Dear GSAS Students,
To all GSAS students—new and continuing, in the Cambridge/Boston area or throughout the world—welcome to the 2021–2022 academic year!
It has been an extraordinary year, and while the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, I hope you will be pleased by the many changes at Harvard from last fall. Campus is open to students, classes are taking place in person, and physical access to important resources has been restored. We all bear responsibility in ensuring that these resources remain open by verifying our vaccination, masking, and following assigned testing cadences. Please be sure to review the GSAS coronavirus page for a fall checklist and follow public health guidance designed to Keep Harvard Healthy.
As you settle into your routine, remember that GSAS and Harvard have a host of resources to help you academically and personally. Be sure to take advantage of them.
GSAS will be in touch with you throughout the academic year so please keep an eye on your inbox for two monthly emails: “Need to Know” announcements on the first of the month and the GSAS Bulletin, which arrives on or near the 15th. Both provide critical information that will help you navigate your graduate career.
Next, look out for important updates from me about GSAS and Harvard policies that affect your academic activities. I urge you to pay close attention to these emails—and all correspondence from GSAS—especially this fall, as they will include relevant information about public health guidance and continued campus access.
This past year has shown that maintaining connections is more important than ever, and I urge you to honor your interests outside academics. The GSAS Student Center remains a hub of extracurricular activities, with the Center fellows developing exciting new programming and a host of graduate student groups ready to help you pursue your passions. Be sure to sign up for Engage, GSAS’s student event platform, and follow the GSAS and GSAS Student Center social media accounts.
You also don’t have to wait until you graduate to connect with GSAS alumni. The Harvard alumni community is a tremendous resource, offering mentorship, career networking, and affinity groups to join. I encourage you to explore the alumni-student connections available to you.
I am looking forward to meeting you over the course of the academic year and learning about your projects. As you begin or continue your graduate studies, I wish you all the best.
Emma Dench
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics
