ACADEMIC RESOURCES

DEPARTMENTS

The chair is the chief academic officer of the department or committee and is responsible for providing leadership in the formation and implementation of policy regarding the educational experiences of undergraduate and graduate students.

The director of graduate studies of a department or committee helps to create an environment that encourages the professional development of all its graduate students and organizes programs to support this development. The director of graduate studies may offer skills workshops or colloquia focusing on strategically choosing courses or seminar paper topics for pre-generals students and colloquia providing instruction and support for presenting papers and writing journal articles for post-generals students. The director of graduate studies monitors the academic progress of the graduate students and participates in the establishment of departmental policies.

The director of administrative services, administrative officer, or department administrator is responsible for the implementation of policy and acts as a liaison between University and FAS offices and the department or committee. In some departments this administrator serves the role of the graduate student coordinator.

The graduate student coordinator is a liaison between the Graduate School and the department or committee and implements department and Graduate School policy. This individual provides information on resources available to graduate students within the department or committee and throughout the University. The graduate student coordinator aids the faculty in monitoring the progress of graduate students.

For information about the structure of a specific department or committee, please contact that department or committee.

LIBRARIES

The Harvard University Library, dating from 1638, is the oldest library in the United States and the largest university library in the world. It consists of more than sixteen-million volumes housed in over seventy libraries, most of which are located in Cambridge and Boston. More than half of these volumes are located in the libraries of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).
The Harvard College Library (hcl.harvard.edu) comprises the largest group of FAS libraries. In addition to Widener Library and Houghton Library (described below), the College Library includes Cabot Science, Lamont, Fine Arts, Loeb Music, Harvard-Yenching, Tozzer, Quad and Fung. There are, as well, a number of special and depart-mental libraries within FAS.

Along with Cabot Library, the sciences are represented by Tozzer (anthropology), Arnold Arboretum Horticultural Library, Biological Laboratories Library, Blue Hill Meteorological Library, botany libraries, Center for Astrophysics Library, Chemistry Library, Birkhoff Mathematical Library, Gordon McKay Library of the Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard Forest Library, Mayr Museum of Comparative Zoology Library, and Physics Research Library.

Libraries for the social sciences include Lamont, Harvard-Yenching Library, Harvard-MIT Data Center, Henry A. Murray Research Archive, Center for European Studies Library, Center for International Affairs Library, Center for Middle Eastern Studies Library, H. C. Fung Library, and Social Relations/Sociology Library.

The humanities are represented by Widener Library (see below), the Fine Arts Library, Loeb Music Library, Harvard-Yenching Library, History Departmental Library, Houghton Library (see below) and Robbins Library of Philosophy.

Other Faculties of the University maintain libraries, including the Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Baker Library (Harvard Business School), Countway Library of Medicine, Gutman Library (Graduate School of Education), Law School Library, Library of the Harvard Kennedy School, and Loeb Library (Graduate School of Design).

More specific information on the holdings and the facilities of the libraries can be found on the Harvard Libraries website, which provides access to HOLLIS (Harvard Online Library Information System) catalog, other major university catalogs, and a variety of online resources. Individual library websites and the Harvard University Library’s Map Guide are also good sources of information.

Most libraries offer reference assistance in using the collections. The Research Services staff of the HCL libraries offers in-depth assistance including course-related instruction sessions and individual research consultation online.

Many libraries maintain materials on reserve for GSAS courses.

ACCESS
Graduate students with valid IDs have access to most of Harvard’s libraries. However, each library establishes its own access policies, and these may vary significantly from one to the next. Graduate students in their fourth or longer year of a GSAS PhD degree program are eligible for an extended loan period in the Harvard College Library.
Graduate students should consult individual libraries and the Harvard Libraries website for specific information about library hours and circulation and reserves policies.
Library privileges for spouses of students may be arranged at the Library Privileges office at Widener Library, Room 130. Graduate students may apply for an assigned carrel in Widener or Pusey Library in the Widener Billing Office, Room 135, or online. A limited number of carrels are available to graduate students in Tozzer (anthropology), Loeb Music (music), and Harvard-Yenching (East Asian studies) libraries. Inquire at each for details.

Students requiring accessible library services are directed to the circulation desks of individual libraries for assistance in getting books. If special arrangements are required, students should contact the staff of the individual libraries.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF LIBRARY USERS
Every user of the library has a responsibility to safeguard the integrity of library resources; to respect the restrictions placed on access to and the use of those resources; to report to library officers the theft, destruction or misuse of those resources by others; and to respect the rights of others to the quiet use of the library. All libraries and their staff are authorized to take appropriate action to ensure the safety and security of library spaces, resources, and patrons.

The University’s libraries are maintained for its students, faculty, staff, and other authorized members of the University and scholarly community. Except when specific authorization is granted to a commercial user, the systematic exploitation for profit of library resources, including its databases, is prohibited. It is inappropriate for students and others to sell data or to act as agents for those who do or to use their library privileges for reasons other than their personal academic pursuits.

