harvard history phd admissions

• Utility Menu

Financial Aid & Fellowships

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences provides a five-year funding package for incoming doctoral students. The package consists of a combination of financial aid and fellowships.

A tuition grant covers the cost of tuition for five years , and depending on where students are in their progress towards the degree, the tuition grant is supplemented with additional funding.

In the first two years , students receive a stipend while they are engaged in coursework. In years three and four , students usually receive teaching fellowships, which are equal to the stipend received in years one and two. In the last year of graduate work students receive a dissertation completion fellowship. In addition to this package, a summer stipend is provided for the first, second, third, and fourth summers that students are in residence.

All see:  Financing Graduate Study (pdf) | Conference Funding |  Department Fellowships & Grants |  External Grants & Fellowships

Harvard Griffin GSAS does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

• Undergraduate Program
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Program Rules & Requirements
• Conference Funding
• Dept. Fellowships & Grants
• External Grants & Fellowships
• Graduate Program Workshops
• Library Privileges

• Utility Menu

0b914002f2182447cd9e906092e539f3

Graduate program.

HAA Graduate Program Handbook

Originally predicated on principles rooted in formalism and the connoisseurial practice of Paul J. Sach’s Museum Course, otherwise known as the “Fogg Method,” graduate education in the history of art and architecture at Harvard University has changed considerably over the years to keep pace with the times and to reflect innovation in research, scholarship, and teaching in the arts and humanities. Today, the Department prides itself on its intellectual diversity and rigor, with a large faculty offering courses on monuments and materials from around the globe which are studied from a variety of methodological perspectives.

During their first two years, the coursework undertaken by Ph.D. candidates permits them to focus on their chosen area of specialization while also requiring them to take advantage of the breadth of graduate education, both in and beyond the Department. In their third year, students work as teaching fellows and prepare for their comprehensive exams, which in turn serve as a foundation for future dissertation research. All students in the Department receive internal or external funding which permits them to travel during their fourth year and to conduct research in museums, libraries, collections, archives, and in situ. A dissertation completion fellowship, usually taken after one or more additional years of writing and research, allows students to complete their dissertations in the seventh or eighth year. In addition to fellowship support, advanced graduate students offer instruction in our undergraduate tutorial program.

The Department prides itself on its close mentoring of graduate students and offers various additional forms of support, as does the University itself, whether in the form of summer tuition waivers for language study or internships that enable students to work closely with curators at the Harvard Art Museums, staff of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, or at other collections across the University, which themselves provide an unparalleled array of resources for research. A crucial strength of the program is the Fine Arts Library whose holdings of printed books, visual images, and special collections exceed one million items.

For more information, please visit the HAA Graduate Program Handbook

Sean Fisher

Felipe Pereda

Law and History Program of Study

Students who plan to practice in almost any area of law, as well as those interested in the academic study of legal history have much to gain from courses in Law and History. The Program of Study in Law and History offers students a chance to examine law and its relationship to the larger world of social movements, economic change, politics and government – in the context of studying law in a period of time different from our own. It is designed to reflect the present evolution of interdisciplinary university education in our rapidly changing world. Law and History offers students a chance to contrast our present circumstances with the past, a chance to understand the long path of development that led to the legal problems we grapple with in the present, and the chance to see the deep roots of the social forces that are changing the shape of our own world. The program offers a chance to study lawyers, legal institutions, and the larger society and its interaction with law. The study of law in historical context provides a rich foundation for both practice and scholarship in all fields of law.

The Program of Study in Law and History is designed to be useful to both students who might take one or several of its foundational or advanced courses to round out their law school education, and for those who are interested in more sustained exposure to academic legal history and interdisciplinary study that will connect them to faculty and students from other parts of the university. The program is designed:

• To guide students through foundational and advanced courses and seminars about law and history, and related subjects.
• To facilitate faculty-student interaction and scholarship about legal history—broadly defined—among interested faculty and students.
• To offer support and advising for students who are engaged in the JD/PhD program in history and plan to pursue academic careers.

The law school boasts unmatched expertise in law and history. Students involved in the program have the opportunity to study with renowned faculty who are leaders in the field. Members of the Harvard Law School faculty write and teach about a wide range of law and history subjects, periods, localities, and methods. We have experts in Civil Rights, the Legal Profession, Economic History, Comparative Law, the Ancient World, English Legal History, Legal Thought, Slavery and Emancipation, and all periods of American Constitutional and Legal History.

Interested students are advised to enroll in a range of course offerings. Foundational courses introduce students to the study of law and history, while advanced courses offer in-depth study of particular subjects. Students also are encouraged to attend the law and history workshop; in this context, students can deepen their understanding of the central questions and controversies that animate the field of legal history.

Academic Offerings

For the latest academic year offerings in Law and History, please visit the HLS Course Catalog .

Foundational Courses

These courses offer context, perspective and introductory readings about or relevant to legal history to interested students.

