas.harvard.edu .

Admissions Information 2006-2007
Number of Applications Received:            676
Number Admitted:                                   43
GRE Scores (Admitted Applicants)
Quantitative:                        770 – 800
Average:                                      798                                                                         Analytical:                                3.5 – 6                                                                        Average:                                       5.3

On-campus interviews are not granted. The application for admission is the basis for evaluation of each candidate. It is essential that the Admissions Office receive all admissions materials by the due date.

Financial Aid

The department has limited funding for financial support of graduate study, based both on need and merit. The program is administered by the Graduate School. In order to be admitted, a student must normally have adequate resources for the first two years of graduate study, either from outside public or private sources, or in the form of financial support (financial aid) from the University up to a minimal level of need, as determined by the Graduate School. After the first two years, financial support takes the form, largely, of teaching and research assistantships. Aside from exceptional circumstances, no direct financial support is available beyond a five-year study period for the PhD.

Teaching Fellowships

The Department of Economics offers teaching fellowships to degree candidates to provide both financial support and experience in teaching under supervision. Teaching is considered part of the training for the PhD, and students who have completed two years in the program are encouraged to apply.

Degree Requirements

Academic Residence Requirement

Two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent) are required.

Plan of Study
During the first year of graduate study, graduate students are normally required to take formal courses in advanced microeconomic and macroeconomic theory in preparation for the required examination in economic theory. In addition, they should satisfy the course requirements in quantitative methods and may begin work on fulfillment of the distribution requirement.

In preparation for the General Oral Examination, described in more detail below, students are encouraged to choose from a very large selection of courses offered each year in the department and pertinent courses offered in other departments. In some fields, but not all, there is a two-term sequence of courses intended as the basic preparation for an oral examination in the field. A student may wish to take more than two terms’ work in the field chosen for the examination, including a research seminar or a reading program under the guidance of a member of the faculty.

Mathematics Requirement

Students are expected to have a strong background in linear algebra and calculus upon entering the program; knowledge of differential equations and statistics is also very helpful. For those who wish to supplement or refresh their mathematics background, the department offers Economics 2030 (Mathematics and Optimization Theory for Economists) in the fall term. This course covers selected topics in calculus as well as some topics in linear algebra and optimization theory which are used in economic analysis.

Written Examination

There are two written examinations in economic theory—one each in microeconomics and macroeconomics—which are administered in the spring and fall. Students must pass each examination with a grade of B or better. They ordinarily take the examinations in the spring term of the first year of graduate study. In preparation, students must normally enroll in Economics 2010a-b, Advanced Microeconomic Theory, and Economics 2010c-d, Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. However, they will be excused from one or more of these courses by passing the corresponding part of the theory examination with a grade of B or better when they enter in the fall.

Course Requirements

Students satisfy the econometrics methods requirement by completing Introduction to Applied Econometrics, Economics 2120 (with a grade of B or better). Economics 2120 is offered in the spring term. Students should take Quantitative Methods, Economics 2110, in the fall. This is a prerequisite for Economics 2120. The econometrics requirement may be satisfied by a more advanced course with the approval of the instructor. This requirement normally is completed during the fist year of graduate study.

The distribution requirement is fulfilled by passing one course (with grade of B+ or better) from a list of courses available in the Graduate Office. The purpose of the requirement is to ensure that students are exposed to non-standard ways of thinking about issues central to economics. This is normally done by taking a course in economic history, a course involving non-standard approaches to economics, or a course in disciplines of social inquiry (anthropology, government, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, etc.) that deals with economic topics from the perspectives of those disciplines.

This requirement is frequently satisfied in the first year. The course must be taken during the time students are enrolled in the graduate program. (Courses taken as an undergraduate or in other graduate programs will not be considered.) Courses offered primarily for undergraduates may be acceptable provided there is a provision for graduate students to take the course with additional requirements.

Second-Year Research Paper

In the spring term of the second year, students must enroll in Economics 3000 (Research Paper) and begin work on the second-year paper under the supervision of a member of the faculty of the department. Students must complete the research paper to the satisfaction of their faculty supervisor and receive a grade of SAT in Economics 3000 before they may take the General Oral Examination.

General Oral Examinations

The General Examination is a one-hour oral examination. One half-hour is devoted to each of two optional fields. A student must complete the written examination in economic theory, the course requirements in quantitative methods and economic history, and the second-year research paper before taking the oral examination. This examination is normally taken between the second and third years of graduate study.
In selecting fields for the oral examination, the candidate must choose at least one field from the following list:

Economic Theory                 Econometrics
Experimental Economics       Macroeconomics
Economic Development        Economic History
Public Economics                 International Economics
Industrial Organization         Financial Economics
Labor Economics

Students may take a second field from the list or may propose a second optional field for advanced study that is especially adapted to the candidate’s interests and needs. A special field of study may be approved if it meets the criteria:

1. that there is a significant body of economic literature in the field,
2. that the field is sufficiently broad to be recognizable as a field for teaching and research, and
3. that a member of the faculty offers instruction in the field and is prepared to give an oral examination in it.

An optional field will not be approved if it is a field of specialization within one of the other fields presented by the candidate.

Seminars

After passing the General Oral Examination, students must enroll in a working seminar. Students must present a seminar within one year of passing the oral examination.
Students are encouraged to participate in a working seminar after completing their orals for as long as they are in residence.

Dissertation Committee Requirement

Within one year of passing the oral examination, students must assemble a dissertation committee consisting of at least two faculty members, and must complete a preliminary research plan of at most five pages, which is signed by the dissertation committee. The signed research plan will become part of the student’s file kept in the Graduate Office.

Dissertation

The candidate is required to demonstrate the ability to perform original research in economics by presenting a dissertation that includes a significant contribution to economic knowledge. There is no requirement as to length of the dissertation; its acceptability depends entirely on the originality and significance of the research undertaken and on the competence of its presentation. The completed dissertation will be accepted by the department upon recommendation by a dissertation committee, consisting of the dissertation supervisor and two other faculty members. The student is expected to keep in touch with members of the dissertation committee on the progress of research. The final preparation of the dissertation manuscript must conform to the booklet, The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Good Standing

Students enrolled in the PhD program may be subject to termination of candidacy if they fail to remain in good standing, as defined below:

1. Within three years of residence, the student shall complete the written theory examination, the course requirements in distribution and econometrics, the second-year paper, and the General Oral Examination.
2. Within three years of residence of completing all the requirements listed above in (1), the student shall complete the seminar requirements and the dissertation.

Students who fail to remain in good standing are not eligible for financial support or employment through Harvard, including employment as a teaching fellow. Exceptions to these requirements for good standing will be granted by the department only in very unusual circumstances on the basis of a petition by the student. The dissertation must be submitted in final form within five years of the date of the oral examination; otherwise, the student’s candidacy for the PhD automatically lapses.

Admission. Strong preference will be given to applicants who are adequately prepared
to meet the language requirements of the doctorate. The GRE General test is required. The department considers applications only for the PhD degree. Those who have not completed the equivalent of the AM requirements must do so within their first two years of study. These requirements are:

1. A minimum of eight completed half-courses normally representing one year’s graduate work.
2. A language requirement comprised of
   one of the three following options, met
   by formal course work, or its approved
   equivalent:
   Chinese: Third-year level in modern Chinese; second-year level in literary Chinese; first-year level in Japanese or another East Asian language.
   Japanese: Fourth-year level in modern Japanese; first-year level in classical
   Japanese; first-year level in literary Chinese. Note: An extra year (two
   half-courses) of classical Japanese may
   be substituted for the fourth year of
   modern Japanese.
   Korean: Third-year level in modern Korean; second-year level in modern
   Japanese; and, in some cases, first-year level in literary Chinese.
   Note: Exceptions to any language requirements can only be made by written petition to the Director of Graduate Studies.
3. A substantial seminar paper (in lieu of an AM thesis), which must be approved and submitted to the department office one month prior to the degree award date.

Residence. Minimum of two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent). For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Application and Guide to Admissions
and Financial Aid.

Program of Study. Each student’s program will be determined in consultation with a faculty advisor. Courses in other departments may be included whenever appropriate. A second research seminar paper is required of all students. Both papers must be completed prior to taking the General Examination.

Language Requirement. In addition to the language requirements for the AM (listed under Admission), other requirements normally include advanced work in a second East Asian language. This is normally defined as the third-year level in modern Japanese for students of Chinese and for some students of Korean, the second-year level in literary Chinese for students of premodern Japanese and for some students of Korean, and the first-year level in literary Chinese for students of modern Japanese. The minimum grade for all required East Asian language courses is B-. A reading knowledge of French, German, Russian, or other language by petition, must be demonstrated ordinarily by either passing an examination or by taking preapproved courses with a grade of B- or better. All lan-guage requirements must be completed prior to taking the General Examination.

General Examination. The student must pass a two-hour oral examination in three fields. These fields will be determined in consultation with the student’s advisor and other examiners. The fields will then be submitted to the curriculum committee for its approval. One of these fields should be chosen to demonstrate breadth in regard to a different area, discipline, or period. In addition to the oral examination, the student will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the primary language to be used in his or her research. Each subfield within the department will determine the means to test such proficiency.

Note: All course, language (including Western language), and seminar paper requirements must be completed prior to taking the General Examination. The General Examination normally must be taken before the start of the student’s fourth year in the department.

Prospectus. A prospectus of a student’s dissertation, of 15-20 pages, will be required by the end of the academic term after the General Examination has been passed.

Dissertation. The dissertation, which must make an original contribution to knowledge, may deal with any subject approved by the department. It must demonstrate the
student’s capacity to make critical use of source material in one or more East
Asian languages. A public presentation of dissertation research may take place during the year of completion.

As of May 1994, an overall Graduate School policy has been established that students ordinarily will not be allowed to register beyond their tenth year in the Graduate School. If after ten years a candidate has not completed all the requirements for the degree, he or she may be dropped from candidacy. A candidate who has been dropped can be reinstated only by formal readmission to the Graduate School and to the Department.

Further information regarding courses and programs of study in East Asian languages
and civilizations may be obtained by visiting the department’s Website at www.fas.harvard. edu/~ealc / or by writing to the chair, Department of East Asian Languages and Civiliza-tions, 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

PhD in History and East Asian Languages

The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations also administers a PhD in History and East Asian Languages. This replaces the degree in History and East Asian Languages formerly administered by the Standing Committee on the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History and East Asian Languages, which ceased to admit new students in 2006. The degree is designed to accommodate the needs of students who desire a more language-intensive program of study of East Asian history.

Admission. Candidates are expected to have demonstrated special aptitude and competence for advanced work in East Asian history. Admission will be based primarily on distinction in undergraduate or graduate work, including evidence of high achievement in history or related fields, and evidence of adequate preparation in one of the East Asian languages. The GRE General test and a writing sample are required.

Residence. Minimum of two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent).
For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid.

Program of Study. Students working toward this degree are all required, at an early stage in their preparation, to submit a plan to their advisor showing the fields of study (normally three, but sometimes four) they propose for their general examination. The student’s program is built around these fields, which may be drawn from the lists of fields for either EALC or the Department of History. Each student must do honors work in two half-year history seminars. Students who can submit a Master’s thesis in a relevant area are required to complete one substantial research paper, normally as part of a regular seminar.

Language Requirement. Students must demonstrate mastery of one East Asian language and proficiency in at least one other. This requirement is satisfied by credit for either

1. four full courses in Chinese language and three full courses in Japanese, or
2. four full courses in Japanese and two-and-one-half courses in Chinese, or
3. their equivalent. In special circumstances and by special permission, other East Asian languages such as Korean, Mongolian, Manchu, or Vietnamese may be substituted for Chinese or Japanese. All language requirements must be satisfied at least one month before the General Examination can be taken.

General Examination. The student must pass a two-hour oral General Examination in at least three fields, ordinarily chosen from those listed among the requirements for the PhD in History (see Higher Degrees in History). One of these fields must be in premodern history. In some cases, fulfilling these requirements may entail taking a fourth field. The examination is generally taken during the second term of the second year of study.

Dissertation. The dissertation must be in a field of East Asian history and must demonstrate the candidate’s capacity to do original research work, utilizing one or more of the East Asian languages. This dissertation must be submitted in triplicate by September 1 for the degree in November, by December 1 for the degree in March, or by April 1 for the degree in June.

Further information regarding courses and programs of study in history and East Asian languages may be obtained by writing to the Chair, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 ; www.fas.harvard.edu/~ealc /

PhD in History (with Special Field of East Asian History)

This PhD degree program is administered by the Department of History. The student must apply to the Department of History and must consequently conform to the requirements of the PhD in history, as given in Higher Degrees in History.

The requirements for this degree are:

Admission. Please refer to Higher Degrees in History.

Residence. Minimum of two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent).
For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid.

Program of Study. The student’s program is built around four “fields of study” selected by the student from a list of fields contained in Higher Degrees in History.

Language Requirement. The student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of of two East Asian languages, or one East Asian language plus German, French or Russian by passing examinations administered by the Department of History, which are ordinarily given in September and January. See also Higher Degrees in History.

General Examination. All students must take a two-hour oral examination, covering four fields of study (see above under Program of Study), ordinarily in May of the fourth term of graduate work.

Dissertation. Please see Higher Degrees in History for rules regarding the makeup of the dissertation committee, the timing of the dissertation proposal, and submission of the dissertation.

Further information regarding courses and programs of study in history may be obtained by writing to the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, Robinson Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138; history@fas.harvard.edu.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Joint Degrees Between the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Other Departments

After a full year of graduate study, a student whose subject of study is geographically
limited primarily to East Asia but who is specializing in some branch of knowledge other than linguistics, literature, or history may, with the approval of the departments concerned, become a candidate for the PhD degree under a special ad hoc committee representing the department of the special discipline and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The procedure for requesting the formation of such an ad hoc committee is outlined in The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook. The requirements for a PhD degree under such a committee are separately determined in each individual case, but the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations will normally expect a candidate to meet its usual language requirements. In recent years such ad hoc degrees have been administered to students working in the fields of anthro-pology, history of art and architecture, and sociology, among others.

Financial Aid

Applications for admission and for financial aid should be made as early as possible in the fall preceding the year of desired entrance into the Graduate School and prior to January 2 of that year.

Applicants who expect to rely on financial aid from Harvard at any stage in their graduate years should file the appropriate application for financial aid at the time they apply for admission. Detailed instructions are contained in the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid.

Course assistants and teaching fellows are selected by the various departments and committees, and in most departments these posts are not normally open to first-year graduate students.

Foreign Language and Area Study Fellowships (FLAS)

The fellowships are annually assigned to Harvard University by the US Department of Education under the National Defense Education Act (Title VI) for language and area studies in East Asia at Harvard and approved Asian universities; specifically,
Inter-University centers in Beijing, Tokyo, or at the ICLP in Taipei. Applicants must be American citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Harvard-Yenching Institute Fellowships

Harvard-Yenching Institute fellowships, primarily for Asian nationals who plan to return to Asia to teach, are awarded for graduate study at Harvard University in the humanities and social sciences, including (but not restricted to) pursuit of the degree programs outlined in this section. The Harvard-Yenching Institute and the School of Overseas Education of Peking University award fellowships for US students wishing to conduct advanced study or research in Chinese studies in China. Applications for these fellowships may be obtained from the Director, Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; www.harvard-yenching.org.

Traveling Fellowships

Social Science Research Council Fellowships for International Doctoral Research (formerly known as the Foreign Area Fellowship Program), funded by the Ford Foundation, support study in the United States and Asia. Inquiries should be addressed to the Social Science Research Council, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016; info@ssrc.org.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Harvard students wishing to study in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, or Taiwan may also apply for either a US Office of -Education-administered Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, or a Fulbright Grant for Graduate Study Abroad administered by the Institute of International Education for the US Department of State. Applications for these two awards may be obtained from the Fulbright coordinator at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Holyoke Center.

There are also travel grants among the Harvard General Scholarships, under the Kennedy, Knox, and Sheldon Traveling Fellowships and the Graduate Society -Fellowships. In addition, the Japan Foundation provides dissertation fellowships for research in Japan.

The Harvard-Yenching Institute

The Harvard-Yenching Institute is an independent nonprofit corporation (with a Board of Trustees and an executive director) primar-ily concerned with education in Asia. However, the location at this University of the Harvard-Yenching Library (which the institute founded and still helps to support), together with the institute’s headquarters for its administration, publications, fellowships, and program of visiting scholars from East Asia, makes the institute a major factor in resources for and activities in East Asian studies at Harvard. Although it contributes to the University’s Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, the institute itself is a foundation and not a teaching organization.

The institute publishes the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. It also supports the publication of various books through the Harvard University Press, or in conjunction with the Council on East Asian Studies.

The Harvard-Yenching Library

The Harvard-Yenching Library is the largest university library for East Asian research in
the United States and one of the most distinguished collections in East Asian languages outside Asia itself. In addition to materials in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, it also
contains holdings in Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, and Western languages. Thus, the library is both a subject collection on East Asia and a general collection of works in the East Asian languages.

The library, after having been known primarily for its outstanding collections on the classical and traditional literatures, histories, religions, and philosophies of China and Japan, has gone through a vigorous expansion of Korean holdings and is now also being built into a major repository on contemporary East Asia, while continuing to grow from strength in its original fields.

The library’s collection consists of over 980,000 volumes. It also boasts an outstand–ing periodical collection of more than 14,000 titles, and a newspaper collection consisting
of some 700 titles. Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the library’s microfilm and microfiche collection to its present size of approximately 80,000 reels and 18,000 fiche. Electronic resources are also being added
to its collection.

The library is open to all Harvard faculty and students and to other qualified scholars. A fee is assessed for borrowing privileges by non-Harvard users. (For the fee schedule, inquire at the circulation desk.)
The services offered by the library include the following:

• Reference
• Bibliographic assistance
• Interlibrary loans
• Copying (microfilming and xeroxing)

Biblographical records of all Chinese, Japanese, and Korean-language materials catalogued since 1989 are included in HOLLIS, as are the records for the entire Western-language collection. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean-language materials catalogued prior to 1989 are listed in separate printed book catalogues.

Registered users are permitted entry into the stacks. Study carrels are available in the library stacks. They are assigned as available upon application at the circulation desk.

The library is open during the regular academic year from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Summer hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the addition of noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays while Summer School is in session.

The library sponsors the Harvard-Yenching Library Bibliographical Series under which research aids in East Asian studies are published.

For more information consult the library’s Website at www.hcl.harvard.edu/harvard-yenching /.

Museums

The Harvard University Art Museums con-tain a distinguished representation of different branches of the archaeology and fine arts of China, Korea, and Japan, housed in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. The collections of ancient Chinese bronzes, jades, and Buddhist sculpture, and Japanese woodblock prints are among the finest in the world. The museum also houses an extensive working library, a large slide collection, and a substantial photographic archive.

Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has long been a leading center for research in the anthropology as well as the archaeology of Eastern Asia.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts possesses balanced collections of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese art that are among the finest in the world. Chinese numismatics and Japanese ethnology may be advantageously studied in the Essex Institute and the Peabody Museum of Salem.

The Council on East Asian Studies

Established in 1972, the Council on East Asian Studies was formed to coordinate all teaching and research in East Asian studies at Harvard University. The council is currently administered through the Asia Center.

The John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research

The John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research grew out of two research programs started in 1955, which resulted in establishment of the East Asian Research Center in 1957 (originally called the Center for East Asian Studies). Upon the retirement of John K. Fairbank, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, in 1977, the Center was renamed the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research in honor of its founder.

The center’s primary objective is to facilitate research and publication on China, with particular emphasis on contemporary issues. At the same time, the center’s program of activities reflects the underlying premise that China today can best be understood in the light of its historical background and in its geographical and cultural context.

Although the center does not offer instruction, it provides assistance to postdoctoral researchers who are preparing manuscripts for publication, and to graduate and undergraduate students traveling to Asia. In addition, the center invites senior researchers from American and foreign institutions to come as visiting scholars, research associates or fellows to work on selected projects.

For more information consult our website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~fairbank.

The Edwin O. Reischauer
Institute of Japanese Studies

First established in 1973 as the Japan -Institute, the Reischauer Institute has a University-wide mandate to develop and coordinate activities concerning Japan among the various faculties at Harvard, through the advancement of instruction and research in the social sciences and humanities. Moreover, the Institute seeks to expand and coordinate Japan-related connections with other Harvard departments, -centers, and research institutes, and to respond to scholarly and public interest in Japan from outside Harvard through outreach activities such as lectures, conferences, symposia, exhibitions, and films.
The institute contributes to

1. support for new teaching positions in the field of Japanese studies;
2. support for research, publications, library, and administrative costs related to institute programs;
3. undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowships and grants;
4. other activities designed to stimulate interest in the study of Japan.

The Korea Institute

The Korea Institute is Harvard’s only organization devoted solely to the development and support of Korean studies at the university. Established in 1981 under the aegis of the Fairbank Center, the Institute became an independent organization within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) in 1993. The Korea Institute’s purposes are to give heightened visibility and direction to Korean Studies activities throughout Harvard, and to serve as a focal point of involvement for scholars and others outside the Harvard community to conduct research with Harvard faculty, students, and resources.

The Institute’s programs include seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibits, films and cultural events. The Institute also coordinates a growing array of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowships, representing fields in the humanities and social sciences. The Institute supports publications in the Korean studies field, including a series on Korean literature, studies and translations, sponsored by the Sunshik Min Endowment for the Advancement of Korean Literature.
More information on the Korea Institute is available at: www.fas.harvard.edu/~korea, including a link for prospective students.

The Harvard University
Asia Center

The Harvard University Asia Center was established in 1997 to facilitate teaching and research in East Asian Studies throughout Harvard University. In addition, the Center will prepare for expanded programs in Southeast and South Asia. Some of the goals of the Asia Center are

1. to promote research, teaching and other programs that study Asia in comparative terms (particularly projects involving more than one Asian coun-try);
2. to support cooperative projects involving participants from more than one Faculty of the University; and
3. to develop and support programs which link scholarship
   on modern Asia to contemporary issues on government, business, law, society, culture, and other fields.