Students who fail to comply with library rules and regulations will be subject to revocation of library privileges, disciplinary action, and legal prosecution. In particular, the unauthorized removal of any book, manuscript, microform, or other materials or property and the destruction, defacement, or abuse of any library materials or other resources are matters of grave concern. All library users will be subject to the fines and penalties of the administering faculty and of the University as well as the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts governing crimes against property.

WIDENER LIBRARY
Widener Library, located in Harvard Yard, is the largest library of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and contains the largest research collection in humanities and social sciences, including primary collections in Slavic, Middle Eastern, and Hebrew and Yiddish languages. East Asian vernacular materials are held in the Harvard-Yenching Library. Widener also houses several departmental and special libraries, including Child Memorial Library (English and American literature and language), Gibb Islamic Seminar Library, History of Science Library, Linguistics Library, Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Library, Paleography Library, Robinson Celtic Seminar Library, Sanskrit Library, and Smyth Classical Library. Library tours are held every Thursday at 3:30 during the term. Individual consultations are available year-round by appointment.

Parts of the building are wheelchair accessible from the Massachusetts Ave. entrance.

HOUGHTON LIBRARY

The Houghton Library, the principal repository for the rare books and manuscripts belonging to Harvard College, is located east of Widener Library in Harvard Yard. The Reading Room is open to all adult scholars. Departments of Houghton, each with a curatorial staff, include Early Books and Manuscripts, Modern Books and Manuscripts, Early Modern Books and Manuscripts, the Hyde Collection of Samuel Johnson and his Circle, Printing and Graphic Arts, and the Harvard Theatre Collection. The George Edward Woodberry Poetry Room (located in Lamont Library) contains a collection of contemporary books and recordings, and is also a part of Houghton. Houghton’s Edison and Newman exhibition room is normally open during library hours. Tours of the library, including the Emily Dickinson, Keats, Hyde, Lowell, and Richardson rooms are given Fridays at 2:00 p.m.

Call 617-495-2440 or 617-495-2441 to make arrangements for wheelchair access.

RESEARCH LIBRARIES GROUP (RLG)

The Research Libraries Group (RLG) is a not-for-profit organization of more than 150 research libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural memory institutions. It was founded in 1974 by The New York Public Library and Columbia, Harvard, and Yale universities. To determine which schools and institutions are members, check http://www.oclc.org. Select About RLG and then Members. Visiting PhD students in degree programs at member schools have reading room privileges at Widener. GSAS students visiting a member school should contact the library privilege office at that school to determine the privileges it provides.

RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is a scholarly community where individuals pursue advanced work across a wide range of academic disciplines, professions and creative arts. Within this broad purpose, the Institute sustains a continuing commitment to the study of women, gender and society.

RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Judith Vichniac, director

The Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program offers outstanding creative artists, humanists, scientists, and social scientists a yearlong residency to focus on individual projects and research while benefiting from an interdisciplinary community of fellows. Students are invited to meet Radcliffe fellows, attend weekly colloquia given by the fellows on their work, and attend all cultural events at the Institute, including art exhibitions and performances. Colloquia are usually presented on Wednesdays at 3:30 and are open to the public.

RADCLIFFE DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS
Cynthia Verba, director

The Radcliffe Institute has established three new Radcliffe Dissertation Completion Fellowships for graduate students, which are available to GSAS students in the humanities and social sciences. These fellowships are different from other GSAS completion fellowships in that each recipient of the Radcliffe award will be affiliated with the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program and will interact with the community of approximately fifty fellows in residence. The fellowships offer the same benefits as the Graduate Society Dissertation Completion Fellowships: a stipend of $22,330, plus tuition and health fees for the year. GSAS runs the fellowship selection process for all awards. Recipients are announced in April prior to the fellowship year.

THE SCHLESINGER LIBRARY

The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is administered and supported by The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and is the largest and best-known research library in its field. The library contains more than 89,000 volumes, 3,000 collections of personal, professional, and organizational papers, 90,000 photographs, and provides access to numerous scholarly journals, popular magazines, and newsletters, as well as oral histories and other historical materials. The library has collections of papers on women’s rights and suffrage, social welfare and reform, pioneers in the professions, and family history. A repository for organizations such as the National Organization for Women and the National Abortion Rights Action League, the library also houses the papers of notable women including Susan B. Anthony, Judy Chicago, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Amelia Earhart, Julia Child, Betty Friedan, and Holly Near. Interview transcripts from the Black Women’s Oral History Project, which interviewed black women community and professional leaders, and several other oral history projects are also housed at the library.

MUSEUMS

Harvard’s museums offer some of the finest collections of their kind in the world. A valid ID card provides free access to all of the University museums. A brief description of the permanent collections of some of the museums is provided below. The Harvard Gazette lists special exhibitions and events on an ongoing basis. The museums’ websites provide extensive background about the collections and exhibitions. A pamphlet guide to Harvard Museums is available at the Holyoke Information Center.