• American Legal History
• Legal History Workshop

Advanced Courses and Seminars

• American Legal History, 1776 – 1865
• American Legal History: Law, Economy, and Society in the Era of the American Revolution
• American Legal History: From Reconstruction to the Present
• Comparative Law: Ancient Law
• Constitutional History I: From the Founding to the Civil War
• Constitional History II: From Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement
• Constitutional Law: Money and the Making of American Capitalism
• English Legal History
• Legal History: History of American Economic Regulation
• Legal History: Workshop on the Political Economy of Modern Capitalism
• Legal History Seminar: Continential Legal History
• Legal History Workshop: Race and Policing in Historical Context
• Legal History Workshop: Sex and the Law
• Making Legal History
• Pierson v. Post and the Theory of Property Seminar
• Politics, Social Life and Law in Jeffersonian America
• The Warren Court

Related Courses

• Advanced Legislation: Statutory Interpretation
• American Legal Education
• Civil Liberties and the Second Reconstruction: Problems of Suppression and Covert Disruption
• From Protest to Law: Triumphs and Defeats of the Civil Rights Revolution 1950-1970
• Mind and Criminal Responsibility in the Anglo-American Tradition
• The Legal Architecture of Globalization: Money, Debt, and Development

Academic Careers

Students who wish to pursue academic careers in this area should enroll in a variety of the offerings described above combined with significant research and writing under the direction of relevant faculty. For further information, contact the Law and History Program of Study faculty leaders and advising faculty.

Advising Faculty

William Alford

Nikolas Bowie

Christine Desan

Tomiko Brown-Nagin

Charles Donahue

William Fisher

Annette Gordon-Reed

Elizabeth Papp Kamali

Michael Klarman

Adriaan Lanni

Anna Lvovsky

Kenneth Mack

Intisar Rabb

Kristen A. Stilt

Laura Weinrib

Fellowship Opportunities

• Raoul Berger-MarkDeWolfe Legal History Fellowship
• Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship
• Rappaport Fellowship

Interdisciplinary Study

The Law School offers a  Coordinated JD/PhD Program  with the Harvard  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences  (GSAS). Students in the program earn a JD and a PhD, allowing them to integrate the study of law with their doctoral studies in history. Several  members  of the  Harvard History Department  work in areas related or highly relevant to the law.

To be admitted to the coordinated JD/PHD program, students must apply to and be separately admitted to both the Law School and to GSAS. Students interested in the coordinated program are encouraged to contact  April Pettit , in the Office of Academic Affairs at HLS, or  Shelby Johnson , in the Office of Student Affairs at GSAS, for further information.

Modal Gallery

Gallery block modal gallery.

History Degree Requirements

The Master of Liberal Arts, History degree program is offered online with 1 course required on-campus. Weekend options are available for the on-campus requirement.

Getting Started

Explore Degree Requirements

• Review the course curriculum .
• Learn about the on-campus experience .
• Determine your initial admissions eligibility .
• Learn about the 3 degree courses required for admission .

Upcoming Term: Summer 2024

Course registration is open March 4 – June 20. Learn how to register →

Fall 2024 courses and registration details will be live in June.

Required Course Curriculum

Online core and elective courses

On-campus Engaging in Scholarly Conversation course

Capstone or thesis

12 Graduate Courses (48 credits)

The degree is customizable. As part of the program curriculum, you choose either a thesis or capstone track as well as the history and elective courses that meet your learning goals.

With online courses offered in both synchronous and asynchronous formats , you can participate in some courses on demand and others live that offer real-time engagement with faculty and peers.

Required Core & Elective Courses View More

• SSCI 100B Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Government, History and International Relations
• 4 history courses
• 1 Engaging in Scholarly Conversation ( see on-campus experience )
• 1 history seminar
• EXPO 42b Writing in the Social Sciences an elective option.

Browse Courses → 

Tip: Seminars offer small-class discussions as well as ample opportunities to connect with faculty and peers while engaging in research. We encourage you to complete multiple seminars.

Thesis Track View More

The thesis is a 9-month independent research project where you work one-on-one in a tutorial setting with a thesis director.

Additional courses for this track include:

• Thesis proposal tutorial
• Master’s Thesis (8 credits)

Recent Thesis Topics:

• How New York City Became the Laboratory for Baseball’s Great Experiment
• The Forgotten Contributions of Napa Valley Chinese Immigrants, 1870-1900
• Education and Social Mobility in England during the Reign of Henry VIII
• “For My Women I See Nothing”: Native American Women and the Dawes Act of 1887
• A Social and Cultural History of the Great Pueblo Flood of 1921: Its Aftermath and Its Legacy

Capstone Track View More

The capstone track focuses on a research project and includes the following additional courses:

• 1 additional history elective
• Social reform movements in America
• Historical biography

Capstone experience. In the precapstone you gain foundational preparation through critically analyzing the scholarly literature. Then, in the capstone, you execute a semester-long research project with guidance and support from your instructor and fellow candidates.

Capstone sequencing. You enroll in the precapstone and capstone courses in the same topic, in back-to-back semesters (fall/spring), and in your final academic year. The capstone must be taken alone as your sole remaining degree requirement. Capstone topics are subject to change annually.

Harvard Instructor Requirement View More

For either the thesis or capstone track, 8 of the above courses (32 credits) need to be taught by instructors with the Harvard-instructor designation. The thesis course is taught by a Harvard instructor.

On-Campus Experience

Choose between the accelerated or standard on-campus experience.

Learn and network in-person with your classmates.

Nearly all courses can be taken online, but the degree requires an in-person experience here at Harvard University where you enroll in Engaging in Scholarly Conversation (ESC).

Join your fellow degree candidates for this interactive course that highlights the importance of true graduate-level analysis by training you in the skills of critically engaging the scholarly literature in your field of study.

Choose between two on-campus experience options:

• Accelerated on-campus option: ESC is offered in two 2-credit active learning weekends. We strongly advise you complete the two weekends in the same academic year with same instructor (part one in fall and part two in spring).
• Standard on-campus option: ESC is offered in one 3-week Harvard Summer School (HSS) session. This option is ideal for those who want a more traditional on-campus experience. HSS offers, for an additional fee, housing, meal plans, and a prolonged on-campus experience here at Harvard University. Learn more about campus life at Harvard .

