The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers a comprehensive program of financial support, including grants and fellowships from internal and external sources, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic employment opportunities.
All PhD students are awarded merit-based (regardless of need) full financial support for five years, typically for the first four years of study as well as for the completion year. This support includes a fellowship for tuition and health fees as well as a stipend for living expenses; it also includes Summer Research Awards for the first four years of study. PhD students do not have teaching responsibilities during the first two years of graduate study; most students serve as Teaching Fellows in years 3 & 4 of enrollment. In cases in which the length of PhD study extends beyond five years, students are ordinarily able to secure financial support through various Harvard and non-Harvard opportunities, including research fellowships, teaching fellowships, and research assistantships.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a Social Sciences Financial Aid Officer.
Teaching Fellowships
Teaching Fellows assist in courses under the supervision of course instructors. Duties may include teaching sections, conducting tutorials, recommending grades, and supervising independent study projects.
To qualify for stipends during their third and fourth years of graduate study, PhD students ordinarily teach two sections of a standard lecture course each semester (a section consists of a weekly meeting of up to eighteen undergraduate students). Graduate students also may teach sections of the sophomore or junior tutorials. G3 and G4 students may defer semesters of guaranteed teaching into the G5 year or later.
External Funding
While the standard funding package is guaranteed, students are nonetheless encouraged to apply for external funding from various sources. History of Science PhD students have been awarded fellowships from many organizations, including:
• International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF)
• Institute for Citizens & Scholars
• Dumbarton Oaks (includes 2 year Tyler Fellowship for Harvard graduate students only)
• Dan David Fellowship (Past, Present, and Future designated fields in any given year intermittently relevant to History of Science)
• Newcombe Fellowship ("designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences")
Sample Grants for Particular Geographic Areas or Topics:
• DAAD: grant program for students to study or do research in Germany.
• Spencer: for students working on the history of education (may be broadly construed).
• The Bourse Chateaubriand, a "fellowship designed to conduct research of scientific orientation in France." History of Science students are eligible to apply.
• Delmas: for students planning to do research in Venice.
Other Kinds of Grants:
Travel to Collections: many archives, University libraries, and some museums have funds available to pay for researchers to come use their collections. These include, for example:
• The Linda Hall Library (Kansas City, MO), specializing in history of science, environmental history, and related science and technology studies. Collections / Fellowship Opportunities
• The Science History Institute (Philadelphia, PA). Collections / Fellowship Opportunities
• The Huntington Library (Pasadena, CA). Library Collections / Fellowship Opportunities
• The Hagley Museum and Library (Wilmington, DE), specializing in the study of business and technology in America. Collections / Fellowship Opportunities
Professional Societies and Foundations: the American Association for the History of Medicine (AAHM), the History of Science Society (HSS), the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and other organizations offer essay prizes and/or grants in support of research. Explore which societies and organizations are relevant for your research, and what they offer.
The GSAS Fellowships Office provides a range of services to assist graduate students in their search for fellowship funding, including individual counseling and professional development seminars. Additional information can be found on the Fellowships & Writing Center webpage.
Information about History of Science Department Fellowships (Hiebert and Strominger) may be found here.
Suggestions for additional sources of support may be found on the GSAS website.