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PhD Degree Funding

Harvard guarantees full financial support to PhD students—including tuition, health fees, and basic living expenses—for a minimum of five years.

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 multiyear funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments. In addition, Harvard Griffin 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 Harvard Griffin 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.

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