You register for ESC after completing the proseminar with a grade of B or higher and prior to either the Crafting the Thesis Proposal tutorial or the precapstone to support your final research project. Ordinarily, students wait until they are officially admitted before enrolling in this course, as it does not count as one of the three, 4-credit courses required for admission.

You have two attempts to earn the required grade of B- or higher in ESC. A withdrawal grade (WD) counts as an attempt.

Whether working on a paper at one of the libraries or shopping at the Harvard Coop, I always felt like I belonged.

On attending Engaging in Scholarly Conversation in the active learning weekend format.

International Students Who Need a Student Visa View More

To meet the on-campus requirement, you choose the standard on-campus option and study with us in the summer. You can easily request an I-20 for the F-1 student visa for Harvard Summer School’s 3-week session. For more details, see International Student Study Options for important visa information.

In-Person Co-Curricular Events View More

Come to Cambridge for Convocation (fall) to celebrate your hard-earned admission, Harvard career fairs offered throughout the year, HES alumni networking events (here at Harvard and around the world), and, of course, Harvard University Commencement (May).

Confirm your initial eligibility with a 4-year bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent.

Take three courses in our unique “earn your way in” admissions process that count toward your degree.

In the semester of your third course, submit the official application for admission to the program.

Below are our initial eligibility requirements and an overview of our unique admissions process to help get you started. Be sure to visit Degree Program Admissions for full details.

Initial Eligibility View More

• Prior to enrolling in any degree-applicable courses, you must possess a 4-year regionally accredited US bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. Foreign bachelor’s degrees must be evaluated for equivalency.
• You cannot already have or be in the process of earning a master’s degree in history or a related field. Check your eligibility .
• If English is your second language, you’ll need to prove English proficiency before registering for a course. We have multiple proficiency options .

Earning Your Way In — Courses Required for Admission View More

To begin the admission process, you simply register — no application required — for the following three, four-credit, graduate-level degree courses (available online).

These prerequisite courses count toward your degree once you’re admitted ; they are not additional courses. They are investments in your studies and help ensure success in the program.

• Before registering, you’ll need to pass our online test of critical reading and writing skills or earn a B or higher in EXPO 42b Writing in the Social Sciences.
• You have 2 attempts to earn the minimum grade of B in the proseminar (a withdrawal grade counts as an attempt). The proseminar cannot be more than 2 years old at the time of application.
• 1 history course
• 1 history course or elective (e.g., EXPO 42b)

While the three courses don’t need to be taken in a particular order or in the same semester, we recommend that you start with the proseminar (or the prerequisite EXPO 42b). All three courses must be completed with a grade of B or higher, without letting your overall Harvard cumulative GPA dip below 3.0.

Applying to the Degree Program View More

During the semester of your third degree course, submit the official application to the program.

Don’t delay! You must prioritize the three degree courses for admission and apply before completing subsequent courses. By doing so, you’ll:

• Avoid the loss of credit due to expired course work or changes to admission and degree requirements.
• Ensure your enrollment in critical and timely degree-candidate-only courses.
• Avoid the delayed application fee.
• Gain access to exclusive benefits.

Eligible students who submit a complete and timely application will have 9 more courses after admission to earn the degree. Applicants can register for courses in the upcoming semester before they receive their grades and while they await their admission decision.

The Office of Predegree Advising & Admissions makes all final determinations about program eligibility.

Search and Register for Courses

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) offers degree courses all year round to accelerate degree completion.

• You can study in fall, January, and spring terms through Harvard Extension School (HES) and during the summer through Harvard Summer School (HSS).
• You can enroll full or part time. After qualifying for admission, many of our degree candidates study part time, taking 2 courses per semester (fall/spring) and 1 in the January and summer sessions.
• Most fall and spring courses meet once a week for two hours, while January and summer courses meet more frequently in a condensed format.

To Complete Your Degree

Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Complete your courses in five years.

Earn your Harvard degree and enjoy Harvard Alumni Association benefits upon graduation.

Required GPA, Withdrawal Grades, and Repeat Courses View More

GPA. You need to earn a B or higher in each of the three degree courses required for admission and a B– or higher in each of the subsequent courses. In addition, your cumulative GPA cannot dip below 3.0.

Withdrawal Grades. You are allowed to receive two withdrawal (WD) grades without them affecting your GPA. Any additional WD grades count as zero in your cumulative GPA. Please note that a WD grade from a two-credit course will count as one of your two allowed WD grades. See Academic Standing .

Repeat Courses. We advise you to review the ALM program’s strict policies about repeating courses . Generally speaking, you may not repeat a course to improve your GPA or to fulfill a degree requirement (if the minimum grade was not initially achieved). Nor can you repeat a course for graduate credit that you’ve previously completed at Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School at the undergraduate level.

Courses Expire: Finish Your Coursework in Under Five Years View More

Courses over five years old at the point of admission will not count toward the degree. As stated above, the proseminar cannot be more than two years old at the time of application.

Further, you have five years to complete your degree requirements. The five-year timeline begins at the end of the term in which you complete any three degree-applicable courses, regardless of whether or not you have been admitted to a degree program.

Potential degree candidates must plan accordingly and submit their applications to comply with the five-year course expiration policy or they risk losing degree credit for completed course work. Additionally, admission eligibility will be jeopardized if, at the point of application to the program, the five-year degree completion policy cannot be satisfied (i.e., too many courses to complete in the time remaining).

