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“ HBS is the ideal environment because I get to think about the world like an economist, but I have the freedom and resources to draw on methods from other disciplines as I study market design and industrial organization. ”

Current Harvard Economics Faculty

• Pol Antràs
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• Elie Tamer
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• David Yang

Current HBS Faculty

• Laura Alfaro
• Samuel B. Antill
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• John Beshears
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• Lauren H. Cohen
• Shawn A. Cole
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• Ariel D. Stern
• Adi Sunderam
• Boris Vallee
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Current Business Economics Students

• Maxim Alekseev
• Martin Aragoneses
• Sage Belz
• Michael Blank
• Fiona Chen
• Jiafeng (Kevin) Chen
• Cameron Cohen
• Jorge Colmenares
• Terry Culpepper
• Songyuan Ding
• Jo Ellery
• Simon Essig Aberg
• Toren Fronsdal
• Jacob Furst
• Jeffrey Gortmaker
• Shlok Goyal
• Helene Hall
• Ruru (Juan Ru) Hoong
• Catherine Huang
• Baiyun Jing
• Nathan Kaplan
• Justin Katz
• Lev Klarnet
• Shira Li
• Angela Ma
• Alex Magnuson
• Fanele Mashwama
• Marcela Mello
• Laura Nicolae
• Lauren Rice
• Maya Roy
• Dominic Russel
• Kunal Sangani
• Claire Shi
• Wilbur Townsend
• Jennifer Walsh
• Andi Wang
• Alex Wu
• Hanbin Yang
• Jeffrey Yang
• Jennifer Zou

Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest

Recent placement, john conlon, 2023, erica moszkowski, 2023, ran zhuo, 2023, matthew lilley, 2022, david zhang, 2022, karen shen, 2021, ravi jagadeesan, 2020, vitaly bord, 2019, weiling liu, 2019, anastassia fedyk, 2018, spencer yongwook kwon, 2023, daniel ramos, 2023, francesca bastianello, 2022, frank pinter, 2022, andreas schaab, 2021, edoardo maria acabbi, 2020, michael thaler, 2020, oren danieli, 2019, janelle schlossberger, 2019, yueran ma, 2018, robert minton, 2023, sagar saxena, 2023, talia b. gillis, 2022, ron yang, 2022, gregor schubert, 2021, xiang ding, 2020, christopher anderson, 2019, yizhou jin, 2019, william diamond, 2018, neil thakral, 2018.

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Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics, and the Lee and Ezpeleta Professor of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, has been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for having advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today. Read More

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Harvard Griffin GSAS strives to provide students with timely, accurate, and clear information. If you need help understanding a specific policy, please contact the office that administers that policy.

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Questions about these requirements? See the contact info at the bottom of the page. 

The First Two Years

Regular guidance through contact with faculty advisors is an essential component of doctoral education. Students should maintain close contact with their official advisor(s) throughout their enrollment in the program.  Students are encouraged to develop informal advising relationships with several faculty members in addition to their official advisor.  

The First-year advisor provides assistance during the initial stages of the program, but do not necessarily advise the student throughout their studies. During the second year of the program, students are matched with advisors based on their research interests. As students familiarize themselves with program faculty during coursework, research work, seminars/workshops, and other activities, they may change their official advisor(s) as their academic and research interests develop.  

The following required courses are completed during the first year of the program: Core macro and micro series: Econ2010a, 2010b, 2010c, 2010d; Quantitative Economics: Econ2120 and Econ2140; and the distribution requirement. 

During the G2 year, students designate two fields of interest and complete two approved courses in each of the two fields.  

Year Three and Beyond

As a G3, students enroll in a Research Preparatory course and complete a research paper (Econ3000) under the guidance of their faculty advisor.   

Graduate Student Workshops

Students are required to begin presenting in a Graduate Student Workshop during the Spring semester of the third year. Students continue to attend and present in at least one workshop each semester.  

