About Fully Funded PhD Programs in Education at Harvard University
The Ph.D. in Education is an interdisciplinary doctoral program offered jointly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
As a Ph.D. candidate, you will collaborate with scholars across all Harvard graduate schools on original interdisciplinary research. In the process, you will help forge new fields of inquiry that will impact the way we teach and learn.
The program’s required coursework will develop your knowledge of the interdisciplinary nature of education and expertise in a range of quantitative and qualitative methods needed to conduct high-quality research.
Guided by the goal of having a transformative impact on education research, policy, and practice, you will focus on independent research in various domains, including human development, learning and teaching, policy analysis and evaluation, institutions and society, and instructional practice.
You will assume roles as university faculty, researchers, senior-level education leaders, and policymakers.
PhD Degree Funding Support
Harvard’s financial support package is typically for the first four years of study and the completion year, using a tiered tuition structure that reduces tuition over time as students progress through their degree programs.
This multi-year funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments.
In addition, GSAS students are particularly successful in securing grants, fellowships, and other sources of external funding as part of their professional development.
The standard funding package includes:
- Grant toward tuition and fees—paid in full for years 1 through 4, plus the dissertation completion year, with a partially subsidized dental plan option available
- Living expense stipend during years 1 and 2
- A combination of stipend, teaching fellowships, and/or research assistantships during years 3 and 4
- If noted in your Notice of Financial Support, summer research funding following the first four academic years from GSAS or faculty grants
- Stipend and/or research support during the completion year.
In some programs, the timing and structure of living expense support may vary from this pattern. For example, students in the sciences typically receive full funding until they complete their degrees.
PhD Application Requirements
A complete application to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education typically consists of the following, submitted to the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
- Online application form (accessed through the GSAS website)
- Résumé/curriculum vitae
- Statement of Purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
- Standardized test score(s):
- GRE – must be sent directly to GSAS, institution code 3451
- TOEFL or IELTS (if applicable)
- Transcript(s) from each postsecondary institution attended: uploaded copy of each transcript with the online application
- $105 application fee (paid via credit card with the online application)
- Supplemental form for the Ph.D. in Education
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Application Deadline
The application deadline is December 1, 2023.