The Center currently administers Harvard’s National Resource Center for East Asia and publishes the Harvard East Asian Monograph Series, the Harvard-Hallym Series, and the Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series. The Center also supports faculty, graduate, and undergraduate research through its grants and fellowships programs.

AM in Regional Studies — East Asia
The AM degree is administered by the Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia. This program provides a basic preparation for specialization in the East Asian field, both for future PhD candidates and for those preparing for nonacademic careers.

The requirements for this degree are:

Admission. Admission is based on the appli-cant’s previous record, general ability, and promise. The typical applicant will have an undergraduate background in the study of East Asia and/or previous experience in East Asia itself. The GRE General test is required. Although knowledge of an East Asian language is not a prerequisite, such training also will be taken into consideration.

Residence. Candidates are ordinarily expected to be registered as full-time students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for four terms (two academic years), but up to one year of credit toward the degree requirements may be awarded for work already completed elsewhere.

Program of Study. Programs are flexible to meet individual needs but typically consist of the following. First year: an advanced language course in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, or, for students who have not previously studied the language, an appropriate beginning course; and six half-courses on East Asian history, political, social, and economic developments, on literature or other cultural manifestations, or courses offering methodological or comparative insights on East Asia. Second year: a full course continuing the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language; a seminar devoted to the writing of a research paper on a chosen topic; five other approved half-courses. Students with a special interest in Vietnam are normally required to attain proficiency in the Chinese or Japanese language.

Language Requirement. Minimum language proficiency is ordinarily defined as the satisfactory completion of a third-year level course. For students without prior language background, it usually will be necessary to continue formal language study, at Harvard or elsewhere, through the summer following the first year in residence.

Thesis. The presentation of an approved research seminar paper fulfills the thesis requirement.

Further information regarding the AM in Regional Studies — East Asia may be obtained by writing to the Chair, Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, or by consulting the Website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~rsea /.

Graduate Programs in East Asian Languages and Civilizations

The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations offers instruction in the
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Mongolian, and Vietnamese languages; its faculty also offers Literary Tibetan in the Sanskrit and Indian Studies Department. The principal fields of study are Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literature, East Asian Buddhism, and Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Inner Asian history. Instruction in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese history is also offered in the History Department. A rough division of emphasis places Chinese and Japanese history after 1800 in the History Department and most courses in earlier periods in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Faculty holding joint appointments with other departments include specialists in Chinese history, Vietnamese history, Buddhist studies, Chinese archaeology, and Japanese history.

This publication is designed to indicate briefly the opportunities for study and research on East Asia offered in the various departmental disciplines and in the several programs at Harvard designed specifically for the study of East Asia. The language instruction offered at Harvard includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Vietnamese. The departments in which the study of East Asia is pursued include Anthropology, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Economics, History of Art and Architecture, Government, History, Linguistics, Music, and Sociology. Instruction is also given under the Faculty Committees on the Core Curriculum, the Study of Religion, Regional Studies — East Asia, History and East Asian Languages, and Inner Asian and Altaic Studies.

In the following pages, information is given concerning admission, degree requirements, fellowships, libraries, museums, research activities, and publications. Courses are described in the Official Register of Harvard University entitled Courses of Instruction, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Admission

Application forms for admission to AM and PhD programs in the study of East Asia may
be obtained only from, and must be submitted to, the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 (not the Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia or any academic department). Applicants must have, or have in near prospect, a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution (or a satisfactory equivalent), with a superior academic record and other indications of promise. See www.https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS for online submission of the application.

The holder of a bachelor’s degree who for special reasons may wish to pursue East Asian studies without intending to take a higher degree should apply to the Office of Special Students and Visiting Fellows, Harvard University, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Special Students may be admitted to part-time as well as full-time study, and the tuition is the same as in the Graduate School. The University awards no fellowships or financial aid to Special Students.

Degree Requirements

Graduate students may pursue programs leading to higher degrees in several different subjects relating, directly or indirectly, to East Asia. The specific requirements for higher degrees in such subjects as anthropology, comparative literature, economics, history of art and architecture, linguistics, music, political science, and sociology, in any of which the student may emphasize work on East Asian materials, are listed below. The specific requirements for advanced degrees in the East Asian field follow.

In addition to the collaborative exchange with other Harvard departments such as astronomy, chemistry and chemical biology, organismic and evolutionary biology, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, EPS has reciprocal arrangements with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for graduate students to take and receive credit for courses.

The laboratories, libraries, and lecture rooms of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences are housed in the University Museum and in the David and Arnold Hoffman Laboratory of Experimental Geology. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is housed in Pierce Hall, across Oxford Street from the Hoffman Laboratory. The seismograph station is at the George R. Agassiz Station of the Astronomical Observatory in Harvard, Massachusetts, about 25 miles west of Cambridge. Laboratory facilities are available for radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry, trace element geochemistry, geophysics, X-ray diffraction analysis, mineral analysis with an automated electron microprobe, spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and sedimentology. The specimen collections in mineralogy, petrology, paleontology, and mining geology are among the best in the world.

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission are highly flexible and each application is judged on its own merits. Preparation in the related sciences of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology is as important as a solid background in geology. Students with undergraduate majors in other sciences are also encouraged to apply. The department does require prospective applicants to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as soon as possible.

Entering graduate students are expected to have received passing grades in at least four half-courses or equivalent of college-level calculus and linear algebra. Students are expected, in the course of graduate work, to complete the second and third year of college mathematics (intermediate and advanced calculus and differential equations).

Financial Aid

The Department of Earth and Planetary -Sciences guarantees full financial support for four years to all PhD candidates. Funding for the fifth year and beyond is considered on a case-by-case basis. Financial support for graduate students comes from a combination of grants, research assistantships, teaching fellowships, and outside support.

Each graduate student is required to teach two sections. This requirement is generally completed during the second and third year of graduate work. Funding from this required teaching is a part of the first two years of support. In addition, special summer scholarship funding is available for students to do research-related work in the field. The department usually funds all summer fieldwork proposals.

Prospective students are encouraged to apply for outside funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, Office for Naval Research, and NASA. Often international students must apply for outside funding such as the Fulbright and Knox fellowships before coming to the United States. Information on these agencies is available in more detail in a separate booklet issued by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Financing Graduate Study.

Degree Requirements

Residence
Minimum of two years; see The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook. Students should normally plan to complete all requirements for the PhD degree within four years of their enrollment at Harvard.

Appointment of Advisors
In September, all new students are assigned a preliminary advisor who along with the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) will help first-year students decide which courses to take during the fall term. At the start of the spring term, first-year students submit a Plan of Study listing the courses they plan to take to meet academic requirements and proposing their choice for an advisor and advisory committee (usually three faculty from the department). The Director of Graduate Studies meets individually with each student to review the Plan of Study, to finalize the appointment of the advisor and advisory committee, and to discuss summer research plans. As students’ research interests evolve, the composition of their advisory committee can be adjusted.

Plan of Study/Course Requirements
All students are required to take at least 16 graduate-level half-courses in fulfillment of the PhD degree. Four of these half-courses must be letter-graded at the 200 level in earth and planetary sciences or related courses at a suitable level in other disciplines such as applied mathematics, applied physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering sciences, mathematics, or physics. Two letter-graded half-courses must be Applied Math 105a and Applied Math 105b, or other equivalent courses approved by the faculty.

To ensure that graduate students gain exposure to the many areas of earth sciences, they must fulfill a breadth requirement. Students are required to take at least two letter-graded EPS courses outside of their main area of research interest. These courses must be approved by the student’s advisor. By petition to the GSC, courses with an earth or planetary science component in other departments at Harvard may count towards the breadth requirement, provided the course is a lecture course with an exam or a term paper designed for graduate students. Selection of the remaining eight courses is determined by the student in consultation with his/her advisor and can be either at the 200- or the 300-level.

The requirements outlined above are a minimum standard and students will usually take additional courses in both their selected field and others. Students normally satisfy the eight-specified course requirements in the first two years of graduate study in preparation for their qualifying oral examination, however, students need not fulfill these requirements before beginning research and should not put off research on this account.

All degree candidates must receive a grade of B or better for a course to count toward graduate credit, and they must maintain an overall average of B or better to continue in the program.

Qualifying Oral Examination
All candidates for the PhD degree are expected to take the qualifying oral examination by the end of their fourth semester in the program. The purpose of the oral examination is to determine a student’s depth and breadth of scholarship in a chosen area of specialization (not necessarily their prospective dissertation research), as well as the student’s originality, capacity for synthesis and critical examination, intensity of intellectual curiosity, and clarity of communication.

Progress Reports
In the third and subsequent years of study, students are required to submit to the department, via their advisory committee, a summary of the status of their thesis research, detailing their accomplishments for the past year, and goals for both the coming year and the period until completion. These Progress Reports ensure that students, their advisors, and the Graduate Studies Committee have the same understanding of students’ progress toward the PhD degree.

Final Examination/Dissertation Defense
By the end of the fifth term at Harvard, candidates are required to submit to the department, via their advisory committee, the subject and general objectives of the proposed dissertation research. The dissertation subject must be approved by the department; details may be modified as the investigation progresses, but any major change in the subject and scope must be approved by the department. Candidates must submit the dissertation not more than five years after having passed the Qualifying Oral Examination.

The object of the dissertation is to show that candidates have technical mastery of the field in which they present themselves and that they are capable of independent research. The subject should be distinct and limited, and the writer should be able to formulate conclusions modifying or enlarging some aspects of present knowledge.

The final exam is usually held within a month after the dissertation has been submitted. There are two components to the final exam: the first is a private defense before a small faculty committee; the second is a public presentation to the department as a whole.

Courses
The number of required courses for the PhD in comparative literature is 16, of which only two may be reading courses; at least 14 are to be letter-graded courses (i.e., not reading courses). Candidates are required to have at least as many 200-level courses as 100-level courses, and only in rare exceptions will courses below the 100-level be allowed to count toward the degree. Candidates may arrange to produce extra work, often in the form of longer papers, so as to receive from the department 200-level credit for courses that are listed at the 100-level in the Courses of Instruction. Such arrangements should be made early in the term when the course is being taken, because they must be approved by the course instructor and the director of graduate studies or the chair.

Each candidate will normally be expected to balance coursework in the following manner: four courses in the Department of Literature and Comparative Literature; three in a first literature; two in a second literature; and two in a third literature. Other coursework may include relevant courses in any of the above literatures; in another literature; in philosophy, anthropology, religion, linguistics, art, economics, and so forth. Any question regarding the nature of courses taken should be resolved with advisors before submission of study cards. If candidates or advisors have questions, they should pose them to the chair, DGS, or curriculum committee.

Each degree candidate is expected to fulfill the 16-course requirement by including a significant dimension of comparative historical study. This dimension can be met by taking a minimum of three courses with a chronological emphasis or focus different from the candidate’s primary chronological focus. It is important that these three courses be distinctly different from the main period in the candidate’s program. Thus a candidate concentrating upon 20th-century modernism would not be able to fulfill this requirement with three courses in the 19th century, nor would a candidate specializing in neo-classicism be able to claim satisfactory completion on the basis of three courses in the Renaissance.

Many candidates will normally declare a chronological focus. However, candidates may request a focus that covers a genre or field of study if it is followed throughout a very broad historical range, e.g., tragedy or lyric poetry in languages ancient and modern. In addition, all candidates will be welcome to identify a special interest in a particular literary form (such as drama, lyric, narrative, and the like) or a topic of substantial scope in literary theory (poetics, literature in its social context, the relation between literature and one of the other arts, and so forth). Whatever choice the candidate makes, the decision must be communicated to the chair by April 1 during the first year of study.

Languages
Candidates should have knowledge of at least four languages variously related to their course of study and long-term interests. Hence one language may be studied for “instrumental” reasons and at least one must be studied because it stands in a useful “cross-cultural” or “diachronic” relationship to others.

After appropriate consultation with the chair and/or director of graduate studies (DGS), candidates will draw up a list of four or more proposed languages. The list will be submitted to the chair for consideration by the department no later than October 1 of
the first year and voted upon no later than November 1. (The list of proposed languages may be resubmitted at a later date so long as the guidelines are met.)

Language requirements must be finished by the end of the third year (of course, candidates who want to take an AM after the second year must complete language requirements for that degree before the degree can be awarded).

English: If English is presented as one of the four languages, it must have a strong historical component. This requirement may generally be satisfied by two half-courses in English or American literature prior to 1800 or by similar coursework accepted for credit done elsewhere (see above); a course in the history and structure of the English language may be one of these two courses. Medievalists or those whose coursework in English falls prior to 1800 will need to display coursework in later periods of English or American literature. The goal is to have study in the language spread over more than one historical period in its development. Since individual programs vary, students should consult with the chair or DGS in advance regarding fulfillment of the stipulation of a strong historical component.

Instrumental Language: One of the four languages may be “instrumental”—a means for reading criticism, or an access to philological and/or historical issues, or a first step toward eventually studying the literature. Candidates may exercise this option by taking an advanced course or by passing a language exam in reading knowledge administered under the auspices of the department.

The instrumental language is an option that may appeal to candidates who seek in three languages a command that may extend to include speaking, listening, and writing, and in one language reading knowledge only; other candidates may choose to develop full command of all four languages.

Pre-modern or Cross-cultural Language:
One of the four languages must be either -pre-modern (“diachronic”) or cross-cultural. The term “pre-modern” implies that this language stands in a historically foundational
or, in certain cases, diachronic relationship to one of the other languages. Foundational languages would include classical Latin and Greek, biblical Hebrew, classical Arabic and Chinese, and Sanskrit. Normally this language is not simply the “Old” form of a modern
language which is studied in Old, Middle or Medieval, and Modern forms. In the event of uncertainty, candidates and/or their advisors should consult the Curriculum Committee.

The term “cross-cultural” implies that this language is from another linguistico-cultural group than the others. Usually a candidate working primarily on European languages and literatures, and choosing not to study a pre-modern language, would need to study a language such as Chinese or Arabic to meet this requirement.

Normally, English will not count as a cross-cultural language.

Addendum
Candidates whose program of study requires more than the language and related study outlined in previous sections of the regulations, especially those involving coursework, may design in advance appropriate arrangements in consultation with the chair and director of graduate studies.

Grades
Candidates are required, in a given year, to receive more As than Bs and no grade lower than B-. Candidates are not permitted to take an Incomplete in the Pro-Seminar nor may they take more than one Incomplete a term. Any Incomplete must be completed before the end of the term following that in which the course was taken, unless the student is given an earlier deadline by the instructor.

Common Essay
Candidates must take a written, take-home Common Essay examination by the end of the second year. Candidates will be asked to answer one of six general/theoretical questions. As the instructions for this examination will indicate, candidates will be expected to write from a comparative perspective and not respond solely on the basis of one literary tradition.

The Third Year
The third-year requirements in the PhD program in comparative literature will be composed of two parts, a written Reading Check at the beginning of the third year and a Prospectus Conference no later than the end of April of the candidate’s third year. Ideally, the three examiners for the Reading Check will also serve as the three faculty participants in the Prospectus Conference—but this is a recommendation rather than a requirement. Ordinarily, the three faculty participants in the Prospectus Conference will be three readers of the dissertation.

Acceptance of Dissertation Prospectus
After the examination, the prospectus, revised if necessary, will be circulated to all department members. At a department meeting convened by the chair it will be discussed and voted on. Where appropriate, the first reader will communicate any further suggestions for changing the prospectus and the bibliography directly to the candidate.

The Dissertation Conference
At least three-and-one-half months before the degree deadline, dissertation writers should give a substantially complete draft of the dissertation to all members of the committee to read. A date should be set for a meeting at least three months before the deadline for the degree and members of the committee should then meet together with the student to offer substantive recommendations for revision. The dissertation conference should be held in May for a November degree, in October for a March degree, and in February for a June degree.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Comparative Literature with a Special Program in the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature

Courses
As for the PhD in comparative literature, with the following amendments: The number of required courses for the PhD in comparative literature with a special program in the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature is 16, of which only two may be reading courses; at least 14 are to be letter-graded courses (i.e., not reading courses). Any question regarding the nature of courses taken should be resolved with advisors from the departmental Committee on the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature before submission of study cards. If candidates or members of the departmental Committee have questions, they should pose them to the Curriculum Committee.

Each candidate will normally be expected to balance coursework in the following manner: four courses in the Department of Literature and Comparative Literature or in other departments as deemed appropriate by the departmental Committee on the Study of Oral Tradition and Literature; three in a first literature; two in a second literature; and two in a third literature.

Languages
As for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Comparative Literature. In addition, one of the languages offered as one of the candidate’s three literatures must be represented by (or at least include) a substantial corpus that is independent of written transmission and this is derived from collections of performances recorded under strictly supervised conditions of fieldwork. A major resource for such purposes is the Milman Parry Collection at Harvard University.

Common Essay
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

The Third Year
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

Acceptance of Dissertation Prospectus
As for the PhD in Comparative Literature.

Please note: Applicants must also submit a writing sample—a paper or scholarly work—in English.

Students already in the program may receive the AM degree, but application for admission must be made to the PhD program. The only exception to this policy is for undergraduates in Harvard College with advanced standing who may apply to work toward a combined AB/AM degree.

To obtain this degree the candidate must complete eight half-courses. One of these half-courses must be the Pro-Seminar, another one must be in Literature and Comparative Literature, and the remaining six must include three in the first literature and two in the second literature. No more than one of the eight half-courses may be a reading course. Candidates are required to have at least as many 200-level as 100-level courses, and only in rare exceptions will courses below the 100-level be allowed to count toward the degree. The candidate must demonstrate proficiency in three languages, one of which may be English. One of the languages must be pre-modern or cross-cultural, as described in the requirements for the PhD.

The Department of Literature and Comparative Literature undertakes to promote and facilitate studies in the history, theory, and criticism of literature extending beyond the limits set by national and linguistic boundaries. The work of the department is designed to provide for the needs of students who wish to pursue a unified program of study involving literature in two languages (for the AM) or more than two (for the PhD). Students will take most of their courses in the departments of their elected literary fields, whose offerings those of this department are designed to supplement. Courses in other disciplines may be included when appropriate in individual programs. Every member of the department also participates in one of the other departments of language and literature, and members of those departments are regularly or occasionally engaged in the work of this department, and generally available upon request for consultation by its students. The members of the faculty listed as cooperating in Comp. Lit. 399 will usually be available for direction of dissertations and other counseling of students in this department; members of literary departments not there listed may also be willing to engage themselves for such assistance upon request.

All students in the department are required to take the proseminar (Comp. Lit. 299ar) during their first year of residence; candidates for the doctorate are required also to take at least one further course in theory and method, critical, historical, or linguistic. During the first two years of graduate study, the prospective candidate for the doctorate in comparative literature is expected to fulfill the residence requirements by taking courses offered in this and other departments of the University (thus also discharging the requirements for the master’s degree), and to prepare, by both general and specialized studies, for the Common Essay and reading check at the beginning of the third year. After passing these examinations, candidates may continue to engage in seminars and attend courses, but their primary task thenceforth will be the completion of a dissertation.

Prerequisites — Competence in both Greek and Latin sufficient to allow the student to take courses numbered above 100 upon entering graduate school.

Academic Residence — Minimum of two years of full-time study (a combination of 16 half-courses, 301s or units of TIME). Students are not normally permitted to take more than two courses numbered 301 before sitting for their general examinations.

Program of Study — Such as to foster expertise in:

1. The methodology covered in the Proseminar (required).
2. Greek and Latin languages and literatures, to be tested in the general examinations (see below).
3. Intensive exegesis (textual, critical). To this end, before the PhD is conferred, candidates must pass four seminars having the designation “Classical Philology” (two in Greek topics, two in Latin).
4. Prose composition, both Greek and Latin. This requirement is normally met by passing Greek K and Latin K, or the equivalent of the final examination in these courses, which may be set, if requested, as exemption examinations in late September or in January. This requirement must be met before the special examinations are taken (see below).
5. Historical linguistics. To this end, candidates must pass Greek 134 and Latin 134 or the equivalent work, before taking the special examination (see below).
6. Ancient history and classical archaeology. In these areas candidates must pass three courses, subject to the following provisions:
   (a)    If two courses are taken in ancient history, the third must be in classical archaeology, and vice versa.
   (b)    At least one of the three courses must be on a Greek topic, and one other on a Roman topic.
   (c)    At least one of the three courses must be a graduate seminar.
   (d)    Two of the three courses must be passed before the special examinations.
   (e)    A course on an ancient author in which work of an historical nature is submitted to fulfill the course requirements will be permitted to count towards the ancient history requirement.
7. Other fields (Medieval Latin, Byzantine Greek, Modern Greek, Classical Philosophy, epigraphy, numismatics, palaeography, papyrology; other relevant fields with permission of the graduate committee). Candidates must pass one half-course in any one of these areas, or a second half-course either in Greek or Roman history or in classical archaeology. This requirement must be met before the PhD is conferred.

Modern Languages — The demonstration of a reading knowledge of French or Italian and of German, to be tested by the department (with the aid of dictionaries). This requirement must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken. Tests are normally administered in September, February, and May.

General Examinations — All students will, normally by May of the second year, take general examinations comprising four parts, namely:

1. Two written examinations of three hours each in the translation of Greek and Latin authors; each examination will consist of six passages (half prose and half verse) of which two will be at sight (i.e., not from the list given below).
2. An oral examination of one-and-one-half hours, divided into two parts, on the history of Greek and Latin literature respectively. This examination will include, but will not be confined to, the material contained in the reading list. The examining committee will consist of one faculty member chiefly responsible for Greek literature; one chiefly responsible for Latin literature; and an additional one to moderate the proceedings and to intervene at his or her discretion.

These examinations may only be repeated once in the event of failure. If a student fails only one part of the examination, then he or she need only repeat that part.

Before taking these examinations, the candidate must have read, as a minimum, the following reading list in the original languages.