Graduate students are expected to teach during their careers at Harvard, usually beginning in year three of the program. First-time teaching fellows must participate in at least one Bok Center Teaching Conference. Students in their third and fourth years have priority for teaching fellowship appointments. 

Research Proposal

Students are required to present and submit their research ideas to a committee comprising of at least two faculty members. The committee will provide feedback and decide if the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree. Students will receive coordinated advice from faculty regarding their progress and be given detailed recommendations for future research plans, particularly with respect to possible job market paper and dissertation.  

The Dissertation

The student selects a faculty dissertation committee consisting of three members of the Harvard faculty; two of whom must be members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Under the dissertation committee’s advisorship, the student will proceed to complete the dissertation research. The dissertation should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to perform original research that develops in a scholarly way and is a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding in the chosen special field. For the student to meet the requirement, analysis and evaluation of relevant data must yield significant and independent conclusions. 

Contact Info 

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Brenda Piquet   Assistant Director, PhD Programs  Department of Economics  Littauer Center 201  Cambridge, MA 02138  [email protected]   617-495-8927

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Gita Gopinath

John zwaanstra professor of international studies and of economics.

Gita Gopinath  is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University. She is currently on leave of public service from the economics department to serve as the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In that role she is the Director of IMF's Research Department and the Economic Counsellor of the Fund. 

Professor Gopinath's  research  focuses on International Finance and Macroeconomics . She has authored numerous research articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises.  She is the co-editor of the current  Handbook of International Economics  and was earlier the co-editor of the  American Economic Review , managing editor of the  Review of Economic Studies , and co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics program at the  National Bureau of Economic Research .

Professor Gopinath is an elected fellow of the  American Academy of Arts and Sciences  and of the  Econometric Society , and  a member of the Group of Thirty  and the Council on Foreign Relations .  Earlier she was a member of the economic advisory panel of the  Federal Reserve Bank of New York , and a visiting scholar at the  Federal Reserve Bank of Boston . 

T he International Economic Association named Professor Gopinath the Schumpeter-Haberler Distinguished Fellow , the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association recognized her with the John Kenneth Galbraith Award , and the Carnegie Corporation named her among Great Immigrants .  She is the recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman , the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians by the Government of India, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award  from the University of Washington.

Financial Times named Professor Gopinath among the 25 Most Influential Women of 2021 , she was named  Bloomberg 50 people who defined 2019, Foreign Policy named her one of the Top Global Thinkers ,  Time Magazine named her among the Women who Broke Major Barriers to Become 'Firsts', Vogue India recognized her one of the Women of the Year , and she was named among Most Influential Princeton Alumni . Earlier t he IMF named her one of the top 25 economists under 45 , Financial Times named her one of the 25 Indians to Watch , and she was chosen as a Young Global Leader   by the World Economic Forum.

Before coming to Harvard, she was an assistant professor of economics at the  University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business .  She received her Ph.D. in economics from  Princeton University , after earning a B.A. from  Lady Sri Ram College , and M.A. degrees from the  Delhi School of Economics  and the  University of Washington .

Office Address: Littauer Center 206 [email protected] Tel:   617-495-8161 Fax:  617-495-8570 Staff Support (At IMF): Lucia Buono IMF, 700 19th Street, NW, Rm. 9-677 Washington, DC 20431 [email protected] Tel: 202-623-7351

Twitter: @GitaGopinath

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Recent Publications

• Cash and the Economy: Evidence from India's Demonetization
• Banking, Trade and the Making of a Dominant Currency
• Banking, Trade, and the Making of a Dominant Currency
• Tariff Passthrough at the Border and at the Store: Evidence from US Trade Policy
• Dominant Currency Paradigm
• Cash and the Economy: Evidence from India’s Demonetization

Graduation 2024: Award winners

May 21, 2024 – Each year,  awards  are presented to graduating students, faculty, and staff at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Winners were announced at a celebration held in the Kresge cafeteria on May 21.