Graduate with Your Harvard Degree View More

When you have fulfilled all degree requirements, you will earn your Harvard University degree: Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: History. Degrees are awarded in November, March, and May, with the annual Harvard Commencement ceremony in May.

Degree Candidate Exclusive Benefits View More

When you become an officially admitted degree candidate, you have access to a rich variety of exclusive benefits to support your academic journey. To learn more, visit degree candidate academic opportunities and privileges .

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

• Remember me Not recommended on shared computers

Forgot your password?

Harvard History PhD Admissions

By SecondBlackPrez February 22, 2011 in History

Recommended Posts

• SecondBlackPrez

Is it too late for an acceptance?!?!?! I haven't heard anything yet and I am getting nervous!!!!

Link to comment

Share on other sites.

borderlands

I think most people have been getting rejection letters via snail mail. Mine was post marked February, 16th, and if I am not mistaken emails from Harvard, history program, normally acceptances. But I'm not sure.

Oh Ok. Did you justy receive your Harvard rejection today? and what do you know about Cornell, Duke, and NYU?! Thanks in advance

I am in the UK and got my Harvard rejection through snailmail today; it was marked the 16th too. Not sure how much stock you should put in that though.

I still haven't heard from Harvard. For my interdisciplinary programme (History is one part of it), decisions can be made as late as early to mid-March if one is to trust results from previous years.

Hey there Mertonian, sorry to hear that, although I imagine you're not too disappointed given the Columbia result. I guess we'll be seeing each other in New York in the fall then (80% chance I'll end up at Columbia)...

I've applied for a PhD in the History of Science and I haven't heard anything. One poster listed on the results forum that they were accepted via phone. (Congrats and well done to the poster!)

Has anyone else heard anything from the department one way or another?

Thanks for all of your help!!!! Congrats on Columbia, I haven't heard back from them either:-( I am still hoping though!!!!!

I heard of someone who was accepted at Harvard.

• 2 weeks later...

Hello, I've applied for a PhD in the History of Science and I haven't heard anything. One poster listed on the results forum that they were accepted via phone. (Congrats and well done to the poster!) Has anyone else heard anything from the department one way or another? Thanks!

I have also applied to History of Science and haven't heard anything yet. I've lost hope--expecting that rejection letter in the mail.

Best of luck!

Yesterday, two rejections were reported for History & Middle Eastern Studies. Both by post. It seems that Harvard reached decisions on that programme, and it is just a matter of time when snail mail reaches applicants. Sigh.

I have also applied to History of Science and haven't heard anything yet. I've lost hope--expecting that rejection letter in the mail. Best of luck!

Me too! I keep hoping to hear something from someone :/. Other programs that I have applied to have been in touch with me from the start.

If I may ask, where else have you applied to?

Best Wishes!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Already have an account? Sign in here.

• Existing user? Sign In
• Online Users
• All Activity
• My Activity Streams
• Unread Content
• Content I Started
• Results Search
• Post Results
• Leaderboard
• Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

Harvard announces return to required testing

Co-chairs of task forces share updates on community engagement

For all the other Willie Jacks

File photo by Dylan Goodman

College accepts 1,937 to Class of 2028

Students represent 94 countries, all 50 states

Harvard College has accepted 1,937 students to the Class of 2028 from a pool of 54,008 applicants. This marks the fourth consecutive year Harvard has received more than 50,000 applications.

Students accepted during the regular admissions cycle number 1,245. Last December, the College offered admissions to 692 students who applied under the Early Action Program .

“Beyond another strong applicant pool, we are delighted by the stunning array of talents and lived experiences the Class of 2028 will bring with them from throughout the United States and around the world,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid.

By the numbers

Nearly 1 in 4.

Undergraduates come from a family whose annual income is $85,000 or less

“Start-up grants” for first-year students and “launch grants” for juniors are given to students whose family incomes are $85,000 or less

$3 billion+

In undergraduate financial aid has been awarded since launching the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative

Of Harvard undergraduates receive financial aid

Average parent contribution for aided students

Of the Class of 2023 graduated debt-free

Members of the Class of 2028, who learned of the decisions Thursday evening, hail from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 94 countries. They are 53.1 percent women and 46.9 percent men. Students who will be in the first generation of their family to graduate from a four-year college or the equivalent represent 20.5 percent of the class. In this application cycle, 20.7 percent qualified for federal Pell grants, typically awarded to students from lower-income backgrounds.

International students make up 15.4 percent of the class, and 9.6 percent are U.S. dual citizens. An estimated 20.1 percent come from the mid-Atlantic states, 16.2 percent from the South, 16.6 percent from New England, 18.5 percent from Western and Mountain states, 11.4 percent from the Midwest, and 0.4 percent from U.S. territories.

Harvard continues efforts to recruit U.S. military veterans, working with groups affiliated with the Defense Department and through Service to School’s Vetlink program. Twenty-one veterans were admitted to the Class of 2028, and 41 students have expressed interest in ROTC.

Members of the admitted class will benefit from the recent expansion of the financial aid program. Last spring , the Griffin Financial Aid Office announced that students whose family income is $85,000 or less will receive full financial support to attend Harvard. It also announced last fall a new launch grant giving students who receive full financial support $2,000 in the fall of their junior year to help with costs associated with preparing for life after graduation. Since 2016, students receiving full financial aid have been eligible for similar startup grants to help them adjust to life on campus.

