Humanities and Social Sciences Programs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Humanities
- Classics
- Celtic Literatures and Languages
- Comparative Literature
- East Asian Languages and Civilizations
- English
- Film and Visual Studies
- Germanic Languages and Literatures
- History of Art and Architecture
- Inner Asian and Altaic Studies
- Linguistics
- Music
- Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
- Philosophy
- Religion
- Romance Languages and Literatures
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- South Asian Studies.
Social Sciences
- African and African American Studies
- American Studies
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Government
- History
- History of Science
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Psychology
- Social Policy
- Sociology.
General Funding Overview
PhD students in the humanities and social sciences programs housed in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences benefit from a comprehensive program of financial support that includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, teaching fellowships, and a dissertation completion fellowship.
Our packages typically provide full support (tuition, fees, and basic living expenses) for a minimum of five years – the first four years of study, plus the final year (i.e. the dissertation completion year). In addition, most programs guarantee an additional year of tuition and fee support after the fourth year of study; however, it is up to each individual student (with the help of their department/advisor) to seek out their own living expense support during this additional year.
Below is an example of how funding might work for a student throughout their time at Harvard Griffin GSAS:
- Grants toward tuition and the Harvard University Student Health Program paid in full for years G1 through G4 and the dissertation completion year
- A combination of stipend, teaching fellowships, and/or research assistantships during years G1 through G4
- Stipend support during the dissertation completion year
- Summer research support from Harvard Griffin GSAS or faculty grants following years G1 through G4
- Subsidy payments to defray dental insurance and transportation costs in years G1 through G4 and the dissertation completion year
Deferring Support
The initial Notice of Financial Support provided to students at the time of admission assumes continuous enrollment as a full-time resident student. Students may find that their actual enrollment patterns require adjustments to the timing of their funding. To accommodate different enrollment patterns, certain components of the standard financial aid package, including guaranteed teaching and the supplemental Top Up Stipend, can be deferred for later use.
Students wishing to defer funding must indicate their request in the Student Aid Portal during the annual financial aid acceptance process. Students considering deferring funding are strongly encouraged to contact their financial aid officer to review how a deferral may affect their funding in future years.
There are limits on how long each component of the funding package can be deferred. For more information, refer to the following policies governing each component of the standard funding package:
- summer research awards
- financial support via guaranteed teaching (see the "Financial Support and Payment Obligations" section of the Handbook for Students)
- supplemental Top Up Stipend
- extended tuition and health fee grants
- dissertation completion fellowships (see the "Financial Support and Payment Obligations" section of the Handbook for Students).