Student awards

Edgar Haber Award Krystle Kalafut , PhD ’24

Marianne Wessling-Resnick Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) Student Service Award Joanna Olivas, PhD ’24

Robert B. Reed Prize for Excellence in Biostatistical Science Dylan Clark-Boucher, PhD ’28 Lee Ding, PhD ’28

Gareth M. Green Award for Excellence in Public Health Practice Patrick Chen , MPH ’24 Faisal Reza , MPH ’24 Kasey Pomeroy , MPH ’24

James H. Ware Award for Achievement in the Practice of Public Health Julia Hummel Jimenez, MPH ’24

Dr. Fang-Ching Sun Memorial Award Eniolami Dosunmu, MPH ’24

Albert Schweitzer Award Max Boulet, MPH ’24

LGBTQ Health Equity Award Colleen Reynolds , PhD ’24

Teaching Fellow Awards Intekhab Hossain, PhD ’24 Nicole Kogan , PhD ’24 Shelton Lo , PhD ’24 Tamara Rushovich , PhD ’24 Jhordan Wynne , PhD ’24

Faculty awards

Teaching Citation Awards Linda Cyr , lecturer on health management Brian Curran Healy , associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics Pamela Marie Rist , assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology Jack Rossin, instructor, Department of Health Policy and Management

Executive and Continuing Professional Education Excellence in Teaching Award Ellen Zane , adjunct assistant professor of health policy and management; CEO Emeritus of Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Children’s Hospital

Mentoring Awards Susan Madden, instructor, Office of Educational Programs Margareta Matache , lecturer on social and behavioral sciences William C. Vanderwagen, instructor, Office of Educational Programs

Marianne Wessling-Resnick Memorial Mentoring Award Jane J. Kim , Dean for Academic Affairs; K.T. Li Professor of Health Economics

Sastry Awards for Outstanding Teaching in Public Health Murray A. Mittleman , professor of epidemiology Aisha Khizar Yousafzais , professor of child development and health

Roger L. Nichols Excellence in Teaching Award Ben Sommers , Huntley Quelch Professor of Health Care Economics

LGBTQ Health Equity Award S. Bryn Austin , professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Staff awards

Acknowledging Commitment and Excellence (ACE) Awards Allison Hakioglu, manager of academic administration, Department of Epidemiology Michele Hudak, assistant director of finance, Department of Global Health and Population

Harvard Heroes Awards Shaina Andelman, director of administration, Department of Biostatistics Amarildo “Lilu” Barbosa , chief diversity, inclusion, and belonging officer Lisa Burke, assistant director of operations and strategy, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences Sharelle Davis , senior talent and operations coordinator, Ariadne Labs

Sarah K. Wood Award for Outstanding Staff Performance Patrice Clare Brown, assistant director of administration, Departments of Nutrition and Molecular Metabolism

Does it Matter How Teachers Use Class Time?

• Posted May 21, 2024
• By Heather Corn
• Evidence-Based Intervention
• Student Achievement and Outcomes
• Teachers and Teaching

Should a teacher lecture? Open up the class to big discussions? Let students work indpendently or mostly in small groups? This past winter, Associate Professor Eric Taylor spoke to Ed. about a paper he co-published last summer in the Economics of Education Review that delves into the complexities and nuances of how teachers manage their classroom time, and, in turn, the impact those decisions have on student learning. 

Can you give us a quick rundown of the process of your study?    This paper focuses on teachers’ choices about how to allocate class time across different instructional activities. We studied 250 teachers and their 7,000 students, in England’s public (state) secondary schools. Each teacher was observed eight times over two school years, on average. From those class observations we have time allocation data on a dozen different activities. Those activities fall into four groups: direct instruction, student-peer interaction, personalized instruction, and practice and assessment. We then link each teacher’s class time use data to her students’ test scores at the end of the school year — the GCSE English and math exams, taken at age 14–16. 

What did you find?    Students learn more math skills (score higher on their exams) when their teacher devotes more class time to individual practice and assessment. In contrast, students learn more language skills when their teacher devotes more class time to discussion and work in groups of students. Despite that difference, we find that the average math teacher and average English teacher make very similar choices about how to allocate class time. 