The Reading List:

Greek Literature:
Aeschines: Against Ctesiphon 159-end
Aeschylus: Oresteia, Persae
Apollonius Rhodius: I 1153-1357, III 1-166, 609-824
Aristophanes: Acharnians, Birds, Clouds, Frogs
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics I, Poetics
Callimachus: Aitia frr. 1-2, 67-75, 110, Hymns 2
Demosthenes: Olynthiacs 1, On the Crown 199-end, Philippics 1
Dio Chrysostom: Euboicus
Epigrams: (numbered as in Page, Epigrammata Graeca, except where otherwise specified):
Antipater Sidonius: XI, XXXVI-XL
Asclepiades: I, VI, XI, XX-XXII, XXXI-XXXIII
Callimachus: II-V, VIII, XI, XIV-XV, XXIX-XXX, XXXIV, XXXVIII, XLIII, XLV, LI-LIII, LVI, LIX, LXVII
Dioscorides: XVII, XXII
Hedylus: XI
Meleager: VI, IX, XIII, XXIX-XXXVI, XL-LVI, CIII
Philodemus: XXIII
Posidippus IX, XXIV, Lithika I-XX Austin-Bastianini
Theocritus: XIII-XV
Euripides: Bacchae, Hippolytus, Medea
Gorgias: Helen
Herodotus: I 1-130, III 1-16, 30-87, VIII 18-99
Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days
Homer: Iliad, Odyssey, Hymns 2 and 5
Isocrates: Panegyricus 26-50, Helen
Longus: Daphnis and Chloe 1, 4
[Longinus]: De sublimitate 1-16
Lucian: Dream, Assembly of the Gods
Lyric Poetry: selections as in D. Campbell,
Greek Lyric Poetry
Lysias: 1, 7, 12
Menander: Samia
Pindar: Olympians 1, 2, 7, 14; Pythians 1, 4, 8, 10; Nemeans 6, 7, 8, 10; Isthmians 7, 8
Plato: Apology, Gorgias, Republic I, VI 496a11-VII 518d7, Symposium
Plutarch: Demosthenes-Cicero, including synkrisis -
Polybius: VI 2-10, XXXVIII 22, XXXIX 1-6
Sophocles: Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus Tyrannus
Theocritus: 1, 2, 7, 11, 13
Thucydides: I 1-23, 31-44, 66-88,118-146, II 34-65, III 35-85, V 26, 84-116, VI 8-23, VII 84-87, VIII 1
Xenophon: Agesilaos

Latin Literature:
Apuleius: Metamorphoses I, IV 28 - VI 24
Augustus: Res Gestae
Caesar: Bellum Gallicum I, Bellum Civile III
Catullus: all
Cicero: In Catilinam 1-4; Pro Archia; Pro Caelio; Philippics 1, 7, 14; Somnium Scipionis; De Officiis I 1-60; Brutus; letters, as in D.R. Shackleton Bailey’s Selected Letters
Ennius: all fragments
Horace: Odes, Epodes, Satires I, Epistles I, II 1
Juvenal: 1-5, 10
Livy: I, VI, XXI, XXXIII
Lucan: I
Lucretius: I, III, IV 1058-1287, V 772-1457, VI 1138-1286
Martial: I
Ovid: Amores I, Fasti IV, Heroides I, VII, Metamorphoses I, VIII, X, XV 745-879,
Tristia I
Persius: 1
Petronius: Satyrica 26.7-78.8
Plautus: Amphitruo, Menaechmi
Pliny: Epistulae I 1, 20, II 1, III 5, 6, 16, 19, 21, IV 14, V 8, VI 16, 20, VII 24, 33, VIII 8, IX 33, 36, X 61, 62, 96, 97
Propertius: I, II 1, 8, 10, 12, 13B, 15, 26A, 34, III 1-5, IV 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11
Quintilian: X 1
Sallust: Catiline
Seneca: Medea, Epistulae Morales 7, 12, 47, 51, 56, 86, 88, 114, 122
Seneca (Rhetor): Controversiae I 2,
Suasoriae VI
Statius: Siluae I 1, II 2, 7, IV 6, Thebaid IX
Suetonius: Tiberius
Tacitus: Agricola, Dialogus, Histories I, Annals I, IV, XIV
Terence: Eunuchus, Adelphoe
Tibullus: I, II
Virgil: Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid

Students may make any substitutions of works by the same author, provided that the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. With the approval of the graduate committee, students may also substitute a work or works of one or more authors for a work of another, or a work of an author not on the list for an author on the list, provided that the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. One month before the written examination (by June 1 for a fall examination), students will deliver their reading list, whether the original or a modified version, to the director of graduate studies. This will be used as the basis for the written translation examinations.

Special Examinations — By the end of the third, or, at the latest, the fourth graduate year, the candidate must take a two-hour oral examination in two special authors, one Greek and one Latin, and one special field. The candidate will be expected to know the historical background and manuscript tradition of these authors. The special field should be selected from fields such as the following: a period of Greek or Roman history, philosophy, religion, mythology, archaeology, topography, epigraphy, palaeography, papyrology, grammar or linguistics, metrics, history of classical studies, Medieval Latin literature, patristics, Byzantine studies, or the special problems of a literary genre (e.g., epic, historiography). The choice of authors and field should be submitted for approval by the graduate committee at the time of the general examinations or within a month following them. Preparation for this examination will be by independent study, with regular supervision by a faculty member for each part of the examination (Class. Phil. 302). These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Dissertation —

1. At the end of the special examinations, or at the latest within one month thereafter, the candidate should specify the area in which the dissertation is to be written and the name of the dissertation director. This person shall be a member of the Harvard faculty.
2. The candidate, after consultation with the director, and within two months of the special examinations, will then invite two other faculty members to serve as readers. In exceptional cases, and with the prior approval of the graduate committee, one of these two members may be drawn from another department, another university, or an equivalent institution.
3. Before the end of the semester following the special examinations, the candidate shall meet with the director and the two readers for approval of the prospectus of the dissertation. The prospectus can take many forms, and its scope is various. The purpose is to ensure that the candidate has done enough work to determine that (a) the project is manageable, is of suitable scope, and has not been done before in the same way, and (b) the candidate has the knowledge and skills to make an original contribution on the topic. The prospectus should include an account of the issue to be investigated, an outline of the approach to be taken, an annotated bibliography, and a timetable for completion. The recommended length is 20-25 pages. The director shall promptly, by means of the appropriate form (available in the department office), notify the graduate committee of the approved title and the name of the members of the dissertation committee.
4. The director shall, by June 1 of each year, submit the appropriate form (available in the department office) notifying the graduate committee of the student’s progress towards completion of the dissertation.
5. Not later than the end of the sixth graduate year (except by permission of the graduate committee), the candidate must present a dissertation as evidence of independent research. The dissertation shall be written in accordance with the following directions and in conformity with guidelines set out in the GSAS publication, The Form of the Doctoral Thesis, available at http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/academic/thesis.html :
   (a)    The dissertation must be written in an acceptable English style.
   (b)    The completed work, in three copies, clearly printed but not yet bound, must be ready for the three readers not later than April 1 for the degree in June, December 1 for the degree in March, or August 1 for the degree in November.
6. The completed work must be accompanied by two copies of a summary of not over 1,200 words, which the director will promptly forward to the editor of Harvard Studies in Classical Philology for publication.
7. When the dissertation is completed and submitted, the director and the two readers will read and vote on it. A majority of votes shall decide whether or not it is accepted. Approval of the dissertation constitutes the final requirement for the degree. The final copy should conform to the requirements described in The Form of the Doctoral Thesis (see above).

Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Archaeology

The field of Classical Archaeology is understood to cover Aegean, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and archaeology. Faculty will also arrange work on a cross-departmental basis in related fields such as Egyptian, Near Eastern, Anatolian, Punic, Byzantine, and other areas of European art and archaeology.

Prerequisites — Entering students are expected to have competence in both Greek and Latin sufficient to take courses numbered above 100 in one of these languages (the “major language”), and above the beginning level of the other (the “minor language”). In exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the director of graduate studies, substitution of another ancient language in the place of the minor language may be arranged.

Some preparation in German and either French or Italian should be undertaken before admission to the program.

Academic Residence — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Program of Study — Such as to foster knowledge of the archaeology and monuments of the classical world in their historical and social context.

1. Proseminar: Taken in the first year. Pass/Fail.
2. Classical Archaeology: four seminars, of which at least one shall be on a Greek topic and another on a Roman topic. One of the four may be in a related field.
3. Languages and Literatures: three half-courses at or above the 100 level, of which at least one shall be in the “major language” and another in the “minor language,” and one of which shall be a seminar.
4. Ancient History: three half-courses, of which at least one shall be in Greek and another in Roman history. One of the three shall be a seminar.
5. Other Fields: three half-courses, of which one must be in non-classical art history, and the other two are to be chosen from fields such as anthropology, art history, epigraphy, numismatics, palaeography, and papyrology, or a related field at the discretion of the director of graduate studies.

Modern Languages — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

General Examinations — All students will, normally by May of the second graduate year, take general examinations comprising three parts:

1. A written three-hour examination on the “major language,” consisting of six passages for translation (three prose, three verse) from the works prescribed in the reading list for that language.
2. A three-hour written slide–examination testing knowledge of major sites, monuments, and works of art in the Greco-Roman world from the Bronze Age to the Late Roman period (a reading list indicating the relevant material is available from the director of graduate studies).
3. A one-and-one-half hour oral examination testing general knowledge of major sites, monuments, and works of art of the Greco-Roman world from the Bronze Age to the Late Roman period. This examination will include, but will not be confined to, the material contained in the reading list of relevant material, and may include original objects. The examining committee will consist of at least three faculty members, one of whom will be appointed to moderate the proceedings and to intervene at his or her discretion.

These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure. If a student fails only one part of the examination, then he or she need only repeat that part.

Special Examinations — All students will, normally at the end of the third graduate year, take a two-hour oral examination in three topics, of which at least one should be Greek and one Roman. The choice of topics should be submitted for approval by the graduate committee at the time of the general examinations, or within a month following them. Preparation for this examination will be by independent study, with regular supervision by a faculty member for each part of the examination. These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Travel — After passing the special examinations, students are expected to spend one year either in academic programs at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens or at the American Academy in Rome, or at other institutions abroad which house materials relevant to their major area of research. In addition, students are strongly encouraged to acquire fieldwork experience.

Dissertation — At the end of the special examinations the candidate should specify the area in which the dissertation is to be written and the name of the director. In all other respects the regulations governing the dissertation are the same as those given above for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Reading List — The Major Language Translation Examination (see under General Examinations) will be based on the following list. Students are also urged to read widely in translation from authors and works not included in the list.

Greek Literature:
Aeschylus: Agamemnon
Aristophanes: Frogs
Aristotle: Poetics
Demosthenes: Philippics 1
Epigrams (numbered as in Page, Epigrammata Graeca): Callimachus II-V, VIII, XI, XIV-XV, XXIX-XXX, XXXIV, XXXVIII, XLIII, XLV, LI-LIII, LVI, LIX, LXVII, Posidippus IX, XXIV
Euripides: Bacchae
Herodotus: 1
Hesiod: Theogony
Homer: Iliad 1, 18, 22, 24; Odyssey 1, 7, 9, 19
Inscriptions: R. Meiggs and D. Lewis, A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions #23 (Themistocles Decree), 93 (epigram for a Lycian dynast), J. H. Oliver, Greek Constitutions #2 (rescript on tomb-violation)
Lyric Poetry: selections from Sappho, Alcaeus, Archilochus, and Simonides, as in D. Campbell,
Greek Lyric Poetry
Lysias: 1
Pausanias: 1, 5
Philostratus the Younger: Imagines
Plato: Symposium
Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus
Theocritus: 1, 7
Thucydides: 1; 6.72-105; 7.1-17, 21-24, 36-87

Latin Literature:
Augustus: Res Gestae
Catullus: 63, 64, 66
Cicero: letters, as in D. R. Shackleton Bailey’s Selected Letters; Fourth Verrine Oration
Horace: Satires I
Juvenal: 3
Lex de imperio Vespasiani, as in M. Crawford’s Roman Statutes
Livy: 1, 6
Martial: 1, 14
Ovid: Metamorphoses 10
Petronius: Satyrica 26.7-78
Pliny the Elder: Natural History 34-35
Pliny the Younger: Epistulae 1.1, 3, 15; 2.1, 6, 17; 3.5, 6, 16, 19, 21; 4.28, 30; 5.6, 11; 6.16, 20; 7.24; 8.8; 9.7, 33, 36; 10.61, 62, 70, 71, 90, 91, 96, 97
Propertius 1
Scriptores Historiae Augustae: Life of Hadrian
Seneca: Epistulae Morales 7, 12, 47, 51, 56, 86, 88
Statius: Silvae 1.1, 3; 2.2; 4.6
Suetonius: Life of Nero
Tacitus: Annals 14
Virgil: Aeneid 4, 6, 8
Vitruvius: De Architectura 1

Students may make any substitutions of works by the same author, provided that the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. With the approval of the director of graduate studies, students may also substitute a work or works of one or more authors for a work of another, or a work of an author not on the list for that of an author on the list, provided that the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. One month before the written examinations, students will deliver their reading list, whether the original or a modified version, to the director of graduate studies. This will be used as the basis for the written translation examinations.

Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Philosophy

The purpose of the program in Classical Philosophy is to provide the student with the basic training in both philosophy and classical philology necessary for work in this field. Students who wish their primary grounding to be in the classics should apply to the program in Classical Philosophy in this department; students who wish their primary grounding to be in philosophy should apply to the parallel program in the Department of Philosophy.

Prerequisites — Competence in Greek and Latin sufficient to allow the student to take courses numbered above 100 in Greek and above the beginning level in Latin upon entering graduate school.

Academic Residence — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Modern Languages — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Program of Study — Such as to foster expertise in:

1. The methodology covered in the Proseminar.
2. Greek and Latin literature and philosophy; to be tested in the general examinations (see below).
3. Intensive exegesis. By the end of the second year, the candidate must take two half-courses designated “primarily for graduates” and given by the faculty of the department. In addition, the candidate must, by the end of the second year, have taken courses requiring substantial papers, or have submitted independently written papers, in each of the following areas: Plato, Aristotle, and either Pre-Socratic or Hellenistic Philosophy.
4. Prose composition. This requirement is met by passing Greek K (or the equivalent) and Latin H before taking the special examinations.
5. Modern philosophy. Before taking the special examinations, the candidate must complete, with a grade of B or better, the following courses in the Department of Philosophy:
   (a)     One course in Formal Logic.
   (b)     One course in Ethics, Political Philosophy, or Aesthetics.
   (c)     One course in Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics, or Philosophy of Science.

General Examinations — All students will, normally by the end of their second year, take general examinations comprising four parts, namely:
(a) two written examinations of three hours each in the translation of Greek and Latin authors; each examination will consist of six passages, including both prose and verse, of which two will be at sight; and
(b) an oral examination of one-and-one-half hours, of which half will be on the history of either Greek or Latin literature, and half on Greek and Roman philosophy. These examinations may be repeated only once in case of failure. If a student fails only one part of the examination, then he or she need only repeat that part.

The Reading List:

Greek Literature:
Aeschylus: Oresteia, Prometheus
Aristophanes: Acharnians, Birds, Clouds, Frogs
Aristotle: Categories 1-5; Physics I, II; Metaphysics A, L; Nicomachean Ethics I-III.5; Poetics
Callimachus: Aitia fr. 1-2, 67-75, 110,
Hymns 2
Demosthenes: Olynthiacs 1, On the Crown 199-end, Philippics 1
Diogenes Laertius: X 1-83, 117-154
Euripides: Bacchae, Hippolytus, Medea
Gorgias: Helen
Herodotus: I 1-130, III 1-87
Hesiod: Theogony
Homer: Iliad, Odyssey, Hymns 2 and 5
Isocrates: Panegyricus
Lyric Poetry: selections as in D. Campbell,
Greek Lyric Poetry
Lysias: 1, 7, 12
Menander: Samia
Parmenides: all B fragments
Pindar: Olympians 1, 2; Pythians 1, 8, 10
Plato: Apology, Euthyphro, Gorgias, Phaedo, Republic I, II 357A-369B, IV 427D-445E, V 473B-480A, VI 502C-VII 521B, Parmenides 126A-135C
Plotinus: Enneads I 6
Plutarch: De Stoicorum Repugnantiis
Sextus Empiricus: Pyrrh. Hyp. I
Sophocles: Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus
Theocritus: 1, 2, 7, 11, 13
Thucydides: I, II 34-65, III 35-85, V 26, 84-116, VI 8-23, VII 84-87, VIII 1
Xenophon: Memorabilia

Latin Literature:
Apuleius: De Deo Socratis
Augustinus: De Magistro
Caesar: Bellum Gallicum I, Bellum Civile III
Catullus: all
Cicero: In Catilinam 1-4; Pro Caelio; Philippics 1; Academica; De Finibus;
De Oratore I; Brutus; letters, as in D. R. Shackleton Bailey’s Selected Letters
Ennius: all fragments
Horace: Odes, Epodes, Satires I, Epistles I, II 2
Juvenal: 1, 3, 4, 6, 10
Livy: I, XXI, XXXIII
Lucretius: I, II 1-293, III, IV 1058-1287, V, VI 1138-1286
Martial: I
Ovid: Amores I, Heroides 1, 4, Metamorphoses I, VII, VIII, Tristia I
Persius: 1
Plautus: Amphitruo, Pseudolus, Rudens
Pliny: Epistulate I 1, 20, II 1, III 5, 7, 16, 19, 21, IV 14, V 8, VI 16, 20, VII 17, 27, 33, X 96, 97
Propertius: I, II 1, 8, 10, 12, 13B, 15, 26A, 34, III 1-5, IV 3, 7, 8, 9, 11
Quintilian: X 1
Sallust: Catiline
Seneca: Medea, Epistulae Morales 7, 12, 47, 51, 56, 76, 86, 88, 108, 114, 120-122, 124, De Constantia Sapientis, De Vita Beata
Suetonius: Tiberius
Tacitus: Agricola, Dialogus, Histories I, Annals I-II 26, IV 1-12, 32-67, VI 18-30, 50-51, XI 23-38, XII 58-XIII 25, XIV 1-65, XV 38-65, XVI 18-35
Terence: Heauton Timorumenos, Adelphoe
Virgil: Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid

Students may make substitutions of authors or works under the same conditions as students taking the degree in Classical Philology.

Special Examinations — By the end of the third or, at the latest, the fourth graduate year the candidate must take a two-hour oral examination in two special authors, one Greek and one Latin, and one special field, which will in this case be a period or area of ancient philosophy. The candidate will be expected to know the historical background and manuscript tradition of the chosen authors. The choice of authors and field should be submitted for approval at the time of the general examinations or as soon thereafter as possible. These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Dissertation — The regulations governing the dissertation are the same as for the PhD in Classical Philology. Where appropriate, one of the three readers may be from outside the Department of the Classics.

Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History

Prerequisites — A bachelor’s degree in Classics (or one in History combined with substantial study of Greek and Latin) represents the best preparation for the study of Ancient History, which is here understood to mean Greek history from the Mycenaean period to Roman times, and Roman history from the beginnings to late antiquity. Students applying to study Ancient History in the Department of the Classics must have competence in both Greek and Latin sufficient to take departmental courses numbered above 100 (“upper-level courses”) in one of these languages (the “major language”), and above the beginning level in the other (the “minor language”). However, they will be tested equally in both Greek and Latin, normally by the end of the second year (see General Examinations (1)). Those wishing to study Ancient History at Harvard with less emphasis on languages and texts, and more on other fields of history such as Medieval or Byzantine, should note that the Department of History also offers Ancient History as a field in its PhD program.

Some preparation in German and either French or Italian is also advised before admission to the program.

Entering students should also have taken the equivalent of two one-term introductory surveys in Greek history and in Roman history.

Academic Residence — As for the PhD in Classical Philology (see above).

Program of Study — Such as to foster knowledge of Greek and Roman history and historiography, in association with fields such as philology (in the broad sense), archaeology, epigraphy, and numismatics. Exemptions from specific courses required below may be granted in particular cases on the basis of work already completed elsewhere.

1. Proseminar: History 3910, The Practice of History, offered annually by the Department of History.
2. Ancient History and Historiography: Four half-courses, of which two shall be in Greek and two in Roman; at least one Greek course and one Roman course shall be a graduate seminar. These four half-courses shall ordinarily be taken in the first two years of graduate study.
3. Languages and Literatures: Such courses as may be recommended by the graduate committee in order to ensure a high level of competence in both Greek and Latin, to be taken before the general examinations.
4. Archaeology: One half-course, to be passed before the special examinations.
5. Epigraphy, Numismatics: Two half-courses, to be passed before the special examinations.
6. Modern Languages: Two examinations involving translation (with the aid of dictionaries) from German and either French or Italian. This requirement must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken. Tests are normally administered in September, February, and May.
7. Study Abroad: Students are required to spend a summer or a semester in an academic program such as the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (for which they should apply for the Charles Eliot Norton Fellowship), the American Academy in Rome, or other programs (including archaeological excavations), which provide the opportunity of working closely with ancient material culture. This period of study should be completed before taking the degree, and preferably before the student commences work on the dissertation.

General Examinations — All students will, normally by the end of their second year, take examinations comprising two parts as follows:

1. Language translation examinations, comprising two written exams of two hours each. Each exam will contain passages for translation taken from the list of ancient authors below. Each of these examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure. Students are also urged to read the ancient authors widely in translation.
2. Oral examination of one-and-a-half hours on Greek and Roman history and historiography. This examination will be based on the Reading List below, and will also involve a general knowledge of the outlines of Greek and Roman history. The examining committee will consist of one faculty member chiefly responsible for Greek history; one chiefly responsible for Roman history; and an additional one to moderate the proceedings and to intervene at his or her discretion.

Reading List — The language translation examination (see under General Examinations) will be based on the following list. Students are also urged to read widely in translation from authors and works not included on the list.