“We are always thinking about impact, and the new launch grant gives students extra resources — for graduate school test prep, or travel to a job interview — as they begin planning for their next chapters. This support — in combination with the work of the Mignone Center for Career Success — allows us to help the students who need it most,” said Jake Kaufmann, Griffin Director of Financial Aid.

The work to expand opportunities for students accessing financial aid includes the 2020 decision to remove the summer work expectation. Nearly one-quarter of students attend Harvard with no parent contribution. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the average parent contribution for aided students was $13,000.

For students who do not receive need-based aid, the total cost of attendance (including tuition, housing and food, and fees) is scheduled to increase 4.3 percent to $82,866 for the 2024-2025 academic year.

This application cycle benefited from a robust recruitment effort that included students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Admissions officers traveled to 150 cities in the U.S. and around the world to conduct in-person information sessions while more than 7,000 alums helped interview applicants and recruit students through college fairs and other events. 

“We often focus on the end results in admissions, but it is also important to acknowledge the tremendous work that goes into getting us here,” said Director of Admissions Joy St. John. “We could not build this talented and diverse pool of applicants without this support.”

Harvard welcomes admitted students to campus for Visitas programming April 14-15. At that time, the Class of 2028 is invited to attend classes and events as well as learn about resources and opportunities. Students will receive information about Visitas and Crimson Connect, an online platform for the Class of 2028, via the Admitted Student Website .

Students have until May 1 to reply to their offers of admission.

Share this article

You might like.

Leading researchers cite strong evidence that testing expands opportunity

Leaders of efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias describe what they’ve heard so far from members of the Harvard community

‘Reservation Dogs’ star Paulina Alexis offers behind-the-scenes glimpse of hit show, details value of Native representation

Forget ‘doomers.’ Warming can be stopped, top climate scientist says

Michael Mann points to prehistoric catastrophes, modern environmental victories

Yes, it’s exciting. Just don’t look at the sun.

Lab, telescope specialist details Harvard eclipse-viewing party, offers safety tips

Biostats Celebrates Our Harvard Heroes

Congratulations  to Biostats Director  Shaina Andelman  and Senior Grants & Contracts Manager  Adam Ryan  – both nominated as Harvard Heroes, a distinction which celebrates the accomplishments of Harvard staff whose work supports the mission of Harvard at the highest levels of contribution, impact, and excellence.

News from the School

Bethany Kotlar, PhD '24, studies how children fare when they're born to incarcerated mothers

Soccer, truffles, and exclamation points: Dean Baccarelli shares his story

Health care transformation in Africa highlighted at conference

COVID, four years in

• Utility Menu

GA4 Tracking Code - DO NOT REMOVE

Site name and logo, harvard divinity school.

• Prospective Students
• Give to HDS

Robert Warrior Named Visting Professor of Native American Culture and Traditions at Harvard Divinity

Robert Warrior, Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Kansas, will join Harvard Divinity School for the fall 2024 semester as Visiting Professor of Native American Culture and Traditions.

A Native American scholar and member/citizen of the Osage Nation, Warrior will teach two courses during the fall 2024 semester while at HDS.

"I am delighted to welcome Robert Warrior to the HDS community,” said HDS Dean Marla F. Frederick. “His expertise in Native American and Indigenous studies promises to enrich our scholarly endeavors and ignite meaningful dialogues. Dr. Warrior's presence will undoubtedly inspire our students and faculty alike. We look forward to the invaluable contributions and transformative insights that he will bring to our community during his tenure as a visiting professor."

Warrior earned his PhD in systemic theology from Union Theological Seminary. In 2018, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is past president of the American Studies Association and was the founding president of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (2009-10).

He is the author of Tribal Secrets: Recovering American Indian Intellectual Traditions (University of Minnesota Press, 1995) and The People and the Word: Reading Native Nonfiction (University of Minnesota Press, 2006), and coauthor of Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee (New Press, 1996), American Indian Literary Nationalism (University of New Mexico Press, 2008), and Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective (University of Oklahoma Press, 2009).

“I am excited to be at HDS this coming fall semester and look forward to joining students, staff, and faculty colleagues there,” said Warrior. “I can’t imagine a better place to reflect on the role of theology and religion in contemporary Indigenous life. Planning the courses I will be teaching has been a challenging but rewarding process, and I appreciate the opportunity to offer them to students at the Divinity School and beyond.”

Before moving to the University of Kansas, Warrior taught at Stanford University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Illinois. He was the founding co-editor of Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAISA’s journal) and edits the Indigenous Americas series at the University of Minnesota Press.  

• Public Events Calendar
• Harvard Divinity Bulletin

• Presidential Search
• Editor's Pick

In Sudden Reversal, Harvard To Require Standardized Testing for Next Admissions Cycle

Harvard Business School Prof. Gino Accused of Plagiarism Following Data Fraud Allegations

Nearly 500 Graduate Students Petition Harvard to Not Restrict Emergency Fund Access

3 Months After Gay Resigned, Harvard FAS Dean Says Presidential Search ‘Has Not Begun Yet’

Harvard Graduate Union’s BDS Caucus Circulates Letter Calling for Divestment From Israel

Updated April 11, 2024, at 3:25 p.m.

Harvard College will reinstate its standardized testing requirement in admissions beginning with the Class of 2029, a surprise reversal that could leave some students scrambling to take SAT or ACT tests ahead of application deadlines in the fall.

The decision comes in the face of Harvard’s previous commitments to remain test-optional through the admitted Class of 2030, a policy that was first instituted during the pandemic.