What sparked your interest in research, particularly focusing on class time allocation?    Every year there are students who learn more math, language, and other skills than their peers in the classroom next door because they were lucky enough to get assigned to a more effective teacher. Those lucky students will go on to have more success as adults in college and in the workforce. Understanding why some teachers are more effective than others is an urgent long-standing challenge.

Class time allocation has not been previously studied as we do in this paper. Our data provide a rare opportunity to link class time-use data to student achievement scores for a large sample of both teachers and students.

Learning how best to allocate class time is a skill. But it differs from the kind of skills typically studied by researchers or taught in professional development. Teachers’ choices about how to allocate class time may be easier to change through direction from school leaders or easier to teach to novices. 

Are there other possible explanations for learning beyond how teachers use class time?    You might be skeptical. Perhaps math teachers who spend more class time on individual practice are also teachers who are more skilled at asking good questions or managing student behavior. Perhaps those questioning or management skills are the true cause of students learning more, and class time choices are simply correlated. If that were true, we could ask a less-skilled teacher to increase class time for individual practice, but there would be no change in his students’ test scores. 

Our research addresses that skepticism. We can compare teachers who have the same level of general teaching skills but who allocate class time differently. We have data on each teacher’s time use. But we also have data on each teacher’s instructional effectiveness using the Framework for Teaching classroom observation rubric. In statistics jargon, even after we control for the teacher’s instructional effectiveness, class time use still predicts student achievement. Even among high-skilled math teachers, some allocate more time to individual practice, and their students learn more math. The same is true for low-skilled math teachers. And there is a parallel pattern for English teachers. The practical implication is that students would likely gain (or lose) from changes in class activities even if their teacher’s general teaching skills did not change. 

Did you have any “aha” moments doing this research?    The differences between math and English were most striking to me. Perhaps more-experienced educators are not surprised by the difference. But, at least in our data, both math and English teachers allocated class time in similar ways. For example, both the average math teacher and average English teacher allocated the same amount of class time to “student peer interaction.” English scores were higher in classes with more peer interaction, but math scores were not.

Will there be follow-up research?    Our results are encouraging, but just one study. We are in the early stages of a field experiment where teachers or schools, randomly assigned to the treatment group, would change how they allocate class time, while other teachers or schools continue their current approach (the control group). If anyone reading this is interested in participating in such an experiment, reach out. 

Heather Corn is a writer based in Ohio. Her last piece for Ed. looked at cARTie, the nonprofit mobile art museum bus created by Clare Murray, Ed.M.’20

Ed. Magazine

The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Bringing an economics perspective to climate change and development challenges

By Nora Delaney

Vincent Chen MPA/ID 2024 is passionate about working at the intersection of business and climate action.

Vincent Chen MPA/ID 2024 used his time at Harvard Kennedy School to deepen his thinking on climate change policy and international development—building on his academic background in climate and energy as an undergraduate at Stanford University. 

An avid birdwatcher from Taipei, Taiwan, Chen worked with the Bezos Earth Fund in Washington, D.C., to develop its Decarbonization Pathways strategy through the Harvard Climate Internship Program at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. Among his most memorable activities at HKS was leading the popular student-led Taiwan Trek over the winter break. 

We caught up with him to learn more.

What was your driving factor for coming to HKS? What were you hoping to get out of this experience?

As a student of economics, I have always enjoyed thinking at the societal level about our environmental and climate challenges. What might be the conservation and land-use impacts of the solar projects I help fund? What are the resource consumption implications of developing new, widely adopted electric vehicles? What is the energy footprint of running cloud-based climate models at scale? 

Coming to HKS, and specifically the MPA/ID Program, was an opportunity to put on my economist hat again, refresh my environmental economics knowledge, and explore climate issues from the lens of international development.