HARVARD ART MUSEUMS

The Harvard Art Museums, among the world’s leading arts institutions, comprise three museums (Fogg Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum) and four research centers (Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art, Harvard Art Museums Archives, Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey). The Harvard Art Museums are distinguished by the range and depth of their collection, their groundbreaking exhibitions, and the original research of their staff. The collections include approximately 250,000 objects in all media, ranging in date from antiquity to the present and originating Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Integral to Harvard University and the wider community, the art museums and research centers serve as resources for students, scholars, and other visitors. For more than a century, they have been the nation’s premier training ground for museum professionals and scholars and are renowned for their seminal role in developing the discipline of art history in this country.

Students are invited to join as Student Members of the Harvard Art Museums. Student Members enjoy full membership benefits, including invitations to members-only events, the calendar of exhibitions and programs, and monthly e-mail newsletters, discounted tickets to lectures, seminars, and concerts, and discounts in the Art Museums shop and on Art Museums publications. Annual Student Membership is $45.

For teaching fellows interested in incorporating works of art from the Art Museums into their curricula, the Harvard Art Museums occasionally offer workshops on object-based teaching through the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Individualized workshops or training sessions can also be arranged. For more information, contact Kelsey McNiff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The museums also organize art-related programs and events for graduate students, in collaboration with Dudley House as well as with individual academic departments. Recent events include a Drawing in the Galleries program and gallery tours. Interested graduate students may contact Akiko Yamagata at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For undergraduates, the Harvard Art Museums Undergraduate Connection (HAMUC) program organizes events that are free, fun, and educational. These events may also feature tours led by members of The Student Guide Program, which trains students to lead gallery talks for the public and the Harvard community. For more information about these programs and events, visit the Harvard Art Museums website.

FOGG MUSEUM (closed for renovation)

The Fogg Museum, which opened to the public in 1895, is Harvard’s oldest art museum. Its collection consists of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present, with particular strengths in Italian early Renaissance, British Pre-Raphaelite, and 19th¬century French art, as well as 19th- and 20th-century American paintings. The Fogg’s Maurice Wertheim Collection is an important collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works and contains many famous modern masterworks, including paintings and sculpture by Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Matisse, Picasso, and van Gogh. Central to the Fogg Museum’s holdings is the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection, a collection of more then 4,000 works of art. Bequeathed to Harvard in 1943, the collection continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the collections and legacy of the Harvard Art Museum, serving as a foundation for teaching, research, and professional training programs. The Winthrop Collection includes 19th-century masterpieces by
Blake, Burne-Jones, David, Daumier, van Gogh, Homer, Ingres, Renoir, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Sargent, and Whistler, as well as early Chinese art, from archaic jades to bronze ritual vessels, weapons, mirrors, bells, ornamental fittings, and Buddhist sculptures in stone and gilt bronze.

BUSCH-REISINGER MUSEUM (closed for renovation)
The Busch-Reisinger Museum is the only museum in North America devoted to promoting exploration and critical understanding of the arts of the German-speaking countries of Central and Northern Europe in all media and from all periods. Founded in 1903 as the Germanic Museum, the museum relocated to Adolphus Busch Hall in 1921 and then to Werner Otto Hall at 32 Quincy Street in 1991. The Busch-Reisinger Museum has particularly important holdings of art of the Austrian Secession, German expressionism, 1920s abstraction, and material related to the Bauhaus. In recent years, the Busch-Reisinger Museum has focused on deepening its collection of postwar and contemporary art from German-speaking Europe. The collection of unique and editioned artworks by artist Joseph Beuys is among the world’s most comprehensive. In addition, the museum has noteworthy collections of late medieval, Renaissance, and baroque sculpture, 16th-century painting, and 18th-century porcelain.

Adolphus Busch Hall at 29 Kirkland Street, the former home of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, presently houses plaster casts of medieval art, an exhibition on the history of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and a famous Flentrop pipe organ, used regularly for Harvard’s organ concert series. See the Harvard Organ Society’s website for schedule.

ARTHUR M. SACKLER MUSEUM
Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning British architect James Stirling and opened in 1985, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum has holdings of ancient, Asian, Islamic, and later Indian art. Among its treasures are the world’s finest collections of archaic Chinese jades and Japanese surimono, as well as outstanding Chinese bronzes, ancient ceremonial weapons, and Buddhist cave-temple sculptures; Chinese and Korean ceramics; and Japanese woodblock prints, calligraphy, narrative paintings, and lacquer boxes. The Sackler’s collections of ancient and Byzantine art include notable works in all media from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Near East. They are especially strong in Greek vases, and in small bronzes and coins from throughout the Mediterranean world. The museum also holds exceptional works on paper from Islamic lands and India, including paintings, drawings, calligraphy, and manuscript illustrations, with particular strength in Rajput art, as well as significant Islamic ceramics from the 8th through 19th century, including Samanid epigraphic wares, luster wares from Iraq, Iran, and Spain, and Iznik Ottoman wares.