Greek Literature:
Aeschylus: Persians
Appian: BC 1
Aristophanes: Acharnians
Aristotle: Constitution of the Athenians
Cassius Dio: 53
Demosthenes: Philippics 1
Dionysius of Halicarnassus: On Thucydides
Herodotus: 1
Homer: Iliad 1, 2, 18; Odyssey 2, 9, 11
Isocrates: Philip
Lucian: Quomodo historia conscribenda sit
Lysias: Against Eratosthenes
Maccabees 2
Plato: Symposium, Apology
Plutarch: Pericles, Antony, De Herodoti
malignitate
Polybius: 1
Ps-Xenophon: Constitution of the Athenians
Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus
Thucydides: 1, 2.34-65, 3.35-85, 5.26, 84-116, 6.8-23, 7.84-87, 8.1
Fragmentary historians: Hellanicus in F. Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker

Latin Literature:
Ammianus Marcellinus: 22
Augustus: Res Gestae
Caesar: 2 books from Bellum Gallicum or Bellum Civile
Cicero: Pro Milone; De republica; letters, as in D. R. Shackleton Bailey’s Selected Letters
Ennius: fragments of Annales as in Skutsch’s edition
Fronto: Principia historiae
Horace: Odes 3.1-6 (Roman Odes)
Juvenal: Satires 1, 3, 10
Livy: 1, 21, 22
Lucan: 1
Pliny the Younger: letters, as in A. N. Sherwin-White’s Fifty Letters of Pliny
Quintilian: Institutio oratoria 10.1
Sallust: Jugurtha or Catiline; selected fragments of the Histories
Scriptores Historiae Augustae: Hadrian
[Seneca]: Octavia
Suetonius: Julius Caesar or Augustus and
one other
Tacitus: Histories 1; Annals 4; either Agricola or Germania
Virgil: Aeneid 4, 6, 8
Fragmentary historians: Cato in H. Peter, Historicorum Romanorum Reliquiae

Students may make any substitutions of works by the same author, provided the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. With the approval of the graduate committee, students may also substitute a work or works of one or more authors for a work of another, or a work of an author not on the list for that of an author on the list, provided that the substituted material is roughly of the same length and parallel in genre. One month before the language examinations, students will deliver their reading list, whether the original or a modified version, to the director of graduate studies. This will be used as the basis for the general examinations.

Special Examinations — All students will, normally by the end of their third year, take special examinations as follows:

One oral examination of two hours. The exam will cover three areas for questioning, one on a specific topic selected from within one of the seven fields listed below, the other two covering two entire fields more generally (one Greek and one Roman, and both different from the field within which the specific topic has been selected).

Greek history:
1) Minoan and Mycenaean Greece;
2) Dark Age and Archaic Greece;
3) Classical Greece;
4) The Hellenistic World.

Roman history:
5) Early Rome and the Roman Republic;
6) The Roman Empire;
7) Late Antiquity.

In preparation for these examinations students will normally take three year-long courses (numbered 302) with members of the department in the two terms prior to their taking the examinations. The departmental members will be responsible for setting and grading the examinations in the relevant fields. At least one of the examination fields selected by the student must be in Greek history, and one in Roman history. With the permission of the graduate committee, which will confer with those members of the department teaching ancient history before giving such permission, students may elect topical rather than chronological fields (e.g., women in antiquity, Roman religion, etc.) for examination. Such permission will be granted only if the three chosen fields ensure sufficiently broad coverage of Greek and Roman history.

Dissertation — At the end of the special examinations, the candidate should specify the area in which the dissertation is to be written and, if possible, the name of the dissertation director. In all other respects the regulations governing the dissertation are the same as those given above for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Latin

Prerequisites and Academic Residence — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Program of Study — As well as acquiring close familiarity with Medieval Latin, candidates will be expected to continue their study of both Greek and classical Latin. Programs of study will be determined on an individual basis in consultation with a faculty director in Medieval Latin. The program will be such as to foster expertise in:

1. Classical and Medieval Latin language and literature, to be tested in the general examinations (see below).
2. Intensive exegesis (textual, critical, historical). To this end, before taking the special examinations, candidates must pass two half-courses designated “primarily for graduates” and given by faculty of the department before taking the special examinations. One of these half-courses will normally be Classical Philology 299 (see (5) below).
3. Prose composition. This requirement is met by passing Latin K (or the equivalent) and Greek H; it must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken (see below).
4. Historical linguistics. This requirement is met by passing Latin 134 or equivalent work; it must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken (see below).
5. Latin palaeography (which may be met by passing Classical Philology 299 or equivalent work).

Modern Languages — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

General Examinations — All students will, normally by the end of their second year, take general examinations comprising four parts, namely:

1. Two written examinations of three hours each in the translation of classical Latin and Medieval Latin authors; each examination will consist of six passages (half prose and half verse) of which two will be at sight.
2. An oral examination of one-and-one-half hours on the history of classical and Medieval Latin literature. The examinations will be based on two reading lists in classical and Medieval Latin which will be approximately the same in length as those in classical Greek and Latin literature required for the PhD in Classical Philology (see above). These examinations may only be repeated once in the event of failure. If a student fails only one part of the examination, then he or she need only repeat that part.

Special Examinations — By the end of the third or, at the latest, the fourth year the candidate must take a two-hour oral examination devoted to (a) an ancient Latin author, with attention to the author’s influence on medieval literature or thought; (b) a Medieval Latin author, including the manuscript tradition of the author’s works and historical background; and (c) a special subject to be selected from the following fields: medieval history, philosophy, theology, law, art, Latin palaeography, Latin grammar and metrics. The choice of authors and subject should be submitted for approval at the time of the general examinations or within a month following them. Preparation for this examination will be by independent study, with regular supervision by a faculty member for each part of the examination (Classical Philology 302). These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Dissertation — The regulations governing the dissertation are the same as for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Doctor of Philosophy in Byzantine Greek

Prerequisites and Residence — As for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Program:

1. Within the department: It is expected that before general examinations all candidates will take courses in the department in order to improve their knowledge of Greek (classical and Byzantine) and Latin (classical and medieval), acquire familiarity with those ancient Greek authors who were widely read or imitated in Byzantium, and learn the Hellenistic and Roman backgrounds of Byzantine civilization. In choosing the relevant courses for the degree program and thereafter, candidates should consult their supervisor in Byzantine Greek. Between the beginning of the second year and the time of the general examinations, candidates should become familiar with the history of Byzantine literature and the history of Greek in the Byzantine period. Before taking special examinations, each candidate must have specialized in one period of Byzantine literature, have become acquainted with one other aspect of Byzantine civilization (such as art, theology, law, philosophy, or another related medieval literature, including Latin), and have acquired familiarity with one auxiliary discipline (such as Greek palaeography, codicology, epigraphy, or numismatics).
2. Outside the department: Before taking the special examinations, all candidates must have taken one course in Byzantine history and one in Byzantine art.

Modern Languages — Candidates must demonstrate a reading knowledge of German and one of the following: French, Russian, or (except for native speakers) Modern Greek, to be tested by the department. This requirement must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken. Tests are normally administered in September, February, and May.

General Examinations — All students shall, normally by the end of their second year, take General Examinations comprising four parts, namely:

1. Two written examinations of three hours each in the translation of ancient
   Greek and Byzantine Greek authors; each examination will consist of six passages (four in prose and two in verse) of which two will be at sight.
2. An oral examination of one-and-one-half hours on the history of ancient Greek and Byzantine literature, and on the history of Greek in the Byzantine period.

The examinations will be based on two reading lists in ancient and Byzantine Greek literature which will be approximately the same in length as those in classical Greek and Latin literature required for the PhD in classical philology. These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure. If a student fails only one part of the examination, then he or she need only repeat that part.

Special Examinations — By the end of the third or, at the latest, the fourth year the candidate must take a two-hour oral examination devoted to
(a) a Byzantine author writing in high style (including the manuscript tradition of the author’s works and historical background), or a genre in high style, with special attention to their antique models, or a Byzantine author writing in middle or low style, with attention to subsequent literary development;
(b) a special subject to be selected by the candidate from the following fields: Byzantine art, history, law, philosophy, theology, another related medieval literature, including Latin, and an auxiliary discipline (as described above). The choice of author (or genre) and subject should be submitted for approval at the time of the general examinations or as soon thereafter as possible. These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Dissertation — The regulations governing the dissertation are the same as for the PhD in Classical Philology.

Doctor of Philosophy in Modern Greek (subject to further revision)

Library and Research Facilities — Harvard libraries house some 80,000 volumes in modern Greek language, literature, history, and folklore. The collection dates back to the early nineteenth century, and is the largest and richest in the world outside of Greece. Its uniqueness owes much to Harvard scholars, above all to the efforts of C. C. Felton, E. A. Sophokles, C. Whitman, and A. B. Lord. Areas of outstanding excellence include rare nineteenth-century periodicals; first editions of major and minor poets and prose-writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; rare printed editions and manuscripts of liturgical and vernacular texts of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries from Venice, Constantinople, Jassy, Bucharest, Jerusalem (many directly related to the rise of the vernacular and to Cretan Renaissance literature); a virtually complete set of first editions of folksong and folklore publications (including periodicals) in Greek, French, Italian, German, and English; the invaluable Whitman/Rinvolucri collection of karagiozes (shadow puppets); and above all the unique and distinctive Parry/Lord and Notopoulos archives of folk music and folk poetry. In addition, Boston libraries (including Boston University) contain largely unresearched materials on the early nineteenth-century Protestant missions to Greece, while the Hellenic College, Brookline, houses an excellent selection of books related to church history.

Prerequisites — Two years of enrollment for full-time study, with a total of at least fourteen half-courses completed with honor grades (no grade lower than B-, half of all grades must be A or A-). A full-time program comprises up to four courses per term, which may include courses of independent study and research. Students may take related courses in other departments in line with their individual interests, but must consult with their supervisor in modern Greek before doing so.

Program of Study — In addition to close analysis of modern Greek texts, all candidates will be expected to take courses, and/or undertake programs of guided reading, prior to the general examinations, in order to improve (a) knowledge of the history and development of the Greek language, including study of the katharevousa and the principles of modern dialect differentiation; (b) mastery of the rudiments of postclassical history pertinent to modern Greek; (c) familiarity with ancient and Byzantine texts relevant to the study of modern Greek culture, including palaeography and the study of Greek manuscripts and early printed editions; (d) understanding of major cultural trends from the Renaissance to the present day; (e) awareness of current theoretical approaches. While programs of study will be determined on an individual basis in consultation with the supervisor, two half-courses each for (a) through (c) and at least one half-course each for (d) and (e) are recommended. The curriculum is designed to foster expertise in (1) and (2) and at least two of (3) through (6):

1. The study of the modern Greek language, its history and development from the Hellenistic koine to the present day;
2. The study of modern Greek literature, from the twelfth century to the present day;
3. Literary criticism, with emphasis on the poetry and prose of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries;
4. Textual criticism, with emphasis on vernacular texts from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries and on Cretan Renaissance poetry and drama from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries;
5. Comparative analysis in ancient Greek mythology and modern Greek folklore;
6. Social and anthropological approaches to modern Greek culture.

Languages — In addition to a reading knowledge of ancient Greek (to the level of Greek B or the equivalent), and of Byzantine Greek (two courses or equivalent), a reading knowledge of two other languages relevant to the program of study (e.g., Latin, Ottoman/Turkish, French, German, Italian, Russian), one of which should be either French or German. Requirements may be satisfied either by course work, or by examination (with the aid of dictionaries). This requirement must be fulfilled before the special examinations are taken. Tests are normally administered in September, February, and May.

General Examinations — All students should normally, by the end of their second year, take three general examinations, namely:

1. Two written examinations of three hours each, covering (a) translation, explication, and commentary on prepared and unprepared texts from the twelfth century to the present day, and (b) explication and commentary on prepared texts from a specified field.
2. An oral examination of one-and-one-half hours, to be conducted in Greek and English.

These examinations may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Special Examinations — By the end of the third, or, at the latest, the fourth year, the candidate must take a two-hour oral examination devoted to at least one modern Greek author in relation to a genre and/or special subject to be selected from the fields of language, literature, and ethnography. Choice of author(s) and genre/subject should be submitted for approval at the time of the general examinations, or as soon thereafter as possible. This examination may be repeated only once in the event of failure.

Dissertation — The regulations governing the dissertation are the same as for the PhD in Classical Philology, except that the dissertation may be submitted (with approval) in modern Greek. Where appropriate, at least one of the readers may be from outside the Department of the Classics.

Ideally, the doctoral program is conceived as lasting six years, divided into three segments. The first two years, defined as “academic residence” for administrative purposes, are largely devoted to seminars, to lecture/reading courses, and to independent reading in preparation for the general examinations. While all these formats are designed to broaden experience of the languages and literature needed for the degree, the seminars form the core of the department’s program of graduate education. Summers are often spent in reading to prepare for examinations.

In the third year, students prepare for their special examinations in three chosen categories, and begin to gain experience of teaching, which the department regards as an essential part of graduate preparation.

In the last two years, they continue to teach, but otherwise work towards the completion of the degree, especially the writing of the dissertation.

Though the department views the training of future university teachers as a major part of its mandate, its primary concern is to foster as thorough an expertise as possible in those classical, medieval, and modern fields which are centered on Greek and Latin language and literature. For this reason, the department emphasizes the acquisition not only of knowledge, but also of skills—in teaching, in analysis, in research—which will enable its graduates to find careers both within and outside the traditional fields. Great emphasis is laid in the process of graduate admission on the adaptability of students to a flexible job market, and the department assists the career development of its students by placement advice and other practical assistance with the application process.

In working towards a degree in Classical Philology, students may come to emphasize one language over the other and may explore interests in philology, archaeology, history and prehistory, linguistics, philosophy, religion, law, literary criticism, mythography, or the medieval world both western and eastern. The department also offers specialized training in such disciplines as papyrology, epigraphy, palaeography, and numismatics. The resources of other Harvard departments are open to those interested in other ancient languages and scripts, the history of science, and the relations of the Greeks and the Romans with other ancient cultures. Progress to the doctorate is supported by the outstanding collections of the Widener Library in every aspect of the ancient world, with the pertinent texts and journals located conveniently beside study desks in the stacks. The department also maintains the Herbert Weir Smyth Classical Library, with 9,000 volumes and comfortable working tables. Classical art is housed in the Harvard Art Museums, which also have an extensive collection of books on ancient art. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has famous classical collections, and graduate students may be admitted to its library with special permission. Harvard’s Houghton Library holds papyri, manuscripts, and rare books pertaining to the classical field. Palaeographical works and manuscript facsimiles are kept in Smyth and in Widener D; the Parry Collection of oral epic is in Widener C, and epigraphical records and other aids are kept nearby in the Smyth Classical Library. The departmental space in Boylston Hall, and the Smyth library, both contain computer equipment for the use of the graduate students; this equipment provides access to the TLG, PHI, DCB, and other standard research tools.

There are regular occasions for graduate students and members of the department to meet informally outside the classroom; in addition, there are frequent colloquia, and opportunities for discussion of graduate and faculty work. The Seminar on Ancient Greece and Rome in Harvard’s Humanities Center sponsors roundtable discussion groups for faculty and graduate students. There are many public lectures sponsored by the department each year, including several James Loeb Classical Lectures given by distinguished scholars invited from outside the University. In alternate years the Carl Newell Jackson Lectures bring an eminent scholar to deliver four lectures which are subsequently published as a book; occasionally the Lectures are replaced by a Colloquium.

Funding for the duration of graduate study is normally provided by outright fellowship grants in the first two years, by a dissertation completion fellowship in the final year, and by a combination of tuition grants and teaching fellowships in the intervening years. In addition, GSAS offers a variety of fellowships for assistance at various stages, and also limited grants for summer language study, travel, and other projects. The Charles Eliot Norton Fellowship provides funding for a year or a summer at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, under the administration of the Trustees for Harvard University, offers some junior fellowships in the late classical, early Christian, and Byzantine fields.

The following Graduate School scholarships and fellowships are reserved in whole or in part for graduate students of the classics: George Henry Chase, Arthur Deloraine Corey, Charles Haven Goodwin, William Watson Goodwin, Albert and Anna Howard, Francis Jones, the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, Joseph Benjamin Moors, Charles Eliot Norton, William King Richardson, Fred N. Robinson, Paul Shorey, and Teschemacher Memorial. For the Bowdoin and other prizes, students in residence should consult the pamphlet “Prizes Open to Students of Harvard College and in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.”

Candidates who have successfully completed their general examinations (see below) are normally assigned teaching fellowships in undergraduate courses, which include elementary language courses, sophomore and junior tutorials, literature surveys, and courses taught in translation.

The department’s graduate program is chiefly designed to prepare students for the degree of doctor of philosophy (PhD); the department will not admit applicants for the degree of master of arts (AM) only. However, any student who has completed with honors two years of full-time study (16 applicable half-courses) will qualify for the degree of AM in the appropriate area as a level of attainment, which the department will normally recommend upon application by the student. No examinations beyond those required in the courses are required. Prerequisites are the same as for the PhD.

Although the curriculum for this degree includes certain requirements in formal coursework, the majority of the graduate -student’s time and energy will be devoted to original investigations in a chosen field of research. Students have many opportunities to learn about current research programs, prior to embarking upon research, both during rotations and through informal discussions with faculty and students. Upon selecting a research area, the student then arranges with one of the members of the department to undertake some particular problem, spending as much time as possible on that work.

At the end of their first year, students are expected to constitute, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, their Graduate Advising Committee (GAC). Students are expected to present and defend a research proposal in their second year of residence before the GAC. In addition, students are expected to meet with the GAC in the fall term of their fourth and sixth years. The objective of these meetings is to bring focus to the timely completion of the degree requirements, to foster (non-advisor) faculty-student interactions, and to provide career counseling.

The requirements for this degree are:

Prerequisites for Admission. Ordinarily the minimum requirements for admission are at least one year each of inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, one year of college physics, and mathematics (calculus).

Program of Study. In addition to the requirements outlined at the beginning of this section, the research supervisor may require that other courses be taken in preparation for a particular research program.

Language. A thorough command of oral and written English is required. Remedial work in English may be required of students whose proficiency is deemed inadequate.

Oral Examinations. As described above, students in organic, inorganic and physical chemistry are expected to present and defend a research proposal in their second year of residence before a faculty committee.

Dissertation. The PhD dissertation is based on independent scholarly research, which, upon conclusion, is defended in an oral examination before a PhD committee. The preparation of a satisfactory dissertation normally requires at least four years of full-time research.

The Degree of Doctor of -Philosophy in Chemical Physics

The Chemical Physics program includes coursework in the Department of Physics as well as that of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and is administered by special interdepartmental committees. The requirements in the field of chemical physics are described in the section on the PhD in Chemical Physics in this publication.

The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology does not grant terminal AM degrees. Students are typically awarded the AM degree after one or two years in the doctoral program. The requirements for this degree are:

Residence. Minimum of one year of full-time study.

Program of Study. The student must pass with honor grades eight advanced half-courses diversified among the fields of chemistry. Typically, four of these half-courses are classroom work, and the remaining four are research courses. As many as four half-courses of the required eight may be taken outside the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, provided the Advisory Committee approves them. Students planning to take such courses should petition the Advisory Committee in advance of taking the courses in order to have them count for the AM degree.

Language. A thorough command of oral and written English is required. Remedial work in English may be required of students whose proficiency is deemed inadequate.

Thesis: None required.

The entering graduate student at Harvard joins an active research center as a co-worker at the start of or during the student’s second term. The research, based on the student’s own interests and those of the chosen faculty supervisor, is concerned with problems of intrinsic interest and importance at the frontiers of chemical science. The student joins a community composed of about 210 graduate students, 180 postdoctoral fellows, and 30 faculty members.

Regular seminars are held by most faculty members for their research groups. The exchange of views, the solution of problems, and the discussion of recent developments have made this setting an important component of the graduate program. Colloquia in special fields of chemistry and frequent lectures by visiting chemists are continual catalysts for creative research. Considerable opportunity exists for participation in other departments and groups inside Harvard University, at MIT, and at other research centers in the Boston area.

Departmental research facilities are located in seven buildings: Mallinckrodt, Conant, Converse, Naito, Bauer, Connors Infill, and the Mallinckrodt/Hoffman “Link.” These laboratories are adjacent to the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Physics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Center for Genomic Research and to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Also nearby is the Science Center, housing Mathematics, Statistics, and History of Science, but devoted primarily to undergraduate teaching facilities. In addition to the faculty research labs, the Chemistry and Chemical Biology complex contains facilities for analytical instrumentation (NMR, Mass Spectroscopy, and X-ray Crystallography), a library, a stockroom for lab supplies and computer workstations for molecular modeling and chemical information retrieval. A machine shop, electronics shop, a microchemistry laboratory for protein structure determination, and a variety of other specialized instrumentation are available in adjacent departments.

Admission

We encourage prospective students to submit their applications online whenever possible at https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS .

If necessary, students may also request a paper application from:
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Holyoke Center, 3rd floor,
1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138

Applications for admission to study for the PhD degree in chemistry are accepted from students who have received the bachelor’s degree or have had equivalent preparation. These applications should be initiated during the fall of the year preceding the September when admission is desired. Normally, students are admitted only for September.

The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology does not require an interview. Applicants must take the GRE general and chemistry examinations. These must be taken no later than November of the year prior to admission, and preferably earlier. TOEFL is required of all foreign applicants other than those whose native language is English.

Financial Support

The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology meets the financial needs of its graduate students through Department Scholarships, Department Fellowships, Teaching Fellowships, Research Assistantships, and independent outside fellowships. Financial support is awarded on a 12-month basis, enabling students to pursue their research throughout the year. Tuition support is provided to all graduate students in good standing.

Generally, students in their first year are supported by a departmental fellowship that covers tuition and living expenses. Beginning in the second semester, all students not supported by independent fellowships are expected to teach for two semesters. Teaching fellowships are term-long jobs typically available on a quarter-time or half-time basis. A quarter-time assignment involves about ten hours per week of preparation and instruction. With the research advisor’s concurrence, a student may teach in subsequent years.

Research assistantships provide an opportunity for students to devote more time to research. The 12-month research assistantship is the major vehicle for student support within a research group. Research assistantships typically start in July after the student has completed the first year of the graduate program.

Independent fellowships are outside awards (e.g., NSF, Hertz Foundation) covering a significant portion of a student’s stipend and tuition throughout his or her tenure in the PhD program. Information on major graduate fellowships is available at www.gsas. harvard.edu/financial/fellowship.html , or can be obtained by writing to the respective agencies directly, or by inquiring at your college career counseling office. A limited number of corporate fellowships are available to meritorious students after the first year.