Harvard had faced mounting criticism from both academics and admissions experts for continuing its test-optional policies, even as its peer institutions returned to requiring standardized tests . In recent weeks, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown have announced returns to required testing.

All applicants to the Class of 2029 — due to apply in the fall and winter of 2024 — will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, barring specific cases in which they may be unable to access such exams, according to the College’s announcement. In such cases, scores from exams such as Advanced Placement or the International Baccalaureate will be accepted as substitutes.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi E. Hoekstra wrote in a statement that “standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond.”

“More information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range,” she added. “With this change, we hope to strengthen our ability to identify these promising students.”

The majority of undergraduates entering Harvard in the past four years have submitted standardized test scores, according to the release, which did not specify an exact percentage.

Harvard officials have recently hedged on whether the College would reinstate its testing requirement. In early March, Hoekstra told The Crimson that Harvard was “in the midst of analyzing” its policy .

Harvard College Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 said in an interview in late March that the College had “nothing new to report” on whether its testing policy through the admitted Class of 2030 would be changing.

In its press release, Harvard referenced a study from Harvard-affiliated initiative Opportunity Insights, led by Brown University economist John N. Friedman ’02 and Harvard economists Raj Chetty ’00 and David J. Deming, which found that SAT scores are a particularly strong predictor of college success – much more so than a student’s high school grade point average.

Some experts also said that a return to requiring standardized test scores could help universities like Harvard increase the racial and socioeconomic diversity of its student body.

Deming, a finalist to serve as dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, wrote in a statement that the requirement of standardized test scores provides the “fairest admissions policy for disadvantaged applicants.”

“Not everyone can hire an expensive college coach to help them craft a personal essay. But everyone has the chance to ace the SAT or the ACT,” Deming wrote.

When Yale and Dartmouth reinstated their testing policies, both institutions referenced the predictive power of standardized testing as a key incentive for its return as a mandatory component of the admissions process.

Still, the College’s announcement — made exactly two weeks after it released admissions decisions for the incoming Class of 2028 — has exposed it to criticism.

The Generational African American Students Association, a student organization at Harvard, posted a statement on Instagram Thursday afternoon blasting the College’s return to required testing.

The policy change “strikes at the very heart of the progress made toward achieving true equal opportunity within higher education institutions such as Harvard,” the group wrote.

“This decision also compounds the challenges already faced by low-income and minority students in the wake of affirmative action being overruled,” they added.

A College spokesperson declined to comment on the criticism of the policy reversal.

Harvard’s reversal of its commitment to stay test-optional through the next two admissions cycles came with little warning to applicants for the Class of 2029, who have six sittings of the ACT and the SAT left before Harvard’s regular decision application deadline on Jan. 1 — and even fewer before its early action deadline of Nov. 1.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves or on Threads @elyse.goncalves .

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached [email protected] . Follow him on X @matanjosephy .

Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.

Cold Facts about Global Warming

How the study of cold snaps could make the effects of climate change more predictable

Share this page

How do you forecast the future of the Earth’s climate? It’s a question that becomes increasingly important as the planet warms and weather patterns become more extreme—from the record-breaking heat waves of the summer of 2023 to more frequent and severe storms, droughts, floods, and many other devastating events.

Because the climate is entering a state that scientists have never before been able to observe, predicting the impact of global warming is more challenging than ever. Should climatologists rely on complex computer simulations to forecast the impact on weather patterns in the future? Or should they look to geological history to see what the weather was actually like in the distant past when the planet was much warmer?

“Both,” says Kara Hartig. As a PhD student at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS), Hartig applies physics to the study of the Earth’s climate. Leveraging both computer models and data gleaned from the fossil record, she studies outbreaks of frigid air over North America––often referred to as a break in the “polar vortex”—to better understand these phenomena, their dependence on larger weather patterns, and the possibilities for the future of climate change.

A Global Simulation

In her PhD thesis project, Hartig examines how cold air masses over the US Midwest behave and how they come to be. “Is it just a matter of taking air that was already cold out of somewhere that’s colder than here and bringing it into North America,” she asks, “or are there things that change the temperature of the air as it travels?” By answering these questions, Hartig hopes to help predict how cold air masses may behave in the future as they pass through regions warmed by climate change.

Much of Hartig’s work involves using a complex climate simulation that runs on supercomputers located at Harvard and in Colorado. The simulation brings together models of many smaller-scale factors—both on their own and in response to one another—to try to account for the way elements of the climate might change over time.

“One input into your model might be how much heat and water make their way off of the ocean surface and into the atmosphere,” Hartig says. “But another might be how much heat makes it back to the land surface from the atmosphere due to the increased concentration of CO2. Those components are both evolving on their own and interacting with each other.”

Using the computer models, Hartig can get a picture of what might happen to the surface of the land underneath a mass of frigid air, or how clouds forming within or above the air masses might influence temperature. That allows her to simulate the movements of cold air masses, tracking their paths backward through time to better understand how they behave—and how they might shape weather patterns in the future.

“Let’s say we identify a feature that turns out to be really important to these cold air outbreaks––for example, the amount of heat coming into the atmosphere off of the Earth’s surface, whether that’s land or ocean,” she explains. “In the future, we’re likely to lose a whole lot of Arctic sea ice and expose the ocean. That will send a lot more heat into the atmosphere. Just off that single mechanism, you might be able to make a prediction for what’s going to happen with cold air outbreaks.” Knowing and identifying the warning signs for changes caused by the movement of air masses can help countries prepare for the extreme environmental events to come.