In 2008, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum was reinstalled with works from the collections of the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler museums for a unique exhibition entitled Re-View. This overview includes major and familiar works and features Western art from antiquity to the turn of the 20th century, Islamic and Asian art, and European and American art from 1900 to the present. Re-View is on long-term view at the Sackler Museum and provides a selected, ongoing display of the Harvard Art Museums’ collection while its building at 32 Quincy Street is closed for renovation.

Wheelchair accessible.

HARVARD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) presents to the public the collections and research of Harvard University’s three natural history institutions—the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum—and research from across the University. Its temporary and permanent exhibits, lectures and special events, and weekend programming attract more than 170,000 visitors annually from Harvard and around the world.
More than 12,000 specimens are on display. Highlights include the world famous Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants (the “Glass Flowers”), a unique collection of over 4,000 glass models by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, father and son; the world’s only mounted skeleton of the 42-foot long Kronosaurus, a 135-million-year¬old marine reptile; one of the first Triceratops ever described; and a 1,642 lb amethyst geode. New exhibitions include Climate Change: Our Global Experiment and Language of Color, an exploration of how different species perceive and display color.

Current University ID holders are admitted free with one guest. The museum is just a short walk down Oxford Street from Memorial Hall and the Science Center.

Wheelchair access to the Harvard Museum of Natural History is through basement entrance to the far left of the of the museum complex building on Oxford Street or through the adjacent Peabody Museum through Tozzer Library on Divinity Ave.

The Harvard University Herbaria (HUH) is not open to the public. The HUH collections include the internationally acclaimed Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History described above. An extensive research collection of Precambrian fossils, dating back 3.5 billion years, and an historically important collection of economic botany materials are also housed in the Museum building on Oxford Street. For information about botanical collections, research, and archives, visit the Harvard University Herbaria’s website at www.huh.harvard.edu or call 617-495-2365.

The Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) was founded in 1859 by Louis Agassiz. The twelve sub-departments—biological oceanography, entomology, herpetology, ichthyology, invertebrate paleontology, invertebrate zoology, mammalogy, marine biology, mollusks, ornithology, population genetics, and vertebrate paleontology—together comprise one of the world’s most extensive holdings for scientifically described materials (type specimens), geographical range, and historical significance. These collections have gained new relevance as human activity increasingly places species and ecosystems at risk. For information about the MCZ’s archives, call the Mayr Library at 617-495-4576. For information about zoological collections, research, and archives, visit the MCZ website or call 617-495-2460.

The Mineralogical and Geological Museum maintains internationally important collections of rocks, minerals, ores, and meteorites that support teaching and research, primarily in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. The Museum’s extraordinarily comprehensive mineral collections are featured in both systematic and topical displays of some 5,000 specimens in the mineral gallery of the Harvard Museum of Natural History. For more information about mineralogical and geological collections and archives, visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History website or call 617-495-4758.
The Harvard Museum of Natural History is wheelchair accessible.

PEABODY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY
Founded in 1866 by George Peabody, the Peabody Museum houses over five million individual objects representing tens of thousands of years of human experience. The collections of the Peabody Museum span the globe and cover millions of years of human cultural, social, and biological history. Few collections in the world can match its breadth and depth. Strongest in the cultures of North and South America and the Pacific Islands, the Peabody is also caretaker to important collections from Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition to object collections the Museum also houses document archives preserving records of important archaeological and anthropological expeditions as well as an archive of over half a million photographs. The Museum encourages faculty and students to incorporate materials from the Museum’s collections and archives in their courses and research projects. Work-study and internship opportunities are available. For information about the Peabody’s collections, visit the website or write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Wheelchair access is through the adjacent Tozzer Library (21 Divinity Avenue) or through the basement entrance of the Museum of Natural History (Oxford Street parking lot). On weekdays and holidays, call 617-495-3045 for access.

THE SEMITIC MUSEUM

The Semitic Museum, founded in 1889, houses over 40,000 Near Eastern artifacts, most of which derive from museum-sponsored excavations in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Tunisia. The Museum, which shares its building with Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Center for Jewish Studies, is dedicated to the use of these collections for the investigation and teaching of Near Eastern archaeology, history, and culture. Through the collaborative efforts of departmental faculty, curators, museum staff, and students, the Museum mounts educational exhibits that promote greater understanding of the civilizations of the Near East and its great cultural legacy. The Semitic Museum sponsors archaeological excavations and surveys of complex societies of the Near East, with special emphasis on those ancient cultures related to the world of the Bible. The Harvard Semitic Monographs, Harvard Semitic Series, and Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant publishes archaeological, historical, philological, and cultural studies of the Near East, many of which present the research of the department faculty and their students. For information on exhibits, visit the website.

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
Located in the new wing of the Science Center, the department of the History of Science’s Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments contains one of the finest university collections of its kind in the world. With close to 20,000 artifacts dating from the 15th century to the present, the collection covers a broad range of disciplines, including astronomy, navigation, horology, surveying, geology, meteorology, mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, chemistry, experimental psychology, and communications. Noteworthy among these are scientific instruments that Harvard purchased in London with the help of Benjamin Franklin in 1764 after a disastrous fire destroyed the College’s philosophical apparatus in the old Harvard Hall.