Departmental Requirements

Qualifying Requirements. Students must pass four advanced half-courses in chemistry and/or related fields (e.g., biochemistry, physics, etc.) with average grades of B or higher. Grades of B- will count as a pass if balanced by a B+ or better on a one-for-one basis. An advanced course is one designated in the announcement of courses as “for undergraduates and graduates” or “primarily for graduates” with the exception of the following courses that cannot be used for credit toward the PhD degree in Chemistry: Chemistry 135 and 165. Courses numbered 301 or above do not count toward this requirement.

During the orientation week (generally the first week before classes), students will formulate a plan of study in consultation with a member of the Cirriculum Advising Committee (CAC). The CAC may withhold approval for courses deemed inappropriate for the PhD degree in Chemistry. It is expected that required coursework be completed no later than the end of the third term in residence.

In consultation with the CAC, special arrangements may also be made in the following circumstances:

(a) Advanced courses passed with honor grades by a Harvard undergraduate, who
is subsequently admitted to the Graduate School, may be counted in fulfillment of the departmental course requirement. They may be counted for residence requirements only if in excess of the courses required for the AB degree (see The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook).

(b) Students who have taken elsewhere the equivalent of a Harvard advanced course may, by arrangement with the Advisory Committee, meet the requirement with respect to that course without enrollment by fulfilling such requirements as the instructor in the course stipulates. (See The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook, Credit for Work Done Elsewhere.)

Rotations. Each entering student will participate in three eight-week lab rotations during the fall semester of his or her first year. However, students may join a research group upon completion of the second eight-week rotation. The goal of the rotations is to broaden a student’s scientific perspective by exposing him or her to the science and environment of different laboratories in the department.

Continuance. Continuation in the degree program is contingent on the following: (1) satisfactory completion of required coursework, (2) successful presentation and defense of a research proposal in the student’s second year of residence, (3) admission to a research group during the second term in residence, unless extension of time has been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, and (4) satisfactory progress in 300-level research courses.

In general, candidates have access to the facilities and are eligible for the fellowships and scholarships of these departments. For further information, consult Higher Degrees in Chemistry and Higher Degrees in Physics in this publication.

Admission and Financial Support. Students should refer to the Higher Degrees in Chemistry portion of this supplement.

Master of Arts (AM)

No master’s degree is offered in chemical physics. However, a prospective candidate for the doctoral degree in this subject may apply to the Department of either Chemistry and Chemical Biology or Physics for the AM degree in the corresponding subject. The requirements for the AM degree in either -Chemistry or Physics are described in the
GSAS Handbook under the Chemistry and Chemical Biology or Physics sections.

Requirements for the PhD

Prerequisites for Admission. A sufficient preparation in intermediate physical chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The GRE General Examination is required, as is the subject exam, in either chemistry or physics.

Qualifying Requirements. Students in the Program for the PhD in Chemical Physics
are required to:

1) pass five half-courses.

There are two tracks:

Either one course from A), one course from B), and three courses from C);

or

two courses from A), one course from B), and two courses from C).

A) Chemistry 242; or Physics 251a, 251b.

B) Chemistry 161 or Physics 262 or Applied Physics 284.

C) Applied Mathematics 201, 202;

Chemistry 258;

Applied Physics 195, 282, 292, 295a, 295b, 296r, and 298r;

Physics 151, 153, 181 (or Eng. Sci. 181), 218, 232, 253a, 253b, and 268r.

Equivalent courses may be substituted with the approval of the Committee.

2) present and defend a research proposal in their second year of residence before a faculty committee following the same rules as those used for physical chemistry.

Dissertation. The preparation of a satisfactory dissertation normally requires at least four years of full-time research. The instructor in charge of a student’s research decides when the work has progressed to a point justifying the presentation of a dissertation. The final manuscript must conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Final Examination. A brief oral final examination is given on the subject of the dissertation and related topics.

Information regarding courses and programs of study in chemical physics may be obtained by writing to the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, or from the department’s Website, www.chem.harvard.edu. Information about admission and financial aid may be obtained by writing to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application. See www.gsas.harvard.edu.

The program spans the current Cambridge and Boston campuses and will engage HMS faculty from the Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Microbiology and Genetics, Systems Biology, and Cell Biology Departments; FAS faculty from the Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology Departments; and affiliated institutions, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

The Chemical Biology Program will equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical approaches to use or develop chemical tools for understanding biological processes. Courses offered by the program will emphasize concepts, unsolved (or partially solved) problems, and novel technology along with an understanding of how and why chemical approaches can drive new experiments and deliver novel insight. Students should leave the program better able to identify important unsolved problems in biology and with an appreciation of how to choose problems for which chemical approaches will be productive.

Academic Background

Chemical Biology will admit students with strong backgrounds in chemistry or biology. Those with biological backgrounds will need to learn the requisite chemical skills, and those with chemical backgrounds will need to acquire a deep understanding of how biological systems function.

The program’s first priority, then, is to give physical scientists a sense of what the important problems are and how they have been attacked until now and give the biologists a foundation in the underlying chemical principles with which they will need to be familiar, and a sense of the theoretical and practical tools available.

Program of Study and Formal Academic Requirements

The objective of the Chemical Biology Program is to prepare investigators with diverse background for independent research careers in which the concepts and methods of chemistry are applied to biological problems. This objective will be met through individually designed programs involving formal courses both in the Chemical Biology Program and in related fields, rotations in different labs, qualifying examinations, proposal preparation, independent research, and dissertation writing.

Three basic courses that define the intellectual tools of the field and case studies of their application are: “Cell Biology for Physical Scientists”; “Organic Chemistry for Biologists”; and “Strategies in Chemical Biology.”

Laboratory Rotations

Students will be expected to complete a minimum of two laboratory rotations, preferably one in a laboratory with a strong biological emphasis and another in a laboratory with a strong chemical emphasis.

Rotations will be of sufficient length to accomplish a substantial body of work, and additional rotations beyond the minimum two would be encouraged.

Laboratory rotations will be approved by the director (co-directors) with some decisions being referred to the entire Committee on Higher Degrees in Chemical Biology (CHDCB). At least one (and preferably two) of the rotations should be in the laboratory of a CB program member.

Preliminary Qualifying Exams

The qualifying examination ensures that the student is prepared to undertake dissertation research and is normally taken by the end of the third term of residence. The exam will be an oral exam administered by three (or more) faculty members.
The committee should have two members who are CBP members. The exam will emphasize general knowledge, reasoning, ability to formulate a research plan, and ability to engage in high-level scientific discourse.

Teaching Requirement

All students are required to serve as a teaching assistant for one course by the end of their second year of graduate study. The course should be relevant to chemical biology but need not be one of the core courses.

Dissertation Research and Advising

Before beginning dissertation research, a student must pass six courses; do satisfactory work in two laboratory rotations; and submit and defend an original research proposal. The purpose of the oral defense of the qualifying research proposal is to ensure that the student is adequately prepared to embark on dissertation research.

The exam is usually taken in the fourth term of residence, before the chair and two examiners knowledgeable in the field of the research proposal. Reexamination will be permitted. As a rule, students will not be permitted to enter the third year of graduate study unless the qualifying examination has been passed.

After the initial courses and laboratory rotations have been successfully completed, a student will select a field of study. Most students will also select a dissertation advisor, who will then take on the remaining responsibilities of the academic advisor and direct the student’s doctoral research.

A few students may wish to design their own dissertation projects taking advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of chemical biology. These students will need to propose a research plan to their academic advisors. The academic advisor will consult with the CHDCB as to the wisdom of proceeding with such a plan. Criteria for approval of a student for this program will include the degree of interaction with the faculty in both formal class settings and more informal settings along with the originality and feasibility of the proposed research plan. For these students, the academic advisor will serve on the student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC).

In consultation with their dissertation advisor or academic advisor, each student will nominate a DAC to oversee the progress of their research. In most cases, this will be done at the beginning of the student’s third year. The DAC membership will be approved by the CHDCB. At the same time, the student’s proposed program of research will be reviewed and approved in writing by the DAC. The DAC will meet with the student at least once per year to review progress and offer advice.

On receipt of the dissertation, the CHDCB chair will appoint a reading committee of three to judge the dissertation. The dissertation defense is composed of two parts: the public seminar and the private defense. In the private defense, the candidate will be questioned on the subject of the dissertation and its relation to the student’s special field and collateral subjects. If the reading committee is unable to agree on its recommendations, the question of accepting the dissertation will be decided by the CHDCB.

The general scope of the PhD program is outlined above in the preliminary paragraph under Master of Arts (AM). The program is designed not only to prepare students to do serious research in and teach at university level the Celtic languages and literatures, but also to be of sufficient general breadth to prepare students to teach broad courses on language or literature in liberal arts colleges.

Prerequisites for Admission

Languages — Some knowledge of a Celtic language is preferred, but not required. In order to anticipate the language requirement, it is desirable that the candidate for admission have a knowledge of one or more of the following languages: French, German, and Latin. In addition, candidates are encouraged to contact the department to discuss their interests and the programs available within the department prior to application for admission. Candidates are also encouraged to submit a writing sample (not creative writing) as part of the application for admission.

GRE — In keeping with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences policy, applications must be accompanied by the GRE scores.
Requirements for the PhD Degree

Academic Residence — Minimum of two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent). For financial residence requirement, see Admissions, Costs: Tuition and Fees. Scholarship aid cannot be guaranteed after four years of full-time study.

Credit for Work Done Elsewhere — Advanced students are encouraged to do some work abroad, especially in Celtic-speaking areas; and limited reduction of departmental course requirements may sometimes be arranged.

Good Standing — The requirements for good standing in the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures are those of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Special Fields — The two normal special fields are Irish and Welsh. Other special fields and combinations may be arranged in consultation with the chair of the department.

Program of Study — The student’s program of study must be arranged in consultation with the department’s director of graduate studies.

Languages — In addition to a thorough knowledge of at least two Celtic languages, normally Irish and Welsh, a reading knowledge of three additional foreign languages, French, German, and Latin, is required.

Teaching — Students will normally be eligible for teaching fellowships during their third and fourth years. Students holding the master’s degree may be eligible in their second year. Students teaching in department Core courses must participate in the TF orientation program at the beginning of the term in which they will teach, as well as attend course lectures and weekly TF meetings with the course head. Students who are fluent in speaking, reading, and writing one of the modern Celtic languages may be eligible to teach introductory and intermediate courses in that language.

General Examination — The general examination is a two-hour oral examination in the general field of Celtic studies as outlined by the basic department reading list and augmented by the student’s special interests within Celtic or an allied field. The examination is conducted by the student’s committee, normally comprising at least two members of the Celtic department and one additional faculty member.

It is expected that the examination will be taken after the second year of PhD residency (normally in the fall of the third year). In case of unsatisfactory performance, the student may normally take the examination a second time. A student who has not passed the general examination by the end of the fourth year must withdraw.

The Dissertation — As soon as possible after passing the general examination, and not later than the end of the term following successful completion of the examination, the candidate must identify a dissertation director and submit a brief prospectus of the proposed dissertation. The candidate, in consultation with the dissertation director, will then invite at least two other readers, one of whom must be a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, to serve as additional readers and to offer guidance as the dissertation progresses. This procedure must have the approval of the chair of the Celtic Department. Two copies of the dissertation must be in the hands of the chair by August 15 for a degree in November, by December 1 for a degree in March, and by April 1 for a degree in June. The final manuscript of the dissertation must conform to the requirements described in the booklet The Form of the PhD Dissertation, available from the office of the Registrar. Students are encouraged to complete the PhD before the end of the sixth year.

Dissertation Presentation — Completion of the dissertation will be marked by an oral presentation of the results of the research to an invited audience of faculty and students.

Ad Hoc Degrees — The Celtic Department encourages students having a strong background in a subject closely related to the field of Celtic studies (e.g., the classics, linguistics, history, English, comparative literature) to petition GSAS for an ad hoc PhD in Celtic and the related field. Interested parties should consult the Celtic department’s director of graduate studies and the GSAS Handbook for details and procedures.

Ordinarily, students are not admitted to the department to pursue a terminal AM degree. Inasmuch as serious graduates of the Celtic Languages and Literatures must possess by the end of their period of graduate study a knowledge of at least two Celtic languages, ordinarily Irish and Welsh, and a knowledge of the comparative grammar of the Celtic languages, as well as knowledge of Celtic literature, knowledge of the relations of Celtic literatures to other European literatures, and an acquaintance with the general history of the Celtic peoples, it is obvious that a program leading to the AM can be nothing more than an initiation to graduate study in this subject. Therefore, students admitted to graduate study in the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures are normally expected to proceed to the PhD. An AM degree may be earned while working toward the PhD.

Prerequisites for Admission: See under PhD.

Requirements for the AM Degree

For students matriculated in the Celtic Department and working toward the PhD, and for students matriculated in other departments of GSAS, the minimum requirements for the AM in Celtic are:

Academic Residence — Minimum of one year of full-time study (eight half-courses or equivalent). For the financial residence requirement, see Admissions, Costs: Tuition and Fees

Program of Study — A minimum of six half-courses in the department, three of which must be introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in early Irish or early Welsh (or their equivalents) and at least one additional half-course in another Celtic language; two additional half-courses related to the field of Celtic Studies and approved by the department’s director of graduate studies.

Languages — The ability to read Latin, to be demonstrated by successful completion (B- grade or better) of Harvard Latin Aab (or its equivalent elsewhere) or departmental examination. The ability to read French and/or German, to be demonstrated by successful completion (B- grade or better) of Harvard French Ax and/or German S (or equivalent elsewhere), or departmental examination. An equivalent qualification acquired at Harvard or elsewhere (and approved by the director of graduate studies or Celtic department chair) or a departmental examination may also demonstrate competence in any of the languages noted above.

Examinations — No general examinations required.

Thesis — None required.

PhD programs in the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures can sometimes be specially arranged so as to combine Celtic with other subjects. (See Ad Hoc Degrees.) The Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures cooperates with other departments and committees in providing supplementary instruction for students who wish to work in Celtic as a special field.

Courses in Celtic have been given at Harvard for over 100 years. In 1940, a professor of Celtic languages and literatures was appointed, and beginning with the academic year 1940-41, a separate Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures was established.

The Harvard College Library is particularly strong in the Celtic field, thanks to the unremitting labors of the late Fred Norris Robinson, Gurney Professor of English Literature. It possesses over 10,000 books on the subject, as well as a considerable number of original manuscripts and a great many facsimiles of unedited material. What is perhaps even more important, however, is the scope of the Harvard collection, since it embraces the whole of the Celtic field and affords the most diversified resources for study and research in Celtic linguistics and literature.

Celtic Studies

Celtic is one subgroup of the Indo-European family of languages. Six Celtic languages have survived into the modern period: Cornish, Manx, Breton, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. The last four are still spoken. The oldest extant Irish and Welsh texts date from the sixth century, justifying the claim that they represent the oldest non-classical literatures of Europe. Heroic narratives in prose and verse, lyric poetry, tales of the Otherworld, and legendary history are all richly attested in the Celtic literatures. Celtic tradition has influenced both the Latin and the vernacular literatures of medieval Europe, being the source, e.g., of the Arthurian cycle.

The Harvard Celtic Studies program offers instruction in the following: Old, Middle, and Modern Irish; Middle and Modern Welsh; Scottish Gaelic; historical backgrounds of early Irish and Welsh; early, medieval, and modern Irish literature in Irish and in translation; early, medieval, and modern Welsh literature in Welsh and in translation; Irish and Welsh history and law in their social context; Celtic paganism; folklore; reading of Irish manuscripts. Courses in Breton and Cornish may be available from time to time. Consult Courses of Instruction for availability of courses in a given year.

While there is no undergraduate concentration in the department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, undergraduates are welcome to enroll in most department courses; in some instances permission of the instructor must be sought. Undergraduates concentrating in Folklore and Mythology may elect Celtic as an area specialization. Undergraduates may also petition the office of Special Concentrations to pursue a degree program in Celtic Languages and Literatures.

The program can be distinguished from the Harvard PhD in economics by its greater emphasis on business fields and its focus on the use of economic analysis and statistical methods in dealing effectively with management problems in these applied business fields.

Admission

Successful candidates have strong records of academic performance in rigorous programs and exemplary GRE General Test or GMAT scores, especially in the quantitative area. Please note that, when possible, the GMAT is preferred. They are not required to hold a degree in economics, though prior coursework is strongly recommended. Furthermore, they generally have an effective working knowledge of college-level calculus and linear algebra.

Non-native English speakers must take the TOEFL, unless they have obtained a degree from an institution in which English is the language of instruction. The committee prefers scores of at least 600 and 260 on the paper-based and the computer-based tests, respectively.

Further information about the program is available on the Harvard Business School Website. Applications for admission may be obtained from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Admissions Office

The doctoral program in biostatistics is designed for those who have demonstrated both interest and ability in scholarly research. Qualified applicants may apply to the doc-toral program without a prior advanced degree.

Program of Study. The coursework for the PhD program is built on a core curriculum
of courses in probability theory and applications, statistical inference, and statistical methods. In addition, students must complete a selection of advanced coursework in biostatistics. These courses are chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. Given the increasing reliance of statistical practice on computing technology, students are recommended to take one or more courses in statistical computing as part of their program. Courses in statistical genetics and computational biology can be included in the program. Detailed information about specific requirements and specialized tracks for the PhD degree is outlined in the Biostatistics Graduate Student Handbook.

Qualifying Examinations. In addition to coursework and residency requirements, other
formal requirements for the degree include passing of both a written and oral qualifying examination and the completion of a PhD dissertation. The written qualifying examination assesses the student’s background in probability and statistical theory and in applications. The oral qualifying examination assesses the student’s potential to perform research in a chosen field, and examines the student’s knowledge of his or her fields of study.

Dissertation. Each student is expected to complete a dissertation. The dissertation should be an original contribution to scientific knowledge in biostatistics. It can contribute to a subject matter field through innovative application of existing methodology, can produce an original methodologic contribution, or be a combination of the two. When the dissertation is complete, the student defends it to the Research Committee at a public presentation. The defense must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. Copies of the dissertation should be given to members of the Research Committee and the department chair at least two weeks before the defense.

Current departmental research on statistical and computing methods for observational studies and clinical trials includes survival analysis, missing-data problems, and causal inference. Other areas of investigation are environmental research (methods for longitudinal studies, analyses with incomplete data, and meta-analysis); statistical aspects of the study of AIDS and cancer; quantitative problems in health-risk analysis, technology assessment, and clinical decision making; statistical methodology in psychiatric research and in genetic studies; Bayesian statistics; statistical computing; statistical genetics; and computational biology.

Collaborative research activities include coordination of national and international clinical trials, participation in studies of potential environmental hazards, design of health surveys, evaluation of health interventions and medical technologies, and consultation with federal, state, and local agencies. Many of these collaborations involve biomedical scientists in other Harvard-affiliated institutions.

Degree Programs in Biostatistics

The department offers a PhD program. In addition, the department offers the AM degree to students in the PhD program who have completed the AM requirements. Students interested in a terminal master’s degree program in biostatistics should apply for the master of science (SM) program in biostatistics through the Harvard School of Public Health. The department also offers a doctor of science (SD) program in biostatistics through the Harvard School of Public Health.

The programs offered by the Department of Biostatistics provide rigorous training in the development of methodology, collaboration, teaching, and consultation on a broad spectrum of health-related problems. The department prepares students for academic and private-sector research careers in the fields of biostatistics and health decision sciences. Recent graduates have assumed faculty posts at universities, as well as positions in research laboratories, federal government centers, pharmaceutical companies, and research -institutes.

The goal of the biophysics program is to nurture independent, creative scientists. To this end, the first part of the program seeks both to introduce the student to the faculty members and their research directly, enabling the student to make a considered choice of research advisor, and to involve the student in the diverse areas of biophysics through laboratory as well as coursework. This first two years provides a background for the second part of the program: the training of the student to be an independent scientist by a period of intensive research, culminating in publications and the PhD degree.

Admissions Requirements

Admissions and Scholarships

Application forms for admission and financial aid may be requested from the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. We encourage online submission of the application.

Applicants should state clearly in this application their desire to enter the program for the PhD degree in biophysics. All prospective students are urged to file the application forms well in advance of the deadline of December 8. Late applications will not be considered. Scores on the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required except in special circumstances. GRE subject tests are recommended. Due to the early application deadline, applicants should plan to take GRE tests no later than October to ensure that original scores are received by the December 8 deadline. TOEFL is required of all foreign applicants other than those whose native language is English.

Final decisions concerning admission are made by the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the candidates are notified by letter from the Admissions Office.

After being accepted for admission, applicants are encouraged to make arrangements with the administrator of the Committee on Higher Degrees in Biophysics, Building C2, Room 122, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, (617-495-3360) to visit the University.

Students with the MD Degree

Students who already have the MD degree will find an opportunity to improve their knowledge of basic science in either of two ways:

1. Opportunities may be available in the several departments to engage in investigations as a research fellow under the direction of a member of the faculty. No university credit toward a degree is given for such work. Questions concerning the appointment of research fellows should be directed to the -faculty members.
2. Under special circumstances, students who have received the MD degree may become candidates for the PhD degree in biophysics, providing their qualifications for admission are approved and providing they are prepared to fulfill the normal requirements for the degree.

Opportunities for postdoctoral research are also available within the laboratories of the Program faculty. For postdoctoral research, we invite you to apply directly to the individual laboratories. View faculty research by Name or by Field of Study.

The program is a joint effort of 49 faculty from throughout Harvard University. Specific research areas include: the molecular genetics, molecular biology and molecular pathogenesis of latent, persistent, or cytolytic virus infections, the characterization of virus-receptor interactions and the mechanisms of cell entry, structural studies of viruses and viral proteins, mechanisms of cell growth control, transformation, signal transduction, and transcriptional regulation, the use of viruses vectors for heterologous gene expression and for gene therapy, the interaction of viruses with innate immunity, the pathogenesis of viral infection and rational antiviral drug design. View faculty research by Name or by Field of Study

The Ph.D. Program in Virology was formed in 1983 and is conducted under the auspices of the Division of Medical Sciences (DMS), which is part of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). Ph.D. degrees are awarded through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University (HU). The Program currently has a total of 48 students. The relatively small size of the Virology graduate program and faculty make this program ideally attractive for students interested in collegial student-student and student-faculty interactions. First year students meet weekly with more senior students and faculty at the Virology Program student journal club, research seminars and luncheon discussion groups.

