Financial Obligations

On this page:

• PhD Students
• Resident Student Financial Obligations 2022–2023
• Non-Resident Student Financial Obligations
• Additional Financial Obligations

PhD Students

As a requirement for the receipt of the degree, all PhD candidates must pay four terms of full tuition, four terms of reduced tuition, and the applicable facilities fee or active file fee for all subsequent terms of enrollment, unless the time from their initial registration to completion of the degree is less than four years.

• Ordinarily, full-time PhD students complete the full tuition and reduced tuition requirement in the first four years of study, and these costs are covered in full by the student aid package.
• After satisfying tuition requirements, PhD students in residence are charged a facilities fee each term. This includes graduating resident students in their last term of registration.
• If an approved dissertation is submitted to the Registrar’s Office prior to the course registration deadline for a term, a PhD student need not register for that term. If a PhD student registers for a term and subsequently submits an approved dissertation to the Registrar’s Office on or before the course registration deadline for that term, registration will be canceled and any tuition paid for that term will be refunded to the student account.

GSAS Master’s Students

GSAS master’s degree candidates are charged full tuition for each term of enrollment until receipt of the degree. As a requirement for the receipt of the degree, all GSAS master’s candidates must pay a minimum of two terms of full tuition.

Part-Time Students

Part-time students are charged at a per-course rate. See Part-Time Study for more information.

Resident Student Financial Obligations 2022–2023

All students, with the exception of the SM and ME programs in Computational Science and Engineering and the SM program in Data Science:

Students in the SM program in Computational Science and Engineering:

Students in the ME program in Computational Science and Engineering:

Students in the SM program in Data Science:

Per-course rate for students in the SM and ME in Computational Science and Engineering and the SM in Data Science:

Non-Resident Student Financial Obligations

Non-resident student financial obligations vary based on the type of non-resident status.

• Traveling Scholars
• Leave of Absence
• Study at Another Harvard School

Graduating non-resident PhD students are subject to the facilities fee in the final term of enrollment. If a student in this category has already paid the active file fee for that final term, a fee adjustment will be made to ensure that total fees paid are equivalent to the facilities fee. Unlike other students subject to the facilities fee, these students will not be required to pay the Harvard University Student Health Fee.

Additional Financial Obligations

GSAS students in residence are automatically enrolled in the Harvard Student Health Insurance Program, which has two components: the Student Health Fee and the Student Health Insurance Plan. Students who have comparable coverage from another source may elect to waive the Student Health Insurance Plan component. PhD students whose requests to waive the Harvard’s Student Health Insurance Plan and/or Harvard's Student Health Fee have been approved will have their grants reduced accordingly. Harvard grants are not available to cover the cost of health insurance obtained from other sources.

All students, with the exception of traveling scholars, those registered at another Harvard School, and those on an approved leave of absence, will be charged a $25 GSAS Student Council fee. This fee funds graduate student groups and organizations, supports student summer research and conference attendance and helps the GSAS Student Council advocate on behalf of students for concerns such as mentoring, teaching, health care, and housing. Students returning mid-year from leave, traveling scholar status, or study at another Harvard School will be assessed a fee of $12.50 for the spring term.

Additional Financial Obligations, 2022–2023:

*Students who have comparable coverage from another source may petition to waive SHIP.