“Coming to HKS, and specifically the MPA/ID Program, was an opportunity to put on my economist hat again, refresh my environmental economics knowledge, and explore climate issues from the lens of international development.”

Vincent chen mpa/id 2024, you led the taiwan trek over the winter break. what was that like.

Organizing and leading the Taiwan Trek, a first at Harvard, was one of the most rewarding experiences for me at the Kennedy School.

The Taiwanese are known for our hospitality—I am no exception. On a personal level, there is nothing more gratifying than showing some 60 of my classmates around the place I call home. In seven days, we met with elected officials, business leaders, policymakers, and scholars to discuss Taiwan’s values, achievements, and struggles while experiencing Taiwan’s rich cultural and natural heritage.

Taiwan’s developmental success and geopolitical challenges are frequent topics of discussion at HKS, yet these conversations sometimes miss the broader historical context and omit the local sentiment of the Taiwanese. I wanted the Trek to add nuance and complexity to the campus discussions about the foreign relations between the United States, Taiwan, and China, and to offer opportunities for future decision-makers to hear directly from the diverse perspectives of people in Taiwan. 

I hope the Trek builds a community of individuals invested in forging relationships with Taiwan in their respective fields of work.

You were a Rise Climate Impact Fellow. Can you tell me a bit about that experience?

I am passionate about working at the intersection of business and climate action. As a Rise Climate Impact Fellow at TPG , a growth equity investor, I was involved with developing and deploying the investor’s climate impact assessment framework to estimate the emission reductions and broader environmental impacts of its prospective investments. 

Establishing a systematic, evidence-based methodology for analyzing business activities not only allows for comparison across investments and aggregating fund-level impact, but it also helps explore diverse impact pathways across various sectors. 

Process innovations like these can have positive spillover effects for the broader financial sector as well as policymaking, identifying the potential and limits of investment in driving climate action.

Who or what made an impression on you during your time at HKS?

The Kennedy School’s outstanding faculty members. 

From the first core classes of the MPA/ID Program to the capstone Second Year Policy Analysis , my academic journey at HKS has been influenced by many faculty members who are not only leaders in their respective fields but also deeply invested in their students.

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy Dan Levy prepares his lectures on statistics with flair—his dedication to teaching becomes a true motivator for student learning. Professor Stephen Walt commands a 40-person class like an intimate seminar on international relations theory. And my Second Year Policy Analysis advisors, Professor Carmen Reinhart and Professor Joseph Aldy , were always available for guidance and feedback on my capstone research. 

I am grateful for the time and effort faculty members invested in me, and believe it is what makes an HKS experience exceptional.

How do you plan to apply your HKS degree?

My time at HKS coincided with a period of ongoing geopolitical conflicts, economic distress, and worsening impacts of climate change. It is a privilege to be able to learn about and discuss these pressing issues not only with HKS faculty members and students but also with experts visiting our campus. 

I have two takeaways from the vibrant debates in the hallways and forums . First, systemic change is inherently messy, and making trade-offs requires intelligence and courage. Second, the more we learn about a topic, the more nuance and sophistication we should demand in our understanding, reminding ourselves of what we do not know when making decisions on public affairs. 

My HKS degree will serve as a constant reminder of the courage and humility required in my professional and personal endeavors.

“Public service is a requirement for us to live together—none of what we studied here at HKS would matter if we were all to lead solitary lives. I think my peers understand that, and that's what makes this place so special.”

Why is public service important to you.

Growing up as a birdwatcher, I care deeply about the continued viability of the planet we live on. For me, public service and leadership are key to combating climate change and environmental degradation. I have witnessed firsthand how the creativity and nimbleness of the private sector are important for transitioning to a sustainable economy, but it is also the case that businesses respond to incentives. The right “rules of the game” align social and private benefits to address negative environmental externalities and help environmentally friendly solutions emerge more speedily, sustainably, and justly. 

Public service is a requirement for us to live together—none of what we studied here at HKS would matter if we were all to lead solitary lives. I think my peers understand that, and that's what makes this place so special.