The historical value of the instruments is greatly enhanced by original documents preserved in the Harvard University Archives and by over 6,500 books and pamphlets in the collection’s research library that describe the purchase and use of many of the instruments.

Harvard University has been acquiring scientific instruments for teaching and research for over 300 years, but it was not until 1948 that a serious attempt was made to preserve its historical apparatus as a resource for students and faculty. Since the first exhibition of instruments was held in 1949, the collection has grown rapidly both from within the University and from private donations. Like many other Harvard collections, the Collection’s primary purpose is teaching and research, providing students and scholars with the opportunity to examine and work with artifacts that have made science possible.

The department has two museum galleries (located in Science Center 136 and 251), a research library and instrument study room (Science Center 250), a conservation laboratory, and classroom. Please call ahead for library and gallery hours, 617-495-2779.
Wheelchair accessible.

THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world’s leading centers for the study of plants. Founded in 1872 and designed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Arboretum’s first director, Charles Sprague Sargent, the 265-acre Arboretum is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best preserved of Olmsted’s landscapes. Established as a public-private partnership between the City of Boston and Harvard University, the Arboretum is a unique blend of beloved public landscape and respected research institution. The Arboretum provides and supports world-class research, horticulture, and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation, and preservation of woody plants. The Arboretum comprises one of the largest and best documented woody plant collections in the world, with over 15,000 living plants.

The herbaria, systematic collections of dried and mounted plants from all over the world, encompass over five million dried plant specimens. It is divided between two locations, the Hunnewell Building (125 Arborway) and the Harvard University Herbaria (22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge). The libraries, also in the two locations, contain more than 250,000 items, including reference books, serials, pamphlets, catalogs, manuscripts, and photographs. The libraries are open to faculty, staff, and students; the Hunnewell Building library is also open to the general public.

The Arboretum is located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston and is accessible by public transportation. The landscape is open dawn until dusk every day of the year, and there is no admission charge. Free tours are available April–September. Adult education classes are offered year-round. The Hunnewell Building Visitor Center is open Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

Founded in 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), welcomes approximately one million visitors from around the globe each year. The Museum’s mission is to serve a wide variety of people—from school children to adults— through direct encounters with works of art. As one of the great art museums of the world, the MFA is recognized for the quality and scope of its encyclopedic collection, which includes an estimated 450,000 objects ranging from murals by John Singer Sargent, ancient Egyptian mummies, and Impressionist paintings by Renoir, Monet, and Degas, to African masks and sculpture, Japanese prints, and photography by Edward Weston. The Museum’s collection is made up of eight departments: Art of the Americas; Art of Europe; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Art of the Ancient World; Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; Textile and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments. The MFA offers exhibitions, tours, and opportunities for learning and community engagement, such as gallery talks, lectures, films, and concerts (see website for programs). It also has an extensive online collections database featuring more than 350,000 works at www.mfa.org/collections.

The Museum opened its new Art of the Americas Wing in November 2010 to showcase works from all of the Americas—North, Central, and South—on view in fifty-three galleries.  The wing and the glass-enclosed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Courtyard are the focal points of the Museum’s transformational building and renovation project, designed by architects Foster + Partners, London, that enriches the ways in which visitors encounter the Museum’s great works of art; increases space for its encyclopedic collection, special exhibitions, and educational programs; as well as improves navigation throughout the building.

The MFA is open seven days a week.  Students from area colleges participating in the University Members Program are admitted free with ID. Admission (which includes two visits in a ten-day period) is $22 for adults and $20 for seniors and students age 18 and older, and includes entry to all galleries and special exhibitions. Admission is free for children 6 and younger. Youths 7-17 years of age are admitted free during non-school hours; on school days until 3 p.m., admission for youths will be $10. The museum is closed on New Year’s Day, Patriot’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. For visitor information, visit the MFA website or call 617.267.9300. The MFA is wheelchair accessible.

OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR

Michael Burke, registrar

Marilyn Danz, associate registrar

See Chapter V, Registrar’s office.

BUREAU OF STUDY COUNSEL

Center for Academic and Personal Development

The Bureau of Study Counsel offers academic, personal, and consultative services for graduate students to help them thrive in their work, education, and personal development at Harvard. Services include academic and personal counseling; discussion groups and workshops related to student life and learning such as Dissertation Writers Support Group, Time Management, Speaking Up in Class, and What Are You Doing With Your Life?; academic peer tutoring in specific courses; peer consultation for conversational and cultural skills for non-native English speakers; the Harvard Course in Reading and Study Strategies; and professional consultation for teaching fellows and residents tutors/proctors on issues related to their work with undergraduates. BSC is a department of the Harvard University Health Services.