Through coursework and collaborative research, we aim to enable students to combine experimental and theoretical approaches to develop physical and quantitative models of biological processes. Students will be introduced to the tools that are now available, and to important unsolved problems in biology that may now be possible to address using quantitative and theoretical approaches.

Admissions

The typical student has a strong background in one of the disciplines relevant to Systems Biology (such as biology, mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry and computer science) and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research. Although cross training is not required, many of the students admitted have had some experience in biology and some exposure to quantitative or theoretical approaches.

Students considering graduate work should request an application from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Online submission of the application is encouraged.

A number of candidates will be invited to interview in late January. Final decisions concerning admission are made by the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the candidates are notified by letter from the Admissions Office.

A departmental Graduate Committee is responsible for all matters pertaining to OEB graduate students. It considers applicants for admission and approves all examination committees appointed for doctoral candidates.

Course selection (other than those prescribed; see Prescriptions) is determined by consultation between the advisor and student. During the first two years, satisfactory progress towards the degree requires fulfillment of the departmental teaching requirement, successful completion of at least 16 half-courses (with no more than 12 of these half-courses at the 300 level), completion of all prescribed courses with a grade of B- or better, and passing the qualifying examination (which should be held no later than the end of the second year). Thereafter, satisfactory progress is assessed by the student’s Dissertation Committee at an annual Dissertation Conference.

Academic Residence Requirements: A minimum of two years of full-time study is required to fulfill the residence requirements (16 half-courses passed with distinction). Research (300) courses taken under the direction of members of the Harvard faculty count toward fulfilling the academic requirements. These courses ordinarily require a minimum of ten hours per week (one-quarter TIME) for a minimum of a term. Full-time research (recognized as TIME by the Registrar) will generally not be accepted by the department as part of the academic requirement for a degree.

Research Advisor: Upon admission students will be assigned a faculty member in the department to serve as a dissertation research advisor. Students are encouraged to consult freely with any staff member on matters pertaining to their programs and may change to another advisor at any time, subject to the approval of the new advisor and the chair of the Graduate Committee and notification of the department office.

Students must have an advisor at all times and it is the student’s responsibility to ensure this. Any student who does not have an advisor at the beginning of a term must withdraw from the department at the end of that term if arrangements for a new advisor have not been made by that time.

Prescriptions: OEB has relatively few requirements, generally designed to ensure that entering students have a broad background. They include: 1) college-level calculus; 2) statistics; 3) a reasonable combination of courses in cell biology, molecular biology, and genetics; and 4) courses on the biology (including lab work) of at least two kingdoms. If deficiencies in a applicant’s academic background warrant, courses may be prescribed by the Graduate Committee, and these will be identified at the time of the offer of admission. These courses may be completed prior to matriculation into the program, but they must be completed with a grade of B- or better prior to the student’s qualifying examination. Additionally, the Graduate Committee will determine from each student’s prior training and in discussion with the student and the advisor, an appropriate individual course of study to be completed by the qualifying exam. Each student will complete an orientation seminar program offered by various faculty in the department.

Teaching Requirement: The department requires each PhD candidate to participate in teaching for two terms at a minimum of one-quarter TIME each term. The first of these is ordinarily fulfilled during the second year, and the second requirement is ordinarily fulfilled during the fourth year. Additional teaching assignments, if desired by the student, may be undertaken on recommendation of the individual course instructor.

Admission to Candidacy for the PhD Degree: After completion of 16 graded half-courses in biology and related subjects (300 level courses are included), the student’s record is reviewed by the Graduate Committee. Favorable action will provisionally admit the student to candidacy for the PhD degree. Final admission to candidacy is by means of the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Examination: This is an oral examination which shall be taken before the end of the second year of graduate study. Prescriptions must be satisfied prior to the examination. The Graduate Committee will review any petitions for exception.

The examination committee will consist of the student’s advisor acting as chair, plus three additional individuals. At least two of the additional members must be members of the OEB faculty. Two of the examination committee members will be designated by the advisor, and the fourth member will be appointed by the chair of the Graduate Committee after consultation with the advisor. The overall composition of the examination committee must be approved by the chair of the Graduate Committee.

By the end of the fall term final exams of the student’s second year, the student, after consultation with his or her advisor, will submit to the chair of the Graduate Committee and to the OEB departmental office a list of three broad topics on which to be examined and the time and location of the examination. The topics should be pertinent to, but not be restricted to, the specific topic of the proposed or ongoing dissertation studies. The date, topics, and proposed composition of the examination will be sent to all OEB faculty prior to final approval by the chair of the Graduate Committee. Once approved by the chair, a qualifying examination notice will be sent to all OEB faculty members.

At least two weeks prior to the exam, students should present to the examination committee a dissertation proposal, plus a syllabus outline for three potential courses that could be taught corresponding to the three topic areas. During the qualifying examination, the student’s knowledge of at least two of the three chosen topics will be appraised. In addition to this evaluation, the examination committee will determine whether the student has satisfactorily completed the prescribed studies decided upon earlier by the Prescription Committee.

If the qualifying examination reveals serious deficiencies, the committee may require 1) that the student be reexamined at a later date, or 2) that the student not be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.

Dissertation Conference: In the dissertation conference, students have a relatively early opportunity to review with their advisor and the Dissertation Committee the dissertation project, its progress, and future potential. The dissertation conference should be held annually, with the first conference taking place in April of the student’s third year. The student should arrange the conference in March of the fourth year of study, and then in the month of February for all subsequent years. One month prior to the conference, a one-page abstract of proposed and/or completed work and the time and location of the conference should be submitted to the OEB departmental office. The student should present in person a brief account of the results obtained and plans for additional research. The committee should indicate to the student whether it anticipates that the dissertation will be acceptable, and should also suggest improvement where needed.

The Dissertation Committee will consist of the student’s advisor, who will serve as chair, and two other members suggested by the advisor and approved by the chair of the Graduate Committee. At least three members of the committee must be members of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.

Dissertation: The dissertation is written under the supervision of the student’s research advisor and will be read by members of the Dissertation Committee. Prior to the dissertation examination, the candidate will prepare a summary of the dissertation for distribution to the members of the committee. The final copies of the dissertation should conform to the standards outlined in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Public Presentation of Dissertation Research: All PhD degree candidates in OEB are required to present the subject matter of their dissertations in a seminar open to the general biological public within the University, and to which the members of the Dissertation Examination Committee and OEB faculty have been invited. This presentation shall take place sometime following the dissertation conference and prior to the dissertation examination.

Dissertation Examination: The dissertation examination, conducted orally, is usually held at least one month before the date on which degrees are to be conferred. Final dates for holding dissertation examinations are announced early in each academic term. At least two weeks before the date set for the public presentation/examination, the candidate will present the dissertation committee with at least two copies of the dissertation in final form (but not yet bound), and make available a third copy in the OEB office for review by other members of the faculty. After the dissertation examination has been held, the committee may decide that the candidate passes, fails, or passes on condition that specific changes be made in the dissertation.

The research interests of the OEB faculty include the flow of energy and material through ecosystems, the development and structure of communities and populations, the diversity of plant, animal, and microbial groups, and the mechanisms that have permitted diversity to evolve. These studies span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and include many different levels of biological organization.

A variety of theoretical, descriptive, and experimental approaches are used in the laboratory and field studies carried out by members of OEB. We have representation in anatomy, behavior, biogeochemistry, development, functional morphology, physiology, paleontology, population genetics, molecular evolution, systematics, and the biology of global change.

The Harvard University Herbaria and the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) house essential libraries, extensive natural history collections, and experimental laboratories that are utilized by faculty and students of the department. Other resources include the Concord Field Station of the MCZ , the Harvard Forest , and the Arnold Arboretum .

Completed applications should be received by December 8 in order to be considered for admission for the coming year.

Although Harvard University awards both the AM and the PhD degrees in biology, the department will recommend for admission only candidates for the PhD degree.

Applicants should have the equivalent of seven full (two-term) courses in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or geology; at least a third must be intermediate-level courses. GRE General scores are required. GRE subject scores are recommended. Foreign students should have first class honor degrees, recent TOEFL scores of at least 550, or hold a degree from an institution at which English is the language

The Program in Neuroscience is an interdepartmental program that links basic science and clinical faculty throughout the Harvard community. Established in 1981, the program is an outgrowth of the Department of Neurobiology. Founded in 1966, The Department of Neurobiology, with its multidisciplinary research laboratories and a series of didactic core courses helped to establish the field of modern Neurobiology. The Program in Neuroscience was created in recognition that Neuroscience at Harvard had grown far beyond the borders of the Department of Neurobiology.

The current Neuroscience Program faculty is a diverse group of about one hundred investigators. Faculty research interests include cellular, molecular, developmental, genetic, systems, behavioral, immunological, neurological, and psychiatric approaches to the Nervous System. Particular focus is put on ion channels, synaptic function, neuronal development and differentiation, neuronal aging and degeneration, and visual CNS pathways. Understanding the pathophysiology of diseases of the Nervous System is another important focus of the program. Interactions between basic science and clinical laboratories have led to significant advances in our understanding of several major neurological diseases, including Muscular Dystrophy, Huntington’s Disease, Epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Academic Residence. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requires a minimum of two years of full-time study in residence. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook describes the regulations and rules that apply to students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Dissertation. Candidates will submit copies of their dissertation to all members of their advisory committee at least three weeks before the date of their dissertation defense. The dissertation should include an abstract of not more than 350 words, stating the purpose, main results, and conclusions of the dissertation research. Procedures and requirements for the final dissertation manuscript are described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation

Training Programs

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology offers three interdisciplinary training programs in the life sciences leading to a PhD in Biology or Biochemistry. The AM degree is conferred as a non-terminal degree to mark the completion of the candidacy (pre-qualifying) requirements.

Engineering and Physical Biology Training Program (EPB). Nancy Kleckner, Program Director. Offered in partnership with the Department of Physics and the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, EPB trains a new generation of scientists to view living systems through the lens of physics and engineering.

Genetics and Genomics Training Program (GGTP). William Gelbart and Daniel Hartl, Program Directors. Offered in partnership with the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, GGTP prepares young scientists for a new generation of genetic research from subcellular signaling mechanisms to organisms in populations.

Molecular, Cellular, and Chemical Biology Training Program (MCCB). Gregory Verdine and Tom Maniatis, Program Directors. Offered in partnership with the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, MCCB prepares students to solve scientific problems through both chemical and biological approaches.

Combining research facilities and faculties of Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Harvard University, the Immunology Program offers opportunities in a wide range of laboratory experiences and considerable interaction among the four other PhD programs. Academic programs fulfill needs and goals through core and advanced courses, seminars, rotations in laboratories (usually three), and a qualifying examination. Part of the training includes participation in seminars, journal clubs, discussion groups, program retreats, and a graduate student research forum. After the first year, Ph.D. candidates typically begin full-time research that culminates in the dissertation. Within the scope of the general requirements of the faculty, the students pursue a program that is chosen to fulfill individual needs and goals. Generally, students complete the degree in five years.

The Pathology Department traces its origins to 1847 when the first Professor of Pathological Anatomy was appointed. Harvard was the first institution in the United States to recognize pathology as a discipline in its own right. As described in the history of the department written by Morris Karnovsky, the department has a rich tradition of outstanding research accomplishments, perhaps highlighted by the Nobel Prize awarded to Baruj Benacerraf in 1980 while he was chair of the department. There has been a major rebuilding of the central department since 1993 when Peter Howley became the Chair of the department. At that time, there were 5 faculty members in the department (four Professors and one Associate Professor). Today the number of faculty in the central department (quad-based) has more than doubled, and there are over 200 faculty members across the Harvard system. Many of our faculty members are recognized nationally and internationally for their research accomplishments. They are invited to national and international meetings, sit on review panels and editorial boards and serve on industry advisory boards. The faculty as a whole is strongly committed to education of young scientists and pathologists, and is evident in their extensive involvement in medical and graduate student education. Over fifty of our faculty are members of at least one of the Ph.D. graduate programs.

Building an interactive community within the central department and among Pathology members located at the HMS affiliated institutions is a priority of the department. We encourage and support activities that promote interactions between members of the central department as well as members of pathology departments at the hospitals. The department sponsors two retreats annually, one brings together the faculty (and their lab members) who participate in the graduate education programs, and the other provides an opportunity for members of the central department to get to know one another and to share their research. Faculty members within the central department also participate in a weekly research luncheon to share new and exciting research findings from their laboratories. Post-doctoral fellows and graduate students have the opportunity to present their work in a weekly data presentation seminar. The department has a trainee committee composed of fellows, students, and faculty members that is charged with identifying ways to foster interactions among trainees, trainees and faculty as well as the rest of the department.

The department has several shared facilities that are open not only to members of the central pathology department but also to the broader Harvard community. Collectively, these shared facilities possess state-of-the-art equipment and provide a spectrum of services including imaging, flow cytometry and cell sorting, proteomics and mass spectrometry, and histopathology services.

The challenges presented by infectious disease have been exacerbated by the emergence not only of new pathogens but also of strains of existing ones that display increased resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Multidrug resistance has been extensively documented for the causative agents of tuberculosis, malaria, and many other illnesses. This poses an extremely grave threat to public health, and strategies for prevention and treatment urgently require the development of new antimicrobial drugs and vaccines. To accomplish this, it is critical to obtain an understanding of the biology of pathogenic microbes, their host organisms, and how the two interact during infection.

A Unique Environment for Learning and Discovery

The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School possesses a faculty and training program that are ranked at the top of the field. Faculty interests include basic research on the genetics and molecular biology of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, microbial pathogenesis, and vaccine development. The Department is located centrally on the HMS campus at the Longwood Medical Area, providing an excellent environment for collaboration with investigators in other fields. State-of-the-art facilities and a vibrant research community exist at both Longwood and the main Harvard campus in nearby Cambridge, and collegiality among different laboratories is further promoted by the close proximity of MIT, Tufts, and Boston University. In addition, world-class training in infectious disease is offered at the many hospitals affiliated with HMS, ensuring that researchers always have access to clinical expertise and the opportunity to work with physicians.

History of the Department

The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics of the Harvard Medical School has a long and distinguished history of making significant contributions to an understanding of the fundamental causes, means of prevention, and treatment of disease by studying the molecular bases of pathogenic viral and bacterial infections; and by expanding the basic understanding of bacterial viruses, fungi and animal cells. The Department follows in the rich tradition of such eminent alumni and members of the faculty as Hans Zinsser, John Enders, Bernard Davis, and Bernard Fields. Zinsser’s groundbreaking work on rickettsial diseases led to an understanding of recurrent typhus, named Brill-Zinsser disease in his honor.

Enders, a student of Zinsser, received his doctorate in Microbiology from Harvard Medical School in 1930 and served on the faculty for 37 years. His research first led to the refinement of tissue culture techniques for the study of viruses in vitro, and then, to the cultivation of polio, measles, and mumps viruses in non-nervous tissues. Enders’ seminal work paved the way for the development of the polio, measles and mumps vaccines and earned him the Nobel Prize. Bernard Davis expanded our understanding of the role of antibiotics and their ability to kill bacteria. His work and the work of Luigi Gorini on streptomycin helped elucidate how this drug worked as a treatment of tuberculosis. Bernard Fields’ work expanded our knowledge of the structure and genetics of animal viruses in relation to their dissemination and replication in the human host.

More recent work in the Department has led to the development of new approaches for making vaccines, new vaccine candidates for cholera, antiviral strategies for herpes simplex virus and general immune therapies for viral infections. In addition, studies of SIV pathogenesis in monkeys serve as the best animal model for AIDS and have led to observations suggesting that a vaccine may become feasible and that certain therapeutic approaches are promising.

The Department honors the legacies of Zinsser, Enders, Davis, and Fields by continuing to advance the field of microbiology, thereby providing new tools to understand and eradicate disease. The scourge of emerging diseases, of which AIDS is perhaps the most poignant and most virulent example, illustrates the continued relevance of studying the molecular biology and genetics of microbial agents as well as the critical need to further explain how new agents evolve and cause disease.

One of the most important roles the Department has is providing graduate and medical education in Genetics. All faculty participate in the teaching mission of the Department contributing to graduate and medical education as needed and according to their interests. All of the faculty are members of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Graduate Program. This is a broad-based PhD program that also includes all basic science departments at HMS as well as a large number of affiliated faculty from other basic and clinical departments. In conjunction with the BBS Curriculum Committee, the Department endeavors to provide students with the strongest possible background in genetics through a core course and a wide variety of upper level specialized courses. Some members of the Department also participate in a number of other more narrowly focused graduate programs at Harvard, including those in biophysics, systems biology, neurosciences, immunology and virology. The Department also takes responsibility for teaching courses in genetics and embryology to first year medical students. One other aspect of teaching involves the Department’s clinical postgraduate training of Genetics fellows in preparation for Board qualification. Clinical training in Genetics at Harvard is a joint effort involving all of the major teaching hospitals. While the hospitals assume the main responsibility for this training effort and provide patients for instruction, the Department of Genetics provides support and research opportunities for fellows.

This initiative is aimed at fulfilling an intellectual challenge resulting from the genomic revolution that has swept biomedical disciplines in the past decade. These new developments present methodological, logistical and epistemological opportunities and challenges that traditional educational approaches can only partially fulfill. We feel it is essential to develop new ways of teaching biology that allow students to approach problems in a multidisciplinary fashion.

The iDB effort represents a new educational initiative that is meant to synergize with existing educational programs (like HILS and the Leder Medical Sciences Program). The iDB will involve traditional graduate and medical education but also has the ambition to serve as a template for a novel way of teaching. Traditional semester-length courses and abridged, 2-day courses called nanocourses will both be offered. The iDB will also offer a 2 week, intensive lab-based course that will expose participating students to Experimental Developmental Biology.

The iDB will strive to maintain Harvard University Medical School’s reputation as a pioneer in Biomedical education, utilize existing intellectual capital, and build meaningful connections between all members of the Harvard community.

Our teaching mission includes core graduate courses in molecular biology and biochemistry, as well as medical courses in pharmacology. In addition, we offer advanced courses in a wide range of specialty areas reflecting the research interests of our faculty.

Programs and Disciplines

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IN PUBLIC HEALTH (BPH) PROGRAM

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Molecular & Integrative Physiological Sciences, including pulmonary inflammation, pneumonia and asthma toxicity and pathophysiology of air pollution bioengineering, biophysics

GENETICS AND COMPLEX DISEASES

Molecular Mechanisms of Adaptive Responses to Stress
Radiobiology
Nutritional Biochemistry
Genetic and Molecular Mechanisms of Chronic Diseases Such as Obesity, Diabetes, and Cancer

IMMUNOLOGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Immunology
Immunology & Molecular Biology of Parasitic and Other Infections
Virology

NUTRITION

Nutritional Biochemistry
Cardiovascular Biology

The Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) was established at Harvard University in 1993. The program trains a cadre of leaders who, while possessing expertise in the individual fields of biological research, also possess a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics. The program trains research scientists in the following areas of cellular and molecular biology: nutritional biochemistry; cardiovascular biology; gene regulation; cell/environment interactions; toxicology; cancer; pulmonary inflammation; immunology; infectious diseases: protozoa, helminths, viruses and bacteria; genetic approaches to disease mechanisms.

Students apply cutting-edge technology to the solution of world-wide problems with a focus toward better treatment and prevention of human diseases. It has become increasingly evident that progress in disease prevention is optimally promoted by a close interaction between epidemiologists and laboratory scientists, where laboratory discoveries and epidemiological observations interact in an iterative manner to advance research in both fields.

This program includes faculty from the school’s Departments of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Environmental Health, Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Nutrition, in addition to faculty at Harvard Medical School and other Harvard associated institutions. This interdisciplinary program fosters a stimulating and supportive environment for research training in the biomedical sciences.

The BPH program is rooted in the rich and diverse environment of the Harvard School of Public Health, which is dedicated to advancing the public’s health through learning, discovery, and communication. The School’s research and training programs emphasize the following objectives:

• to provide the highest level of education to public health scientists, practitioners, and leaders;
• to foster new discoveries leading to improved health for the people of this country and all nations;
• to strengthen health capacities and services for communities; and
• to inform policy debate, disseminate health information, and increase awareness of public health as a public good and fundamental right.

The field of public health is inherently multi-disciplinary and so, too, are the interests and expertise of the School’s faculty and students, which extend across the biological, quantitative, and social sciences. With our roots in biology, we are able to confront the most pressing diseases of our time—AIDS, cancer, and heart disease—by adding to our knowledge of their underlying structure and function. Core quantitative disciplines like epidemiology and biostatistics are fundamental to analyzing the broad impact of health problems, allowing us to look beyond individuals to entire populations. And, because preventing disease is at the heart of public health, we also pursue the social sciences to better understand health-related behaviors and their societal influences—critical elements in educating and empowering people to make healthier lifestyle choices.

From advancing scientific discovery to training national and international leaders, the Harvard School of Public Health has been at the forefront of efforts to benefit the health of populations worldwide. Shaping new ideas in our field and communicating them effectively will continue to be priorities in the years ahead as we serve society’s changing health needs.

Founded in 1922, the Harvard School of Public Health was the nation’s first graduate training program in public health. Early pioneers at the school included Alice Hamilton, who elucidated the health effects of lead and other industrial toxins; Philip Drinker, whose iron lung sustained the lives of many stricken with paralytic polio; Thomas Weller, whose Nobel Prize-winning research paved the way for the development of polio vaccines; and Bernard Lown, co-founder of the Nobel Prize-winning organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

Research Facilities

Located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, the program brings together faculty in the biological sciences throughout Harvard University. The Medical Area, which includes the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and a cluster of hospitals, comprises one of the most concentrated areas of scientific research facilities in the United States. The interaction of faculty working at associated institutions, through joint teaching and research, enables the program to serve as a meeting place for the biological, medical, physical, and chemical scientists. This provides students and faculty alike with a wider range of experience and techniques than may be found in any single discipline or department.

At the Harvard School of Public Health alone, modern research laboratories are housed on 14 floors of three buildings. Students have access to the Countway Library, one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the nation.

The main Harvard University campus in Cambridge encompasses a wide variety of strong academic departments and facilities in the humanities and sciences. The program specifically interacts with the biological sciences programs in molecular and cellular biology, organismic and evolutionary biology, and biophysics.

Program of Study

The program offers opportunities in a wide range of laboratory experiences and considerable interaction among the program components. Academic programs fulfill needs and goals through core and advanced courses, seminars, rotations in laboratories, and a qualifying examination. Courses may be chosen from the offerings of Harvard University as well as from those of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rotations are an integral part of each program; they allow students to investigate several types of research and laboratories before choosing a dissertation laboratory. Students choose a dissertation laboratory by the end of the first year.

Although individual programs vary, generally students take a qualifying examination during their second year. After successful completion of the qualifying examination, the dissertation advisor supervises the doctoral candidate’s research and study, with an advisory committee periodically reviewing progress. Typically, about four years of laboratory work are needed to complete the dissertation research, which is defended before three examiners. Generally, students complete the degree in five to six years.

The BSDM program combines faculty from the Department of Developmental Biology and other Harvard School of Dental Medicine departments with faculty from basic science departments at Harvard Medical School, and faculty from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University in Cambridge. This program offers advanced study in the molecular, supramolecular, cellular, and supracellular processes that provide the intellectual basis for dental medicine.

Applicants to this program should be interested in pursuing a career in basic or patient-oriented science in the areas of skeletal biology, cell biology and development, immunology, or microbiology leading to a PhD degree. Eligible applicants will be individuals with a baccalaureate in sciences (BS), a master degree in sciences (MS), a doctoral degree in dentistry (DMD, DDS), or a medical doctoral degree (MD).

Completed applications should be received by December 8 in order to be considered for admission for the coming year. Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in calculus, physics, biology, and chemistry, both physical and organic. Strong consideration is given to letters of recommendation, particularly to comments from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of the applicant’s research experience.

Scores from the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) should be submitted (General); subject test is optional in the subject of your choice. Applicants whose native language is not English and who have not received a degree from an English language institution must score at least 600 on the paper version or at least 250 on the electronic version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Students who already have a professional medical degree are not required to take the GRE.
BSDM students receive full tuition and stipend support while they are enrolled and making satisfactory progress toward the PhD degree. International applicants are urged to seek financial support from their national governments and fellowship agencies.

Research Facilities

Located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, BSDM brings together faculty in the biological sciences throughout Harvard University. The Medical Area (Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Medical School, The Forsyth Institute, a cluster of affiliated hospitals, and the Harvard School of Public Health) and Harvard University in Cambridge comprise one of the most concentrated areas of scientific research facilities in the United States. The interaction between faculty working at the various component institutions, through joint teaching and research as well as contact with the affiliated hospitals investigating clinical problems, enables the program to serve as a meeting place for biological, dental, medical, physical, and chemical scientists. This provides students and faculty alike with a wider range of experience and techniques than may be found in any single discipline or department.

Students have access to the Countway Library, one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the nation, and the libraries of The Forsyth Institute and Harvard University in Cambridge.

Program of Study

A rigorous curriculum covers the fundamentals of developmental biology, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology, microbiology and virology, pathology, immunology, neurobiology, tissue engineering, and genetics. In the first year, students take core courses covering this material. In addition, students take upper-level courses designed to teach reading skills for in-depth analysis of the literature. Rotations in laboratories, in the Longwood Medical Area or in Cambridge, form an integral part of the program and allow students to investigate several research areas before choosing a dissertation laboratory.

In the second year, students will take the Preliminary Qualifying Examination (PQE) and select the advisor for the PhD dissertation work. By the third year, it is expected that most students will devote their full time to dissertation research.

In addition to formal instruction, BSDM also offers a weekly discussion group, a seminar series, poster sessions at the annual

Harvard-Forsyth Research Symposium, and a yearly retreat. Upper-level students are required to serve as Teaching Assistants for a minimum of one term in graduate courses given in the Medical Area or in Cambridge.

The standing Committee on Academic Studies (CAS) in the Department of Astronomy has the primary responsibility for administering graduate programs. This committee is composed of members of the teaching staff, including the department chair, and two graduate students. The purpose of the committee is to insure that students receive adequate guidance at the pre-dissertation level, to see that uniform academic standards are applied, and to define the professional qualifications expected by the department for advanced degrees in astronomy. At regular intervals the committee reviews the progress of each graduate student. It also reviews and approves study programs, arranges oral examinations, and selects dissertation examining committees, dissertation advisory committees, and research exam committees. The chair of the Committee on Academic Studies is the departmental Director of Graduate Studies.

A faculty advisor is assigned to each incoming graduate student to help the student make informed decisions about coursework and research opportunities. Each student is free to choose a new advisor at any subsequent time, but should inform the department administrator and the CAS of such a change after obtaining the new advisor’s consent.

Study plans are prepared by students in consultation with their advisor early in each fall term, and are submitted to the Committee on Academic Studies. With the approval of the student’s advisor, revised study plans may be sent to the committee at any time during the year, to reflect changing interests.

Requirements for Advanced Degrees

The department expects candidates for advanced degrees to acquire professional competence in an area of research and to acquire a general knowledge of astronomy for an understanding of important developments in other areas. Courses offered by other departments in the University normally form an essential part of the training of graduate students in astronomy. Previous knowledge of astronomy is not a prerequisite for admission to the department. However, students with little or no basic astronomy background are expected to become familiar with introductory concepts before enrolling at Harvard. All students are expected either to pass an oral examination based on topics and level of treatment in Frank Shu’s The Physical Universe (or equivalent), or take Astronomy 145.

1. Course and General Background Requirements. Candidates are admitted to the PhD program only, although the AM degree will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the residence requirements. Candidates for the PhD degree in the Department of Astronomy must satisfy the course and general background requirements, and complete one research project, a thesis, and final oral examination as described below.

General Background Requirements. Previous knowledge of astronomy is not a prerequisite for admission to the department. However, students with little or no basic astronomy background are expected to become familiar with introductory concepts before enrolling at Harvard.

Placement Exam. All students are expected to pass a written placement examination covering the basic concepts/core of astronomy and astrophysics. If the student does not pass, there will be a choice or taking Astronomy 145 in the Spring and passing it with a grade of B or higher, or take an oral exam on the same level at the start of the second term.

Physics and Mathematics. Courses offered by other departments in the University normally form an essential part of the training of graduate students in astronomy. Candidates for advanced degrees must have a substantial background in physics and mathematics. The following list, based on courses at Harvard, is representative of the minimum background the candidate should have acquired as an undergraduate:

1. Mechanics (Physics 151)

2. Electromagnetic theory (Physics 153)

3. Statistical physics (Physics 181)

4. Quantum mechanics (Physics 143a, 143b)

5. General mathematics (Applied Mathematics- 105a, 105b)

A knowledge of more advanced physics and mathematics is very important to astrophysical work and students are encouraged to pursue these subjects at the graduate level by taking 232 and 251a, b (or their equivalents) and Applied Mathematics 201 and 202. As a minimum, students are expected to obtain a satisfactory grade (A or B) or otherwise demonstrate knowledge of the material in Physics 251a, or AY 251, or Physics 210, graduate-level quantum mechanics, or graduate–level general relativity.

Astronomy Courses. Candidates for advanced degrees should obtain a broad knowledge of astronomy by obtaining a satisfactory grade or by passing an oral examination in the five “core” courses (Astronomy 150, 201a, 201b, 202a, 202b); equivalent courses taken elsewhere can also satisfy this requirement. In addition, students are expected to take for credit at least one of the additional 200 or higher level courses offered by the department or, in several cases, by other departments. A complete list of these courses is: Astronomy 191, 192, 193, 218, 219, 225, Physics 210, 211, and 251a, and b. Courses taken elsewhere or courses of equivalent intellectual substance in mathematics or physics may be used to satisfy this requirement at the discretion of the CAS. For more information about specific courses refer to the listings in Courses of Instruction. A chart with the courses and terms offered can be found here.

Teaching. Department of Astronomy graduate students are required to satisfactorily teach for two semesters. A student’s teaching will be evaluated by the course head. Students who are not proficient in the English language are required to demonstrate to the course head their proficiency before they are allowed to teach. Various routes to improving English communications skills are available through the University; the department will help students achieve the necessary proficiency. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning offers activities and services to aid those who teach, and is especially useful for new teaching fellows or those who are unfamiliar with teaching in the American classroom setting. The first two semesters of a student’s teaching are part of her/his compensation package from the department (unless the student has an external fellowship, see below). Many students wish to teach more than the required amount. The Department believes that students should have this opportunity if they are in good academic standing and are making good progress toward their degree. Students who undertake additional teaching will normally keep half of their teaching stipend if sufficient research funds are available. Students who wish to teach additional courses should obtain the consent of their advisors and, by University rules, must be in good academic standing. If a student has received an outside fellowship that permits additional support, they may keep the stipend from teaching in addition to the fellowship. Students also may not teach more than one course per semester without the consent of the Committee on Academic Studies. It is the responsibility of the student and their advisor to ensure that additional teaching (beyond the two required semesters) will not slow progress toward completion of academic/degree requirements.

Plan of Study. Students are expected to discuss their proposed course and study schedule with their advisor and then to submit it to the committee for approval as part of their study plan. Students should attempt to complete their course work and general background studies before the end of the second year. A student is notified when the CAS agrees that these requirements have been met.

The Astronomy Department has no formal requirement in foreign languages. Students should, however, be familiar with the scientific literature in foreign languages that relates to their own work.

2. Research Project. Before beginning work on a thesis, a student must complete one research project. The purpose of the project is to introduce students to methods of research and to ensure that they can organize material and present it cogently in written form. The topic may be in the area of intended thesis work, although research in another area is encouraged. No research project or paper carried out before the student has registered for graduate study at Harvard will be accepted.

Each research project must have a faculty supervisor who approves the subject material and ensures that the written report meets the appropriate standard. Students are expected to select an area of research in their second term in residence, and should submit a proposal for a research project to the CAS before May 15 of their first year. This is a short statement of the intended research and does not require prior completion of any phase of the work.

Research Exam Committees (REC). The CAS will appoint Research Exam Committees for all students when their Research Proposals are submitted in the spring term of their first year. This committee consists of the research project supervisor, two readers, and a tentative thesis advisory committee chair. The REC will advise the CAS on the suitability and scope of the research proposal.

Normally students devote the summer following their first academic year to research their project. The final research project report is due before May 15 of the second year. Publication of the report is desirable but not essential. The student may work as a member of a research group, but the project report should be written entirely by the student, though it need not be the final version submitted for publication. The report need not describe a completed research project, but can be a description of work accomplished. Its total length should not exceed 50 pages. Typical papers in the ApJ, AJ, PASP and other such journals can serve as guides to style. Our usual advice on presentations is to plan for 30 “uninterrupted” minutes and to concentrate on the motivation for the research, the results and the astrophysical conclusions. Forms for this report may be found here.

Research Exam. The research project report is evaluated by the Research Exam Committee. They also conduct a brief oral examination on the subject of this research as well as related astrophysics. The research examination is normally scheduled two weeks after the submission of the research report. Exams generally last for a few hours including the presentation, questions and committee deliberation. The REC will normally meet in the spring term of a students second year either to conduct the research exam or to oversee progress on the research exam and try to ensure completion by the of the students second full year. Students who have not completed their research exams by the end of the first semester of their third year will be required, with their advisor, to meet with the CAS. Salary/stipend support may be withdrawn and the student not allowed to register, if the student has not completed their research exam by the end of the third year.

3. Thesis Proposal. Within 3-4 months of completion of the research exam, both the student and advisor should submit to the Committee on Academic Studies a thesis proposal and a list of possible committee members. It is desirable, but not required, that the thesis topic be in an area different from that pursued for the research project.

Thesis Advisory Committee. The Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) monitors the student’s progress towards the completion of the thesis, giving both advice and supervision. It includes members with interests and knowledge broadly related to the thesis research. Although the thesis supervisor will be a member of the committee, another member will be designated chair by the Committee on Academic Studies (CAS). The student and committee will meet together at least once per semester. Each student has the responsibility for arranging TAC meetings each semester. The CAS is charged with making sure students have TAC meetings on a semester schedule starting no later than 6 months after a student has completed the research exam. The role of the TAC is to provide additional advice to the student and to provide advice to the CAS on the student’s progress towards their Ph.D.

In advance of each meeting the student provides the committee members with a brief summary of current progress and problems. This, together with an evaluation form completed by the committee and given to the student, will be reviewed by the CAS.

4. PhD Thesis. It is desirable that the student complete the thesis and other degree requirements by the end of five years. Before the final oral examination, the student is required to give a public lecture on the thesis topic. Information on due dates for degree applications and submission of theses may be obtained from the department administrator. The final manuscript should conform to the requirements described in the booklet, The Form of the Doctoral Thesis.

5. Final Oral Examination. The Committee on Academic Studies will appoint a committee to conduct a final oral examination at which the candidate will defend their PhD thesis. The Final Oral Exam Committee must contain at least two faculty members (by university rules) and one examiner from outside the University (by department rules). Typical committees have four or five members. The examination will be confined to the thesis and topics bearing directly on it.

6. Duration of Graduate Study. Duration of graduate study should not ordinarily exceed five years, and students in their sixth year are encouraged to finish promptly.

7. Satisfactory Progress. Students who are not progressing satisfactorily will be put on grace, essentially a one year University probation during which they must begin to make appropriate progress. Students who, at the end of such a probationary year, are still not progressing satisfactorily, will lose stipend support.

Approximately 300 PhD scientists are engaged in work at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA), providing students with an unusually wide choice of dissertation topics and stimulating opportunities for both formal and informal learning through courses and seminars. Graduate students at Harvard benefit from this diverse environment, have access to extensive facilities, and pursue their work in a supportive and stimulating setting.

Facilities

Students who embark on research at optical and infrared wavelengths have access to high-performance, well-instrumented 6.5 meter telescopes in both hemispheres: the converted Multiple Mirror Telescope at the Whipple Observatory in Arizona and the Baade and Clay Telescopes at the Magellan Observatory in Chile. Students also have access to the Whipple Observatory’s 1.5, 1.3, and 1.2 meter telescopes equipped with high-performance spectrographs and imagers. An active instrument development program is aimed at maintaining state-of-the-art observing facilities, and students are welcome to participate in this development program. CfA scientists have also led the development of infrared array cameras for the Spitzer satellite, currently the world’s premier IR space observatory. Students will have the opportunity to work with this experienced team on Spitzer observations.

Radio astronomy students have direct access to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) an eight element sub-millimeter-wave interferometer operating on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A 1.2-m telescope is available in Cambridge for survey observations of CO at 3 mm. Students have also been active users of millimeter-wave interferometers in California and France and of the 30-m millimeter-wave telescope in Spain. In addition students frequently use the cm-wave facilities of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory including the Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array and the 100-m telescope in Green Bank West Virginia. The Submillimeter Wavelength Development Laboratory offers opportunities for instrumentation work at sub-millimeter- wavelengths including the Terahertz band. Harvard is a member of the US consortium developing Square Kilometer Array.

High-energy astrophysics facilities and opportunities are especially strong. They include the Chandra X-ray Center (managed by SAO under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which operates the space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory; ready access to and local expertise with the entire Chandra data archive, as well as the Einstein and Rosat x-ray observatory databases; laboratory development of x-ray detectors and telescopes; solar x-ray telescope development and operation, and balloon-borne experiments for hard x-ray imaging of cosmic sources. Faculty and CfA staff members carry out major observational programs with the currently operating x-ray observatories (Chandra, XMM-Newton and others) as well as coordinated programs using ground- and space-based telescopes at other wavelengths; and participate in the design and study of next-generation x-ray facilities.

Solar and Stellar and Planetary Sciences facilities include the SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS/SOHO) which is currently being used to observe the extended solar corona between 1 and 10 heliocentric radii. It makes spectroscopic measurements leading to the determination of densities, velocities, temperatures, and elemental abundances in the solar wind, coronal holes, equatorial streamers, and coronal mass ejections. It has produced interesting results on observations of non-solar targets, such as near-ecliptic stars, planets, comets, and interplanetary hydrogen and helium.

Facilities for laboratory work are extremely complete, including an ion-beam facility to study electron impact excitation and dielectronic recombination; a spectrograph used to measure gas properties relevant to atmospheres of brown dwarf stars; facilities for research on atomic clocks and quantum optics; and millimeter-wave spectrometers for measuring spectra of gases found in the interstellar medium. In addition, department members and CfA staff are part of science teams for other future space missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the Constellation X and Generation X x-ray observatories, and the Planck surveyor CMB Satellite.

Students in theoretical astrophysics have access to a wide variety of talent at the CfA to carry out investigations ranging from atomic processes through exploding stars and black holes to the origin of the universe. Computational facilities include numerous networked work-stations, a Beowulf cluster, and a variety of output devices.

The John G. Wolbach Library and Information Center combines the collections of the Harvard College Observatory Library (1839) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Library (1959), forming one of the world’s preeminent astronomical collections. The library holds print and online journals, books, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, slides, sky surveys and slides in astronomy, astrophysics and related fields.

The Minor Planet Center and the Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams also make their homes at the CfA.

The Harvard Design School also offers a separate three-year program leading to the doctor of design degree, which is -oriented to the practice and teaching of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. An applicant normally must hold either a professional master’s degree in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, or urban design, or the GSD degree master in design studies (MDesS). This program requires different application forms.

The department does not admit candidates for a terminal AM degree. PhD candidates may, however, apply for a master’s degree after having completed with satisfactory grades, eight half-courses. The degree may also be offered to students unable to complete the doctorate.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requires that all students maintain an average of B or better in each year of graduate study. All incomplete grades must be removed before the end of the next regular term.

If students are cross-registered in Schools where the grading system does not use letter grades, they should ask the course instructor to issue letter grades.

Applicants must have completed a four-year bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, or a professional degree in architecture, landscape architecture, or urban planning, or the foreign equivalent of the foregoing. Students from other countries must provide proof of their command of English. To be eligible for admission, individuals must also show evidence of distinguished academic work in the field or closely-related fields, or distinguished work in the intended area of concentration. Applications from minorities are particularly welcome.

All applicants are required to indicate a -proposed major subject of study at the time of initial application. These proposed areas of study should be congruent with the interests and expertise of at least one member of the Faculties of Design or Arts and Sciences. The results of the Graduate Record General Examination (GRE) and other supporting documents specified in the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid are also required parts of the application.

Archaeology

The principal objectives of the graduate program in archaeology are to provide 1) informed, critical examinations of core issues in archaeology, 2) comprehensive training in principal methods and theories of anthropologically oriented archaeology, and 3) direction and support for PhD candidates preparing for research and teaching positions in a wide variety of domains of archaeological practice. While students who wish to pursue PhD training in any area of expertise are invited to apply to the program, there are several domains of particular strength in terms of faculty interests, departmental facilities, and institutional resources. Principal strengths in archaeology at Harvard include: a) the archaeology of complex societies, b) the archaeology of ethnicities and languages, c) archaeology, art and religion, d) the archaeology of human evolution, and e) environmental archaeology/bioarchaeology. Students are strongly encouraged to select one of these areas of specialization in focusing their work, although the specific program of study pursued by each student will be developed in close consultation with his/her principal advisor and advisory committee. In addition to a primary area of specialization, all students are expected to acquire a basic understanding of the archaeology of complex societies in both the Old and New Worlds as well as general knowledge of those aspects of ethnography, ethnology, and biological anthropology that have particular relevance to his/her area(s) of interest in archaeology. In certain cases, joint programs of study in archaeology and either biological anthropology or social anthropology can be arranged. The expectation is that the student will be able to complete the program in six years.

Each student will have a faculty advisor, whose research interests will be close to those of the student. For the first five semesters, the student’s progress will be overseen by an Advisory Committee, normally consisting of the advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and one other archaeology faculty member. After the fifth semester, examining and dissertation committees will be chosen on the basis of the student’s domain(s) of specialization. The progress of each student will be assessed annually by the archaeology wing faculty, and this appraisal will be communicated to the candidate. An overall B+ average is expected of the student. Incomplete (INC) grades are expected to be made up on time (by the end of the term following the term in which the INC was taken). No grade of INC can fulfill any departmental requirement. A record with INC is likely to jeopardize a student’s chances of obtaining teaching fellowships and financial awards.

Biological Anthropology

The objective of the graduate program in biological anthropology is to provide the PhD candidate with comprehensive training in biological anthropology, within the broader field of anthropology, and evolutionary biology, as well as specialization in a particular research area. Although requirements in biological anthropology are normally sufficiently flexible to accommodate most research programs, we also encourage inter-departmental PhD programs when appropriate.

Upon admission, the student will meet with the biological anthropology faculty in the week before fall term begins and during the first week of term to plan a program of study that will take into account the student’s previous training and current academic interests. Two members of the faculty will be chosen as the student’s initial advisors. The progress of all students will be assessed annually by the biological anthropology faculty and this appraisal will be communicated to the candidate. An overall B+ average is expected of the student. Ordinarily, no student whose record contains any Incompletes will be allowed to register for the third term.

Social Anthropology

Advisors

On admission to the program in social anthropology, each student is assigned an advisor. The student should seek out this advisor at least once a term to discuss his or her progress and to work out a plan of study. The student also should keep the advisor informed about progress while in the field. A new advisor may be appointed by the chair of the social anthropology wing on the initiative of either the student or the advisor at any time in the course of study.