Portraits by Natalie Montaner

Bridging the private and public sectors to improve the lives of the most vulnerable

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• Share This: Share Follow the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success on LinkedIn on Facebook Share Follow the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success on LinkedIn on LinkedIn Share Follow the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success on LinkedIn on X

This week Harvard celebrates the graduating class of 2024. As these talented individuals step into the professional world, we wanted to share a new recruiting resource. We invite you to follow our newly created Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success LinkedIn page . We will share more information about Harvard recruiting events, trends, and updates on this page. 

We are happy to connect further to discuss ways your organization can advertise current openings or plan to engage with Harvard students during the next academic year. Schedule a call with our team to learn more about promoting opportunities at Harvard.

Why Recruit at Harvard? 

• Our students have the analytical, technical, communication, and problem-solving skills and experiences to keep your organization competitive
• More than 50% of Harvard College students self-identify as students of color
• Fields of study include applied mathematics, computer science, data science, economics, engineering, government, and psychology

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Read the latest.

Five alumni elected to the Board of Overseers

New HAA president brings holistic approach to alumni leadership

‘I haven’t really had a proper weekend in a long time’

Shruthi Kumar, Robert Clinton, and Blake Alexander Lopez.

Photos by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer; Dylan Goodman; and Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Bridging social distance, embracing uncertainty, fighting for equity

Harvard Staff Writer

Student Commencement speeches to tap into themes faced by Class of 2024

Part of the commencement 2024 series.

A collection of stories covering Harvard University’s 373rd Commencement.

Three graduating students selected in a University-wide competition will deliver speeches Thursday at Tercentenary Theatre as part of the one of the oldest traditions of Commencement.

The student orators are Blake Alexander Lopez, a senior from the College who will deliver the Latin Salutatory; Shruthi Kumar, also a College senior, who will deliver the Senior English Address; and Robert Clinton, J.D. ’24, a Harvard Law School graduate who will deliver the Graduate English Address.

Overcoming those 6 feet of separation

Blake Alexander Lopez Undergraduate Latin  

When Lopez arrived on campus in the fall of 2020, six months into the COVID pandemic, first-year students could live in dorms, but they had to attend classes online and keep social distance as part of public health guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.

A joint classical languages and literature and linguistics concentrator with a secondary field in medieval studies, Lopez will address “that sort of nearer distance that we found ourselves within” in the Latin oration he will deliver during the Morning Exercises of Commencement.

“Being a student on campus in the fall of 2020 felt like we were in the proximity of all these things we had so long dreamed about, and yet there was an inherent separation between us,” said Lopez, a Kirkland House resident. “We were physically rather close, living in rooms next to each other and seeing each other on our computer screens because we had to stay socially distant.”

But as the pandemic eased its grip, members of the Class of 2024 returned to normal life and built closer relationships with one another. Celebrating graduation in person and together is a reason to celebrate, said Lopez.

“What I would like the audience to take away from my speech is that whatever difficulties were posed to us, we were able to meet them, adapt and exhibit a resilience that allowed us to thrive,” said Lopez. “There is so much our class has to be proud of, in view of what we faced. It is because what we faced, we faced together.”

Lopez, who fell in love with Latin in high school, said the language will serve him well to talk about both separation and closeness. Latin is considered a dead language because there are no native speakers. During his speech, subtitles will appear on screens in the Yard, and an English translation will be included in the program flyer.

“There’s a layer of separation between the reader of the speech’s English translation and myself delivering it in Latin,” said Lopez, who grew up in Chicago. “But being able to communicate my ideas and the feelings behind them across the linguistic boundary is reflective in a lot of ways of the fact that in spite of the barriers separating the Class of 2024 when we first arrived on campus, we were able to traverse that distance.”

At Harvard, Lopez strengthened his love of Latin and the classics. His senior thesis focused in part on ancient graffiti inscriptions found in Pompeii, which include jokes, riddles, literary quotations, and the customary “I was here.” The subject fascinates him because it provides a glimpse into the intimate relationship between Latin and the way common people made use of it.