DEREK BOK CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning coordinates a variety of activities that help people who teach undergraduates at Harvard to improve their teaching skills. Consultations are available to individuals who wish to discuss teaching issues privately, with others in the same course, or in groups with specific concerns. The Center provides videotaping and consultants to those teachers who want to examine their classroom performance. The Center recommends that all new teachers arrange to have a class videotaped for subsequent viewing with a consultant. Most of the Center’s tapings occur in two classrooms in the Science Center and are scheduled during normal class meeting times, yet some tapings can be arranged in other Harvard classrooms. All videotapes of classes and practice sessions are strictly confidential, as are the discussions that take place between instructors and teaching consultants.

In addition, the staff tailors programs to specific needs of individuals, courses, and departments. Special programs include the New Faculty Institute, the Head TF Network, the Departmental Teaching Fellow program, the Graduate Writing Fellows program, the Christensen Discussion Leading Seminar, and the International Teaching Fellow program. The Center also provides forums for exchanging ideas about teaching such as the fall and winter teaching conferences (just before the beginning of each term) and numerous events and workshops throughout the term.

The Center’s library, open to all Harvard graduate students, includes books and journals on pedagogy, tip sheets and handouts (many of which are available online), and a series of videotapes produced by the Center and available on loan. Publications by the Center in conjunction with teachers at Harvard include The Art and Craft of Teaching, Voices of Experience: Observations from a Harvard Teaching Seminar, Teaching American Students, Teaching Fellows Handbook, and The Torch & The Firehose.

OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES

Robin Mount, director of career services and director for GSAS and PhD advising
Laura Malisheski, assistant director for GSAS and PhD advising
Amy Sanford, assistant director for GSAS and PhD advising

The Office of Career Services (OCS) offers assistance to GSAS students and alumni preparing for academic and nonacademic careers. Through individual counseling, workshops, guest speakers, work groups, and extensive library and alumni resources, the office provides information about career opportunities and instruction in the process of self-assessment, career exploration, and the job search.

The GSAS counselors work with students individually and in groups to guide them through the career development process. Academic job search panels and workshops are held both at OCS and in some academic departments. Interview training is available for those preparing for professional meeting interviews, campus visits, or nonacademic jobs. The online OCS Dossier Service keeps letters of recommendation from professors on file and sends them out on request, and is available to all GSAS students applying for academic positions, postdoctoral positions, or fellowships.

Students considering nonacademic careers can explore options by talking with a GSAS counselor and by attending workshops and programs such as the annual Career Options Day, Career Transition Work Group, and the Business Management Study Group. Students may also make use of extensive resources, job listings, and recruiting opportunities including Crimson Careers (an online jobs and internship database, including on-campus recruiting opportunities), Crimson Compass (an online database of alumni who have volunteered to talk to students about their career fields), and the annual Career Forum.

The programs and events developed by the office are announced in the GSAS Bulletin and are listed on the OCS calendars. Students may also subscribe to email listservs to receive timely information related to academic and non-academic careers. Drop-in hours are held Mondays, 1:00-4:00pm, and students may schedule an individual appointment through the Crimson Careers system. Please direct any questions to the OCS front desk at 617-495-2595.

DIRECTOR OF FELLOWSHIPS

Dr. Cynthia Verba

In addition to administering the major GSAS fellowships competitions and the Fulbright programs, Cynthia Verba offers individual counseling and other services to assist students with a variety of issues related to fellowships and professional development: how to write a polished fellowship proposal, how to prepare a curriculum vitae, how to approach professors for letters of recommendation, how to make effective use of both the formal and informal graduate advising process, how to engage in professional activities such as colloquia, delivering papers at professional meetings or publishing articles, and how to finish the PhD degree in a timely fashion. For appointments, call 617-495-1814. Counseling on these issues is complemented by workshops and publications. The following publications are available to all GSAS students at the GSAS website.

1) Scholarly Pursuits: A Practical Guide to Academe, with samples of winning applications, is also available in print format free of charge to GSAS students at Holyoke Center 350.

2) The Graduate Guide to Grants

3) The Harvard Guide to Postdoctoral Fellowships

 

Detailed information on Fulbrights and major Harvard fellowships is also available on the GSAS fellowships website.

THE GSAS WRITING TUTOR

The GSAS Writing Tutor, Dr. Suzanne Smith, offers free individual consultations to graduate students working on their own writing, including dissertations. Students at any stage of their writing may sign up for one-hour conferences with a specially trained tutor. Contact the writing tutor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Harvard Writing Project
617-495-2566
The Harvard Writing Project can help teaching fellows learn how to encourage their students to write better, more persuasive papers. HWP consultants are available to help organize special TF training sessions, develop course-specific teaching guides, and lead workshops on responding to and evaluating student writing, designing writing assignments, and teaching the writing process.
For more information about working with an HWP consultant, contact Dr. James Herron, HWP assistant director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

FAS COMPUTING FACILITIES,

FAS Information Technology
FAS Information Technology (FAS IT) provides a variety of computing services for teaching, research, and administration. It assists students, faculty, and staff with network connectivity, e-mail, and computers. FAS IT makes software available for academic coursework. Walk-up assistance is available at the Support Desk and Computer Clinic in Science Center B14. FAS IT also provides e-mail and telephone support at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 617-495-9000 as well as on-site technical help for departments. Students may connect computers to the FAS network directly from student rooms if they reside in Child Hall, Conant Hall, Perkins Hall, or Richards Hall. Limited in-room support for networking and desktop computer issues in these halls is dispatched by FAS IT Support.

