Financial Support for Harvard Griffin GSAS Students

At Harvard Griffin GSAS, financial support is viewed as the shared responsibility of the Office of Financial Aid, the academic program, and the student. The goal of the Harvard Griffin GSAS Financial Aid Program is to attract the most qualified candidate to GSAS and make a Harvard education possible for all those who choose to attend.  

PhD Students  

The Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) offers incoming PhD students full financial support—including tuition, health insurance fees, and basic living expenses—for a minimum of five years (typically the first four years of study and the dissertation completion year). This funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments. 

A typical funding package includes: 

• 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 
• summer research support from Harvard Griffin GSAS or faculty grants following the first four academic years 
• subsidy payments to defray dental insurance and transportation costs.

While the specifics of funding packages vary by program, PhD students in the sciences typically receive full funding until they complete their programs of study. PhD Programs in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Interfaculty Programs may offer additional tuition and health fee support based on the anticipated time to degree of the program, but stipend/living expense funding is limited to the five full years as outlined above. Students should review their financial aid package carefully and consult with their officer if they have questions or need clarification about their offer of support.  

Each student is provided a Notice of Financial Support at the time of admission and is assigned a financial aid officer who administers this funding and is available to assist with financial concerns.  

Students are required to formally accept their financial aid offers via the Admissions system and acknowledge that they have read and understood the aid package being offered and the policies that govern their support. When applicable, students are also directed to consult their academic programs if program-specific conditions apply. 

The initial Notice of Financial Support assumes continuous enrollment as a full-time resident student; students not enrolled are not eligible for Harvard Griffin GSAS financial aid programs.  

Each spring, continuing students supported by Harvard Griffin GSAS-administered funding sources are required to activate their funding for the upcoming academic year using the Student Aid Portal, an online financial aid management system. Continued eligibility for financial aid is contingent upon an annual report by the faculty that the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree. 

Students may find that their actual enrollment patterns necessitate adjustments to the timing of their funding. Students wishing to defer Harvard Griffin GSAS-administered funding must indicate this in the Student Aid Portal during the annual financial aid acceptance process mentioned above. The options for deferring financial support vary by type of aid and are outlined within the applicable sections of the main financial aid website.  

Master’s Students  

Financial support for students pursuing a master’s degree is mostly limited to federal and private loan assistance. In limited cases, some scholarship aid might be available. The type of aid available is program specific and would be clearly outlined in the initial Offer of Financial Support presented to a student at the time of Admissions to GSAS. Students interested in applying for loans to pay for their degree should contact the Financial Aid Office for application instructions and assistance.  

External Scholarships  

Students receiving external scholarship assistance are required to report them to the Harvard Griffin GSAS Financial Aid Office as they may impact the financial support received from GSAS. Please consult the financial aid website for more details about how external funding can impact your support.  

Refund Policy  

If a student who is receiving any form of financial aid takes a leave of absence or is required to withdraw, the refund of institutional funds will be based on the amount of tuition and fees cancelled based on the policies found on the withdrawing from the Harvard Griffin GSAS web page, and that amount will be returned to the financial aid fund. A special refund rule applies to Federal Direct Student Loans. These Title IV federal funds will be returned to the agencies based on the amount for which the student is no longer eligible.  

Federal Verification  

Harvard University participates in the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Verification Program, which may require additional documentation of certain data elements reported on a student’s FAFSA form. This is only applicable for students who opt to borrow from a federal loan program.  

Statement of Privacy  

All information submitted for financial aid is protected under Harvard’s Enterprise Security policy, the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), and the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act of 2000 (GLB). Under these provisions, Harvard ensures the privacy and safeguarding of all financial aid information.