In the future, we’re likely to lose a whole lot of Arctic sea ice and expose the ocean. That will send a lot more heat into the atmosphere. Just off that single mechanism, you might be able to make a prediction for what’s going to happen with cold air outbreaks. —Kara Hartig

The Past Is Present

In addition to computer simulations, Hartig draws on geologic data to help make predictions about a warming world. Of course, finding information on what the Earth’s climate was like 50 million years ago is a challenge in itself. It’s not as if there are air samples from the Eocene Epoch lying around in a lab somewhere. Luckily, the fields of biology and paleontology can give climate scientists useful evidence.

“Often, living things are sensitive to conditions like temperature,” Hartig says. “When they die and are fossilized, they preserve in the rocks some of that information about what the climate was like.”

That fossil record can provide evidence that the environment had particular conditions that allowed those species to survive. Hartig cites the Green River region of Wyoming, where winter temperatures typically fall well below freezing in today’s climate. According to fossil evidence, though, crocodiles, palm trees, and some species of large tropical turtles all occupied the landscape there during the warmer climate period of the Eocene. “Those reptiles cannot survive below-freezing temperatures for more than a few hours at a time,” Hartig says. “That gives us a hard biological limit on the absolute coldest temperatures that could have been present because we know that these species were there for millions, maybe even tens of millions of years continuously.”

Existing computer models of Eocene climate conditions have consistently produced simulated scenarios with cold air outbreaks over Wyoming, even though fossil evidence demonstrates that those conditions could not have existed there at that time. This means that there are mechanisms at play for which the models have not accounted––and which climate scientists do not yet fully understand.

That’s where Hartig’s research comes in. Using information from the fossil record, she is developing an improved theoretical understanding of which climate factors are the most important influences on temperature around Green River, Wyoming, accounting for what the past tells us about Eocene temperature conditions there.

“For example, plants are most responsive to the average wintertime temperature, so I know that my climate simulation should produce a particular average temperature in regions with certain species of plants if I want it to be a good match to the Eocene,” she says. “But there are lots of ways to produce the same average: you could have a very narrow distribution, or one with long tails to both warm and cold temperatures, or a very skewed distribution that may be bunched up around the average but with a very long tail into cold extremes. So, I need another constraint on the minimum winter temperature, which is where reptiles come in. Turtles and crocodiles can't survive more than about a day below freezing, so if you find a significant number of reptiles over a large area, then you know the absolute minimum temperature allowable there is right around freezing.”

After adapting the computer model of the Eocene using the constraints from Green River fossils, Hartig can run her simulation for a long time to generate data representing hundreds of Midwestern cold snaps. By looking at the variations in a particular parameter across all of these cold snaps, such as cloud formation patterns or interactions between air masses, she can generate data about how a cold air mass moves and evolves over a simulated span of time. Analyzing this kind of data leads her to a more thorough understanding of the fundamental physical mechanisms behind how cold air masses behave––and these theoretical principles can then be applied to better models of the Earth’s climate future.

Simulations of the Eocene cannot simply be reused to predict conditions in the impending future. Too much has changed since then. The Earth’s continents have shifted their locations over the past 50 million years, for example, and the composition of the planet’s atmosphere and biosphere is also quite different today. But Hartig combines her broader theoretical findings about cold air outbreaks––based on Eocene evidence––with models that are built for projecting the future. “The climate that we’re emulating,” she explains, “is not necessarily a near future climate. It’s more like in the year 2300 if we continue to emit greenhouse gases at a very high rate.” By improving how this future period is computationally modeled, Hartig produces simulations that give better predictions of how the Earth’s climate will develop in years to come––and of how life on our planet may be impacted.

Interdisciplinary Interests

Hartig was led to study the Earth’s climate by a passion for an interdisciplinary approach to science. Her research today employs a “physics- and math-based analysis,” but at times also incorporates biology and ecology—for instance, in trying to understand fossil records. “I have to know something about how different types of animals and plants react to temperature,” she explains. “I have to know something about how the ocean functions, and the atmosphere, and how ice as a material is able to transmit energy, which is more of an engineering question. I get to do a little bit of everything, which has always been something I liked about science.”

This way of using a broad set of methods to answer questions also drew her to Harvard Griffin GSAS. “The subfield of physics that I wanted to do is called soft matter, which is often not done in a physics department because it’s commonly categorized as an engineering topic,” Hartig says. “But there are a ton of people who do soft matter here at Harvard, and it’s really easy to do interdisciplinary projects with faculty outside of your own department.” Hartig’s research has ultimately led her to work with faculty and graduate students both in her home department, physics and in other departments including Earth and planetary sciences and applied mathematics.

I have an interest in the details of climate science but don’t always get a chance to look ‘under the hood’ at what goes into climate modeling. So, looking at Kara’s work gave me an opportunity to see a lot of the details of research into a particular topic. —Professor John Huth

John Huth, Donner Professor of Science in Harvard’s Department of Physics and the chair of Hartig’s thesis committee, says that cross-disciplinary projects like hers are exciting for faculty to support. “I have an interest in the details of climate science but don’t always get a chance to look ‘under the hood’ at what goes into climate modeling,” he says. “So, looking at Kara’s work gave me an opportunity to see a lot of the details of research into a particular topic. What is a bit surprising is that I not only could get to understand it but also ask what turned out to be sensible questions.”

Hartig also says she found the environment within the physics department especially welcoming. “Beginning with my visit as an admitted student, I could tell that the community was strong here. Students were really positive about it. I felt very supported.” Hartig has also found valuable support networks through participation in affinity groups for women and gender minorities in physics and the geosciences, both at Harvard and in academic professional organizations.