FAS IT promotes technology-enhanced teaching and learning through interactive courseware, visualization and simulation tools, digital video, and collaboration tools. FAS IT also provides software for on-line course selection, placement, and evaluation. It operates over a dozen central and distributed computer labs, three computer classrooms in the Science Center, and a multimedia lab for collaborative learning. This multimedia lab (located in Lamont Library) features equipment for scanning, video capture and editing, DVD writing, and digital photography. FAS IT manages UNIX and Windows-based servers, workstations, and file storage systems for web, database, and applications hosting, as well as specialized coursework. An extensive wireless and high-speed fiber-optic data network connects student residences, faculty and administrative offices, libraries, laboratories, and public areas.

With a goal of protecting Harvard’s confidential information and the systems that house that data, FAS IT promotes governance, risk assessment, auditing, and compliance with industry best practices in Information Security. It develops and supports applications for Athletics, the College, Faculty Affairs, Finance, GSAS, Human Resources, and other keys offices to foster an integrated environment of administrative and business systems across FAS. FAS IT also supports enterprise-wide technology initiatives, including e-mail, calendaring, and Universal Desktop provisioning for faculty and staff.

The Multimedia Lab in Lamont Library is an advanced multimedia facility offering state-of-the-art audio and video computing tools. The Multimedia Lab is available to FAS students and faculty wishing to incorporate multimedia and advanced technologies in their academic endeavors. The lab features equipment for scanning, video capture and editing, DVD writing, and digital photography.
For additional information about FAS Information Technology, please visit the FAS IT website.

UNIVERSITY INFORMATION SYSTEMS

University Information Systems (UIS) is Harvard University’s central information technology (IT) organization whose mission is to provide effective and efficient IT services to the University community.

TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The Technology Products and Services group manages vendor partnerships including Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Adobe, and GovConnection and serves as facilitator, on behalf of the University, to ensure compliance to contracts and timely communications about product or program changes.

Computer Hardware and Software Sales
Technology Products and Services sells Apple computers and related peripherals, accessories, and software (Apple, Microsoft, Adobe) that can be purchased online, by phone (617-495-5450), or in person at the Campus Computer Store. Technology Products and Services is an Apple-authorized campus store at Harvard and maintains a large inventory of Apple products. Dell personal computers are available direct through Dell at aggressive price discounts exclusive to the Harvard community. Dell products are shipped direct from Dell to you; an inventory of products is not maintained at Harvard. Additional peripherals and accessories are available through GovConnection, a subsidiary of PC Connection. GovConnection offers educational pricing and free ground shipping to personal purchasers. Apple and Dell computers are available to view and demo at the Campus Computer Store, located in the Science Center, One Oxford Street. Hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:00 am–5:00 pm and Wednesday 10:00 am–5:00 pm. Computers can also be dropped off at this location for repair. Technology Products and Services telesales is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm and can be reached by calling 617-495-5450. Orders placed online or via telesales can be picked at 219 Western Avenue in Allston (on the corner of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue next to the Harvard stadium) and the hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm. Repairs are also taken at this location; free parking is available.

Computer Repair
Harvard University's Technology Services has selected Micros Northeast (Micros) to provide repair services for computers that are personally-owned by Harvard's students, faculty, and staff. Micros is a Service Center for Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP and provides a full spectrum of repair services.

OTHER COMPUTING FACILITIES

Several Harvard departments have computer systems used primarily for research purposes. The Computer Science facility in the Engineering Sciences Laboratory is centered among a variety of UNIX workstations. Additional Sun, Macintosh, and DEC workstations, computer vision equipment, and robotics hardware are located in Cruft Laboratory. In addition to research use, these machines are used for undergraduate courses in computer graphics, VLSI design, and advanced areas of artificial intelligence.

The Mathematics Department Computer Facility consists of a network of desktop Macintosh computers located throughout the four floors of the Mathematics Department, with Sun, Linux, Apple Macintosh and Network Appliance servers for infrastructure support and computational research. William James Hall Computer Services, located on the thirteenth floor of William James Hall, operates several UNIX servers, mostly Sun, for UNIX services and stats processing for the Departments of Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology. Labs with PC and Macintosh computers and user support are also available. The High Energy Physics group has a variety of VAX-class computers running the VMS operating system. Students who would like more information on these installations should contact the local system managers.

The Graduate Student Council (GSC) provides free computing facilities to all students in GSAS who have not waived their annual GSC fee. A networked Mac and PC are located in the Dudley House Library in Dudley House, the graduate student center (Lehman Hall). Students who present proper identification and sign up for time may print academic materials for free.

While Harvard makes no requirement or recommendation that students purchase computers, it operates a facility at which students may purchase certain computers and software at discounted prices. Technology Services, University Information Systems (617-495-5450), located at 219 Western Avenue, is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays. The center sells computers from Apple and software for students from Microsoft. IBM personal computers, peripherals, and accessories are sold direct through vendor partners (see “Technology Services”).

DEPARTMENTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA SERVICES AND THE LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTER

http://ims.fas.harvard.edu/
http://lrc.fas.harvard.edu/

Media and Technology Services (MTS) provides data, film, overhead, slide and video projection; classroom computers; audio recording; sound reinforcement systems; video recording/editing; video conferencing; film, DVD and videotape rentals for FAS courses; assistive listening systems; and a resolvable screening room/video conference suite. Please call MTS a minimum of two weeks in advance to arrange for services. Some of our services include technician assistance, equipment rental, and testing specific non-standard software or non-commercially produced CDs or DVDs for compatibility with our computer equipment or players. Training or MTS technicians’ assistance will be required for certain types of equipment. Instructors are also free to request MTS assistance with any equipment for one, several or all of a course’s class meetings. Please note that fees will be charged for after-hours, weekend or holiday assistance and for non-course instruction requests. Classrooms must be reserved through the FAS Classrooms Office or the appropriate departments. MTS does not reserve or schedule classrooms. Information on permanently installed classroom equipment and photographs of classrooms can be found on the IMS website.

MTS supports FAS and the Extension and Summer Schools. The MTS Main Office supports classes and events that take place in FAS buildings except for the CGIS buildings, the Northwest building, the Science Center and Sever Hall. The Main Office is located in the Science Center Room B-02 (617-495-9460, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The MTS CGIS Office supports classes and events that take place in the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS) buildings. The CGIS Office is located in CGIS South Building Room S053 (617-495-9807, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The MTS Northwest Building Office supports classes and events that take place in the Northwest Building. The Northwest Office is located in Northwest Building Room B-111 (617-495-5775, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The MTS Sever Hall Office supports classes and events that take place in Sever Hall. The Sever Office is located in Sever Hall Room 301 (617-495-9470, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The MTS Prep Room Office supports classes and events that take place in Science Center. The Prep Room is located in the Science Center Room B-01 (617-495-5357, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

The Media Production Center (MPC) is located at the rear of Rosovsky Hall at 59 Plympton Street (617-495-9440; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The MPC provides audio and video production and duplication services. Audio services include recording and preparation for CD, CD-ROM and web delivery of audio content. Recordings can be made in our MPC studio or on location. Video services include DVD authoring, inter-national standards conversion, and basic editing. Videoconferencing facilities are also available. CD, DVD, cassette tape and VHS duplication are available with graphics and packaging. Please inquire about additional technical services available.

The Department of the Language Resource Center (LRC) is located in Lamont Library on the fourth level (617-495-9448; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). The LRC offers multimedia resources to FAS foreign language courses and to other FAS courses using foreign language media. Our high-bandwidth media server provides full-screen materials in 43 languages. Our satellite feed provides international news and a variety of television programs. We also offer CD-quality digital audio of textbook practice materials, as well as providing for the use of VHS and cassette tapes. There are two screening rooms available for small-group foreign language instruction. The LRC offers RosettaStone® licenses for current Harvard students, faculty, and staff.

Wheelchair accessible.

OFFICE OF ANIMAL RESOURCES

Dr. Arthur Lage, director Biological Laboratories

The Office of Animal Resources is responsible for the health and well-being of all vertebrate animals used in research and teaching at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. All individuals using animals in research/teaching must complete the course “The Humane Care of Animals in Research/Teaching.” This course is offered several times a year at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. It acquaints participants with Harvard policies, as well as with federal, state, and city of Cambridge regulations, regarding the use of animals. Please contact the Animal Studies Coordinator at 617-495-1510 for course dates and times.

All members of the Harvard community have a responsibility to report instances of mistreatment of animals or noncompliance with animal-use guidelines. This can be done directly to Arthur Lage, DVM at 617-432-1285, or, if anonymity is desired, to the senior advisor to the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at 617-495-1525. Any questions regarding the animal program should be directed to Dr. Lage.

COMMITTEE ON THE USE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS

The Standing Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research (CUHS), one of Harvard’s federally mandated Institutional Review Boards, is responsible for reviewing proposed studies. Applications must be submitted two weeks prior to committee meetings, which are held monthly throughout the academic year. Judging from the information provided on the application, the committee determines whether the proposed procedures will adequately safeguard the rights and welfare of the subjects. The committee also aims to insure appropriate recruiting practices, permissions, and student time commitments. Some projects may not require full committee review; others may be exempt from review altogether. Students planning research projects should contact a committee research officer to determine whether review is required. Forms, meeting schedules, and reference material are available on the CUHS website.

VETERANS’ BENEFITS

Questions about eligibility for veterans’ benefits should be directed to the Department of Veteran Affairs at 888-442-4551. Students eligible for veterans’ benefits should apply online at the Department of Veterans Affairs website. After having received a letter of eligibility, students should bring it to the Student Receivables office at 953 Holyoke Center, 617-495-1992.