After graduation, Lopez will pursue a master’s degree in classics at Oxford University. For now, he cherishes the fact that he was able to realize the dream he started nurturing when he was applying to Harvard.

“The fact that hundreds of years going on, we still do a Latin oration at Commencement really captivated me,” said Lopez. “I would sort of daydream about it. I’d like to go back to 17-year-old me and tell him, ‘Hey, we did it.’ Or as they’d say in Latin, ‘Vicimus.’ ”

The power of not knowing

Shruthi Kumar Undergraduate English

Kumar’s speech explores a subject she knows all too well.

Coming to Harvard as a pre-med student, Kumar took a history of science class on health disparities in the U.S., and she had a change of heart.

By embracing uncertainty, she found her passion for public health. “I didn’t know something like history of science existed,” said Kumar, a joint history of science and economics concentrator with a secondary in human evolutionary biology. “But I fell in love with that class, and I realized that history of science was what I really wanted to study to find ways to address the world’s biggest health problems.”

A Mather House resident, Kumar is glad she took risks during her time at Harvard and challenged societal and parental expectations when she switched pre-med studies for classes on health inequities and public health issues. In hindsight, Kumar said her decision made sense. After all, she had been interested in public health since high school, when she was involved in a mental health education program for youth.

In College, Kumar started a campaign to ensure that all Harvard bathrooms supply free menstrual products. Thanks to her advocacy, 817 bathrooms across the University are fully stocked with free tampons and sanitary pads on a regular basis.

Navigating the uncertainty of choosing a new career concentration could be nerve-racking, but Kumar found strength when she decided to follow her inner voice. “You’re supposed to make money, you’re supposed to have a family, you’re supposed to do this, that, or the other,” she said. “But at the end of the day, I think we owe it to ourselves to listen to that voice inside that tells us, ‘Oh, this is what I’m passionate about.’”

Kumar is confident her message will resonate with the Class of 2024, which started their first year amid the uncertainty of the pandemic. “There is a lot you don’t know in your first year, and on top of that, there was COVID,” said Kumar, who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. “Our class had to grapple with not knowing what was going to happen in the next few years of our College experience. … We have gone through College with this chaos, and we have developed a strength to deal with uncertainty, and that’s what makes us powerful.”

The power of not knowing can be revelatory, said Kumar. After graduation, she will work on public health entrepreneurship and after that, she plans to attend law school or pursue a Ph.D.

“We are all people walking through the world, not really knowing what’s going to happen,” Kumar said. “But the power of not knowing is about how you can turn that space of fear and anxiety into something that is empowering, uplifting, and exciting. It’s a conscious shift that you must make pretty much all the time every day.”

‘Working hard’ vs. ‘doing good’

Robert Clinton Graduate English

Growing up in Richmond, California, in an African American middle-class family, Clinton felt the call to public service early on. He is not sure where it came from, but he believes that both being the child of civil servants and being Black in the U.S. may have contributed to his commitment to the common good.

In his Commencement speech, Clinton will urge students to use their privilege and power to better the lives of fellow citizens and create a more equitable society. Privilege comes with social responsibility, he said.

“Some people who graduate from Harvard are going to be presidents or senators, but most people are going to be managers, professors, and even if they are not at the very top, they will still have a lot of power,” said Clinton. “We will be people with good jobs because we went to Harvard. And that means that we must be on the lookout for opportunities to help people.”

Harvard graduates should put their education to good use, said Clinton, who found inspiration in the work of actor and activist Harry Belafonte, who used his fame to support the Civil Rights struggle. Clinton was also stirred by the words of a Law School professor who exhorted students to find something bigger than themselves and be part of it.

“There’s a difference between working hard and doing good,”he said. “People here know how to work really hard, but working hard doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re making the world better or doing your part.”

Before coming to the Law School, Clinton worked for the city of San Francisco in the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs. But he began thinking seriously about the law when he became involved with efforts to remove a citizenship question from the 2020 U.S. Census questionnaire. A coalition of immigrant groups challenged former President Donald Trump’s administration before the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the petitioners.