Coursework

The course of study in social anthropology requires a minimum of 16 half-courses (not including TIME), at least 12 of which must be in anthropology.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Alfred M. Tozzer Library continue to be the major resource bases for anthropology in the University. The Tozzer, with its 250,000 volumes, is the only anthropology library that indexes articles by both subject and author. The museum’s collections, archives, photographic, and conservation facilities are available to all members of the department. In addition to its distinguished collections, the Peabody Museum houses the anthropology department which has laboratory facilities in mass spectometry, genetics, paleontology, skeletal biology, -reproductive ecology, and nutritional ecology.

Beyond the immediate limits of the graduate anthropology programs, Harvard also offers intellectual opportunities for graduate students that are difficult to match elsewhere —Widener Library, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Bauer Center for Genomics Research, the Concord Field Station, the Fogg Art Museum, the computing resources, and, above all, the distinguished departments in the other social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Members of the Department of Anthropology often coordinate their research with other faculties in the University and encourage their students to tailor programs to their individual interests, drawing on all assets of the University. Additional research opportunities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Brandeis, and other educational institutions in the Boston area are available to faculty and students of the department through a coordinated program of facility sharing.

Fieldwork or lab work, essential components of graduate training in the department, is available to students as participants on Harvard-sponsored projects or through individual projects. Another opportunity offered to graduate students, after their first or second year of study, is assisting faculty members in the preparation and teaching of undergraduate courses.

Each year prominent scholars throughout the world are invited to participate in the department’s seminar series, designed to give faculty and graduate students occasions to -discuss the concerns of current research and to debate directions for the future.

The program admits four or five students a year into a five- to six-year program. While there are no specific prerequisites, typically students either have undergraduate majors in African American studies or African studies, or have majors in fields such as anthropology, comparative literature, English, history, history of art, music, philosophy, sociology, and religious studies, and have done some undergraduate work in the field of African or African American studies.

African American Studies

The fundamental rationale for the African American Studies program is that there now exists a substantial body of scholarly writing on African American social, cultural, economic and political life and history, conducted by scholars with a primary training in a traditional discipline, who have drawn on the work of colleagues in other fields to enrich their work. This interdisciplinary corpus of scholarship is at the core of African American studies, and most serious work on African American literature, history, culture and social, economic or political life, proceeds with an awareness of this interdisciplinary background. There is, as a result, a fairly substantial tradition of writings and a lexicon of ideas that together define a core of knowledge in the field. Familiarity with this core at the graduate level is an important part of the training of those who work on these topics.

Along with this background, there is also a good deal of work on the concept of race, which is clearly central to the field, and that can no longer be said to be rooted in a single primary discipline. It draws on anthropology, sociology and intellectual history, the history of science and philosophy, literary and cultural studies, and political science.

These two corpora are substantial enough and of sufficient importance that training in them provides a significant component of the graduate education of a student who wishes to work in African American studies at the same time as acquiring the intellectual tools of a primary discipline.

Our conception of the “American” in “African American” is capacious, not least because a full history of the African presence in the United States cannot be properly constructed without attention to relations among communities in many parts of the New World. There are many other reasons why this is intellectually necessary: a proper understanding of the concept of race, for example, must be comparative (and thus cross-national); and we are bound to acknowledge the complex role of economic, religious, and intellectual linkages among communities of African descent within the Americas, as well as their connections with Africa and with Europe. These general points can be illustrated by various iconic examples: Marcus Garvey, the founder of the largest African American mass political movement in the first half of this century was a Jamaican; Alexander Crummell, who was born in New York, was shaped by his experiences as one of the founders of the University of Liberia; the decolonization of Africa and the presence of African diplomats in New York at the United Nations affected the politics of the Civil Rights movement.

It is this interdisciplinary, comparative, cross-national approach to African American subjects in the humanities and the social sciences that makes our PhD program unique. Students study these topics from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, participating in graduate seminars in anthropology, government, history, literature, and sociology, for example. Thus, they are able to ask and answer questions from a wider variety of perspectives than traditional disciplinary approaches allow. This interdisciplinary approach enables a student to produce richly contextualized analyses while retaining a principle focus within one discipline. The core seminar assures that students have familiarity with the essential social, political, economic and cultural background, and a body of established questions central to the field.

African Studies

African Studies has existed as a field at the university level for almost 50 years now, contributing rich insights and novel paradigms to the humanities and social sciences through its interdisciplinary approach and careful attention to history, culture and lived experience. Emerging at the time of Africa’s political independence, the field has matured at a period of monumental challenges in the continent’s quest for development in the face of marked resilience and creativity on the part of African peoples. In the past five decades, paradigms have shifted in the study of Africa in developmental economics, understandings of state and society, ethnicity and identity, religion and daily life, environment and constructions of environmental sustainability, health and the burden of disease. Since Harvard was the pioneer among American universities in the study of Africa at the beginning of the 20th century, there are strong intellectual and historical reasons for having a strong African Studies program here. The study of Africa is in fact already part of the literature and discourse across many disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Historians have long studied African history, ranging from pre-colonial studies drawing on both oral traditions and written sources to exploration of colonial and post-colonial periods. In the fields of literature, music, and art, African creativity is of interest in terms of their central roles in African societies as well as their diasporic circulation and influence on expressive culture worldwide. For anthropology, sociology, and political science, Africa has provided major subjects of research and study as well as a source of comparative data. In economics, law, political science, public health, and medicine, Africa has contributed striking new data that has re-aligned thinking in these fields as well as provided grist for comparative studies.

African Studies incorporates concerns with many of the central issues and problems of present-day scholarship. The history of the continent, in particular the impact of the colonial period on indigenous peoples and polities, demands close attention as it constructed borders and boundaries in relationship to indigenous ethnic, religious, or national identities. Many disciplines have begun to recognize the importance of indigenous African knowledge systems and practices to the global discourse in areas of natural resources, environment, healing practices, spirituality, and cultural creativity. Work in African Studies brings to the fore questions about well-worn categories such as tradition, modernization, westernization, and secularization-.

The Harvard Graduate Program emphasizes both the local and global dimensions of African Studies, at once seeking to convey a broad understanding of African history and culture while addressing a wide array of peoples, languages, and societies past and present on the continent. The program also seeks to recognize important national and regional entities in Africa. The curriculum focuses on individuals and institutions important to Africa’s past and present as it explores the relationship of the continent to the wider world, including the historical African diaspora that emerged in the wake of the slave trade and the late 20th-century movement of African peoples after African independence.

The Harvard Graduate Program in African Studies is interdisciplinary and comparative. In particular, it seeks to look closely at the on-going dialogue between Africa and the West, most especially the American diaspora, both as historically constituted and as newly formed by waves of immigration in the late 20th century. It seeks both to train scholars across the disciplines and to produce individuals who will in the future contribute to the discussion of social, cultural, and economic development and growth on the African continent. It seeks to incorporate individuals from the widest range of disciplines and experiences, and to engage them with the larger African Studies community at Harvard.

Our curriculum conveys a broad understanding of African history and culture while addressing a wide array of peoples, languages, and societies past and present on the continent and in the African/black diaspora. In this respect, we seek to grasp the African and African American experience in a single, unifying perspective that endows this experience with its full historical significance. Thus, our conception of the African diaspora extends beyond the Atlantic paradigm that has dominated academic and intellectual discourse concerned with the black experience, in order to project a larger, more comprehensive view that embraces the Indian Ocean, the Pacific area (Peru, Colombia) and the Trans-Saharan-Mediterranean.

The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today’s demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm’s “operating core”:

• the multi-function, multi-firm system that includes basic research, design, engineering, product and process development and production of goods and services within individual operating units;
• the networks of information and material flows that tie operating units together and the systems that support these networks;
• the distribution and delivery of goods and services to customers.

Our research, course development, and teaching draws on multiple disciplines, including economics, sociology, and political science, and focuses on both domestic and global competition. The objective of the work is to generate findings and develop concepts that will help managers improve their strategic decisions while advancing the state of knowledge in the academic study of strategy and related disciplines.

Our current intellectual agenda builds on the rich history of OB at HBS and focuses squarely on the organizational changes and challenges arising from today’s increasingly global and more competitive economy. In the last decade, the faculty have been recognized for their work on leadership in an increasingly diverse and dynamic environment, the evolution of managerial careers in our society, managing diversity, and organizational design and change to meet evolving needs and expectations in a changing world.

Our work is grounded in the power of strategic interaction to encourage individuals and organizations to create and sustain value (in negotiations, in organizations, and in markets). We explore these interactions through diverse approaches: Although many of us have training in economics, we also have members with backgrounds in social psychology, sociology, and law.

NOM seeks to apply rigorous scientific methods to real-world problems — producing research and pedagogy that is compelling to both the academy and practitioners.

The Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School aims to be knowledgeable about best practices in all of these areas, and to understand when, how, and why various approaches should be used. We aim to be at the forefront of academia in creating and disseminating practical ideas about marketing that help build sustainable, profitable enterprises or that help non-profit organizations to achieve their goals. We achieve this by hiring and promoting highly capable and motivated faculty who care about academic excellence, and about teaching, and who are fascinated by the challenges that marketing managers face.

• the personal values and qualities of effective general managers and enterprise leaders;
• the philosophies, values, and strategies that inform successful enterprises; and
• the relation of enterprise to the broader community and other external constituencies.

The Unit’s work is conceived and carried out principally in four interest groups, each of which has its own leadership, research agenda, and teaching programs:

• Management Policy and Process
• Management Information Systems
• Society and Enterprise
• Leadership, Values, and Corporate Responsibility

Our strategy is to assemble and nurture a faculty whose interests and skills complement each other, and who work well together,

• to produce a broad range of finance-related research that is published in top-tier scientific and practitioner journals, and that addresses issues of present and future importance to managers;
• to develop relevant, intellectually rigorous MBA and Executive Education courses; and
• to mentor future academics through the Business Economics doctoral program.

Because it is such a complex phenomenon, entrepreneurship must be studied through multiple lenses. We use three.

• The process of entrepreneurship - We seek to understand the processes of entrepreneurial activity in start-ups and established firms by examining the antecedents and consequences of various forms of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and opportunity pursuit for individuals, organizations, and industries. We see experimentation and innovation in products, services, processes, and business models as central to entrepreneurial activity.
• The finance of entrepreneurship - We seek to understand the financing of entrepreneurial ventures by studying the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial funding decisions both domestically and internationally.
• The context of entrepreneurship - We seek to understand the ways in which entrepreneurs both respond to and shape the context in which they operate, by examining the history of entrepreneurship across time and national borders and by analyzing the legal and cultural contexts for managerial action.

The following demonstrates one way of classifying the approaches the Unit takes to learning and teaching.

• The Unit examines the “rules” and policies established by government and other non-business institutions that affect business in the United States.
• The Unit turns to history to understand the origins of today’s business environment as well as some of the alternatives that have emerged from time to time.
• The Unit examines other countries’ business environments and their historical development.
• The BGIE group is deeply interested in the impact of globalization and the way rules are emerging to govern international economic transactions as globalization proceeds.

• Communicate with external investors to ensure that their firms’ securities are fairly priced and that they are able to access capital,
• Measure and evaluate their firms’ economic performance,
• Improve resource allocation and strategy implementation within their firms, and
• Build accountability for performance through effective external and internal governance.

Unit research, course development, and teaching fall into two broad areas: Financial Reporting and Analysis and Management Accounting. Our research helps scholars and educators understand current best practices for the design and use of performance measurement systems that help managers to build more effective, value-creating organizations. Our teaching materials enable us to bring the results of this research into the classroom, and to practice.

Programme Elements

For the Manufacturing Systems and Technology Programme (MST), there are three interrelated components:

• An Educational Program comprising a Dual Master’s degree, and a PhD. degree
• An Inter-university Research Programme (IURP) on critical system-level problems in mirco- and nano-manufacturing in a global context.
• A Flagship Research Programme (FRP) on critical manufacturing process issues in micro- and nano-manufacturing focusing on commercial scale production of microfluidic devices for biomedical applications. The Center for Polymer Microfabrication has been created to carry out this collaborative research.

Scope of Manufacturing for MST

In the MST programme we define manufacturing as the collection of technologies and systems that are necessary for commercial scale production and distribution to customers. This includes the disciplines of:

• Materials and Processes for Production
• Process Equipment and Tooling
• Equipment Automation and Control
• Metrology and Quality Control
• Design for Manufacturing
• Factory System Design and Control
• Supply Chain Design and Coordination

In addition, since commercial viability is a key issue, it is necessary to address the business economics of the new operations in these emerging systems. In MST these topics are treated as an integrated set, sharing common performance metrics such as cost, quality, rate and flexibility in all aspects of the system.

Career Paths

MST is a multi-disciplinary programme that combines the physical fundamentals of processes and equipment with the operational flow challenges of the factory. Graduates will possess a broad understanding of the many facets of manufacturing, as well as the strategic tools to become premiere leaders in technology development for existing and emerging manufacturing companies, research centers, or universities. Our goal is to equip its graduates with:

• An understanding of the fundamentals of physics, systems and operations
• Knowledge of specific technologies, as needed
• Tools for new technology development
• Exposure to manufacturing strategies

MST allows for many career options within the field of manufacturing. The M.Eng. degree from, MIT provides a broad base for those interested in moving into professional technical jobs in the operation of manufacturing industries. The NTU masters provides a first opportunity for deeper study in the manufacturing disciplines. This can lead to careers in the development of new manufacturing processes, equipment, automaton or logistic systems. Finally, the PhD degree will provide the necessary education for a future in advanced industrial R&D or for an academic career.

Intensive computation for simulation and optimization has become an essential activity in both the design and operation of engineered systems, where the terminology “engineered systems” includes (but goes well beyond) complex systems in engineering science (micro-machined devices, guidance/control systems, imaging systems, etc.) as well as man-made systems (distribution networks, telecommunications systems, transportation systems, etc.) for which simulation, optimization and control are critical to system success. In applications as diverse as aircraft design, materials design and micro-machined device design/optimization engineers need computationally-tractable modeling systems that predict and optimize system performance in a reliable and timely manner. Effective computation allows for shorter design cycle times, better product quality and improved functionality. One cannot overstate the importance of computational engineering and optimization in the global industrial economy, particularly as the systems we use grow more necessary and more complex (cellular telephone telecommunications systems, the electric power grid, the internet, air transport systems, etc.). Revenues from simulation and optimization software products for such systems are only in the billions of dollars, but the overall economic impact of these tools is trillions of dollars. Substantial improvements in numerical methods and dramatic advances in computer hardware have generated vast opportunities for Computational Engineering. We expect that the next decade will experience an explosive growth in the demand for accurate and reliable numerical simulation and optimization of engineered systems. Computational Engineering will become even more multidisciplinary than in the past and a myriad of technological tools will be integrated to explore biological systems and sub-micron devices (for example), which will have a major impact on our everyday life.

The customized numerical algorithms in the latest generation of commercial engineering design software points to a significant trend: researchers and professionals in computational engineering will need a strong background in sophisticated numerical simulation and optimization, but must also be skilled in marrying the application formulation to the numerical methodology. In addition, the ever-accelerating rate at which new technology becomes available is generating an additional demand: that computational engineers be discipline-flexible in their skills. methodology that is of growing importance, while also providing tools for overcoming the manufacturing yield issues that have hindered BioMEMS commercialization. Finally, our educational programme combines applied general methodology courses, discipline-specific electives, and industrial experience in a way that, inparallel, trains professionals for industry while preparing doctoral students to participate in the flagship and interuniversity research projects.

The Computational Engineering educational programme is focused on educating the professionals who will model, simulate, optimize, and design the important engineered systems of the next decade.

Career Paths

The SMA programme in CE is the first of its kind to deliver a unified perspective on simulation and optimisation techniques in the domains of engineering science and systems optimisation. Students learn to develop and apply advanced techniques for a diverse range of applications in:

• Aerospace
• Electrical, industrial, mechanical and other engineering fields
• Logistics
• Management
• Finance

Courses are primarily for people with an interest in, and passion for, modern and sophisticated high performance computation tools as the means to improve product and systems design. Careers might include employment in companies or research institutes in which modeling, simulation, design, and optimisation play a critical role. With a unified perspective on simulation and optimisation techniques, graduates are poised to accept high-level professional or research positions with thriving industries or entrepreneurial businesses around the globe.

Students with backgrounds in either biology (with strong math skills), physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, or engineering are encouraged to apply. Students must be attracted to the interdisciplinary nature of the CSB degree programme, and have a strong interest in systems and computational approaches to stem cell and tissue biology. Students accepted into the CSB track will take a selection of modules offered in Singapore and MIT, including five MIT/CSBi courses beamed live from MIT — a signature feature of the high degree of integration between the Singapore and the MIT/CSBi PhD courses. The CSB programme courses will cover topics in computational biology, systems biology, genomics, proteomics and imaging theory and technology, some of which will be team-taught by faculty members from Singapore and MIT. As part of the CSB degree programme, concepts emphasized in the class room will be applied in research projects that are tightly linked to the education programme.

CSB research projects will focus on the development of advanced technologies in biological probes, imaging, and computational biology, and the application of these technologies to medically relevant problems in tissue biology, including stem cell differentiation, tissue morphogenesis, infectious disease models, and tissue physiology.

AMM&NS graduate study also provides an exceptional opportunity for collaborative research between SMA students, world-renowned faculty, and industry experts, both in Singapore and in the US. Students will have the opportunity to interact with scientists and engineers at a number of research institutes, such as the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), as well as all three university partners, NUS, NTU and MIT.

Career Paths

The SMA programme in AMM&NS provides a unique and innovative educational opportunity for graduate students interested in careers in industry and research. Through a combination of cutting-edge research and a sound understanding of the principles of materials, graduates are poised to accept high-level positions as leaders in development of electronic, electromechanical, magnetic, photonic, and biomedical devices and systems, especially those based on integrated systems of micro- and nano-scale devices.

Courses are primarily for graduate students with an interest in the diverse nature of technology. Careers might include opportunities in:

• academics
• microelectronics
• optoelectronics
• information technology
• materials testing and analysis
• biomaterials and materials for biomedical devices
• management of technology-based enterprises
• technology assessment
• entrepreneurship

This programme is designed to produce high-calibre professionals with a sound understanding of the design, application, preparation, characterisation, and optimisation of materials.

Candidates reading the degree of PhD by research will pursue an independent but supervised research in an approved field of advanced study based on which a thesis not exceeding 80,000 words must be submitted. A PhD thesis written in the Chinese language should not exceed 300,000 Chinese characters. The award of the research degree is based entirely on the work presented in the thesis.

A rigorous system is used to prepare the candidates into the research phase. In the initial stage of the PhD study, the candidates are required to pass a Qualifying Examination.

Qualifying Examination

(a) Full-time candidates

In the first 12 months of study, the full-time PhD candidates will be required to complete the Qualifying Examination requirements as indicated in (i) and (ii) below:

(b) Part-time candidates

The part-time PhD candidates will be given 24 months to complete the Qualifying Examination requirements as indicated in (i) and (ii) above.

c) Exemption of courses

Exemption of courses may be granted by the Dean if the candidate is deemed to have already done sufficient coursework in the relevant area in a graduate level programme at a recognised university. The minimum requirement after allowing for exemptions is 3 courses for a PhD candidate.

Confirmation Exercise/Report

Candidates who are admitted as Research Students in the first instance will have to undergo a Confirmation Exercise in order to be confirmed as a PhD candidate. The exercise will take place about 6 to 12 months after the Qualifying Examination.

For the Confirmation Exercise, the candidates will have to submit a progress report on their research work as well as present and pass a confirmation seminar.

PhD Oral Examination

In addition to being examined on the thesis, the candidate must also pass an oral examination on the subject matter of his/her thesis and other related subjects. This is normally conducted at the final stage of the PhD study.

Candidates whose progress, in the opinion of the University, have not been satisfactory may be required by the University at any time to terminate their candidature.

The programme emphasises the acquisition of wide and in-depth content knowledge in mathematics as well as its linkage to mathematics teaching. Candidates will have the opportunity to study courses in different areas of mathematics, conducted by active working mathematicians, many of them holding a qualification in teaching of mathematics.

A strong mastery of mathematics will enable educators to teach better and to promote higher order thinking among students in the learning of mathematics. Mathematics specialists in education institutes will also benefit from this programme because a good understanding of mathematics is crucial for handling various tasks related to mathematics education, such as the design of contemporary and rigorous curriculum, assessment of mathematics learning, and development of teaching resources.

Level 1 courses will deal with the teaching of selected topics in tandem with the mathematics content. Level 2 courses enable candidates to develop further expertise in a number of areas of their choice. The core course, Mathematics Inquiry, will provide the candidates with the opportunity to examine the current research in an area of modern mathematics.

The programme is open to graduates in Mathematics as well as graduates in non-Mathematics disciplines, who have a strong mathematics background to pursue a study of mathematics at the Master’s level.

Entry Requirements

• Bachelor of Science with Honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline, or
• Bachelor of Science degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline, with at least one year of professional working experience

Candidature
The programme is offered only on a part-time basis and by coursework only. The minimum and maximum periods of candidature are 24 months and 48 months respectively.

Structure
Participants are required to complete:

• One core course (MSM800 Mathematical Inquiry)
• At least two and no more than five courses from Level 1 elective courses
• At least four Level 2 elective courses

The programme aims to provide teachers and science graduates with specialised knowledge in the field of life sciences, by addressing not only the knowledge base, but also the necessary experimental skills required. Without sacrificing the necessary breadth and depth of the multi-disciplinary nature of the life sciences, the participant is offered a highly personalised roadmap in which the most recent scientific developments are taught, and social and bioethical issues are discussed.

As participants receive training in the basic concepts, conduct experiments and projects under experienced and highly qualified scientists, they are given the opportunity to interact and explore vast new realms in the life sciences.

Specialisations are:

• Applied Physics
• Applied Plant Sciences
• Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Zoological Sciences

Participants are required to complete and pass eight courses and submit a dissertation not exceeding 15,000 words, or pass nine courses and conduct an Independent Research Project.

Entry Requirements

• Bachelor of Science with Honours degree, or equivalent, in relevant courses
• Bachelor of Science degree, or equivalent, in relevant courses, and a year’s professional working experience

Candidature

The degree of Master of Science in Life Sciences is offered only on a part-time basis. Candidates normally attend classes on two evenings per week.

The minimum and maximum periods of candidature are 24 months and 48 months respectively.