After finishing her PhD, Hartig hopes to continue working in climate science research. “One of my favorite things about being a climate scientist,” she says, “is that people are just curious about it. We all have some personal experience of climate.”

While she clearly has a passion for science, Hartig is also committed to addressing a problem that impacts all living things on Earth—a calling she believes is both a blessing and a tragedy. She’s hopeful that the benefits of the former will win out over the dangers of the latter.

“It's a blessing because there is funding and interest and the chance to work on fundamental science that is also socially relevant,” she says. “But it’s also a tragedy because the reason for the funding and the interest and the social relevance is an impending global environmental and humanitarian crisis. I wish it wasn't so urgent that we understand the implications of climate change for extreme weather events, but the more we do understand, the better we can prepare.”

Get the Latest Updates

Join our newsletter, subscribe to colloquy podcast, connect with us, related news.

New Satellite Will Combat Climate Change

Its development overseen by Professor Steven Wofsy, PhD '71, MethaneSAT entered Earth’s orbit aboard a SpaceX rocket launched on Monday. It could soon play a key role in combating climate change. 

Before ‘Forever’

With her 2024 Harvard Horizons project, PhD student Heidi Pickard seeks to uncover the prevalence of the precursors of toxic 'forever chemicals' in our water and food and assess their impact on the environment and health.

What Happens When a Wind Farm Comes to a Coal Town?

On National Public Radio, PhD student Eleanor Krause says coal mines can't always be replaced with wind turbines to provide alternative sources of energy production and alternative sources of jobs.

Find Your Center: Nourishment for the Body and Mind

During stressful times, the Student Center food literacy wellness fellows help students relax and connect. They also hope to enable members of the Harvard Griffin GSAS community to make environmentally responsible choices, boost overall health, and leave the Boston area a better place than they found it. 

How to Survive Financial Aid Delays and Avoid Summer Melt

• Posted April 9, 2024
• By Elizabeth M. Ross
• College Access and Success
• Education Finances

In response to this year’s troubled rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a number of colleges and universities have pushed back their enrollment and deposit deadlines beyond the traditional May 1 decision date. However, as a result, some seniors may find they no longer have the support they need to complete numerous tasks and successfully matriculate, after they graduate from high school.

Accurate numbers are hard to come by, but every year a portion of college-intending high school graduates don’t show up in the fall because they have been overwhelmed by the many steps needed to get there. Research has found rates ranging from 10 to 40 percent. The phenomenon, known as “summer melt,” is most common among low-income and historically underrepresented students, and some high school counselors and college access advocates are now worried that the problem could be exacerbated because of this year’s FAFSA delays and challenges. Almost 30 percent fewer high school students had submitted the FAFSA form by the end of March, compared with the same time last year, according to the National College Attainment Network . 

Group text nudges

“Even seemingly simple tasks can become significant barriers to timely college enrollment,” particularly for first-generation students whose families have no prior experience with the process, states the Summer Melt Handbook: A Guide to Investigating and Responding to Summer Melt , produced by Harvard’s Strategic Data Project. Its authors encourage school districts to pursue active outreach efforts and interventions over the summer to help college-bound students, including digital prompts.

At the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (APR) in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, members of the college placement team have helped structure low-cost anti-summer melt campaigns to support counselors with high ratios of students. With a “group text nudge you can front-load a lot of information and you can pre-schedule [it] with some of the texting platforms,” using personalized messages for individual students, explains Diane Scott, Ed.M.’97, one of the team’s co-directors.

Scott and her colleagues have found that a checklist can be especially helpful for graduating seniors. Their list includes important tasks that students can be reminded about over the summer, via text messages.

APR’s pre-matriculation checklist:

• Complete any required verification paperwork . Students need to be prepared to prove the accuracy of any information they listed on their application for financial aid, including income and asset data, as well as citizenship status, explains Scott.
• Set up student portals and an email account with the college or university you plan to attend.
• Complete online entrance loan counseling. Scott describes the process, which is designed to help students understand the terms and conditions of any federal loans they have accepted, subsidized or unsubsidized, as similar to taking an open-note quiz. Students are required to sign a master promissory note to acknowledge their understanding.
• File a financial aid appeal if your family’s current financial situation does not reflect the information that you listed on your FAFSA.
• Waive your college’s health insurance if you are already covered by a parent/family plan.
• Take college placement tests , if required.  
• Attend an orientation session.
• Request any special accommodations. This is relevant for students who received services in their school districts through a 504 Plan or an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
• Provide proof of state residency if attending an in-state public institution. 
• Set up an initial advising appointment. 
• Complete housing forms if planning to live on campus.
• Provide proof of immunizations.
• Get set up with a federal work-study job , if eligible.
• Try to get connected with a point person or affinity group on campus to help foster a sense of belonging.

Additional resources

• Summer Melt Tools
• Summer Melt Handbook: A Guide to Investigating and Responding to Summer Melt

Explore other stories in our FAFSA series:

Tips for navigating financial aid, getting to college: fafsa challenges for first-gen students.

• Can School Counselors Help Students with "FAFSA Fiasco"?

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

Related Articles

The first in our series on how students, families, and colleges can find their way through the government’s “FAFSA Fiasco”

Can School Counselors Help Students with "FAFSA Fiasco"?

Support for low-income prospective college students and their families more crucial than ever during troubled federal financial aid rollout   

The hurdles faced by first-generation college students as they make their way through the financial aid process — and how to help them overcome the barriers