“I got to see how lawyers can use the law to help people and to hold people accountable,” Clinton said. “It was really inspiring.”

After graduation, Clinton will clerk for Judge Dale Ho of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. By coincidence, Ho was the lawyer representing the immigrant groups that challenged Trump’s plan to include the citizenship question on the 2020 Census. Clinton is elated over that twist of fate.

“It was the first legal case that I followed from beginning to end,” said Clinton. “I read the briefs even though I didn’t know what they meant, I listened to the oral argument, and I was shocked when against all the odds, they won the case.

“And it just so happens that Judge Ho is going to be my first boss after law school. I joked with him in the interview that he was one of the reasons why I went to Law School. It feels like a wonderful full-circle moment.”

Also in this series:

Longtime supporter of grads Kathy Hanley caps 13-year quest with a Commencement of her own

Party like it’s 2020

Class of ’24 gets a do-over on high school prom that pandemic took away

‘I was frustrated, infuriated, because women are just as capable’

Experiences in Uganda and U.S. fuel Ananda Birungi’s passion for empowering others, especially women and girls

When the circus called, she took the leap

Extension School allowed trapeze artist Izzy Patrowicz to pursue big-top dreams alongside bachelor’s degree

Finding new ways to learn

Series of life-threatening medical problems changed Saif Kamal — but not his desire to pursue opportunity, help others do so too

‘You can solve anything’

Priyanka Pillai wants to take on big problems — and has learned how good design can help

Tracing largely forgotten history of major community

Julia Tellides explored shifts, upheavals of Thessaloniki between two wars 

A change of mind, heart, and soul

Choosing Harvard took LyLena Estabine down an uncertain path. The former student co-president has no regrets.

So how do you track spread of disease? By the numbers

Ivan Specht decided to employ his love of math during pandemic, which led to contact-tracing app, papers, future path

Pop star on one continent, college student on another

Model and musician Kazuma Mitchell managed to (mostly) avoid the spotlight while at Harvard

When your meet-cute happens at T.H. Chan

She worked for Pfizer in Turkey; he was neurosurgery resident in Canada. And graduation and wedding are not far off.

No business like show business — except the law

Nicholas Gonzalez was a child star who felt curiously at home in front of a jury box

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Glimpse of next-generation internet

Physicists demo first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston

Finding right mix on campus speech policies

Legal, political scholars discuss balancing personal safety, constitutional rights, academic freedom amid roiling protests, cultural shifts

Good genes are nice, but joy is better

Harvard study, almost 80 years old, has proved that embracing community helps us live longer, and be happier

Professor Kaplow Hiring Summer Research Assistants

Professor Kaplow is looking for Research Assistants; mainly for Antitrust, but also for Tax Theory and Policy, and for Law and Economics.

Please send the following information to Molly Eskridge (HA318A, [email protected] ): (1) a letter indicating your area(s) of interest, relevant background, and amount of time available, (2) a resume, (3) a law school transcript (informal is fine), and (4) undergraduate and other transcripts (informal are fine) that show prior coursework in some detail. NB: for summer work, please include your geographic location; not all locations for remote work are possible due to tax restrictions.

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Electrical Engineering PhD

The Electrical Engineering PhD program studies systems that sense, analyze, and interact with the world. You will learn how this practice is based on fundamental science and mathematics, creating opportunities for both theoretical and experimental research. Electrical engineers invent devices for sensing and actuation, designing physical substrates for computation, creating algorithms for analysis and control, and expanding the theory of information processing. You will get to choose from a wide range of research areas such as circuits and VLSI, computer engineering and architecture, robotics and control, and signal processing.

Electrical engineers at SEAS are pursuing work on integrated circuits for cellular biotechnology, millimeter-scale robots, and the optimization of smart power groups. Examples of projects current and past students have worked on include developing methods to trace methane emissions and improving models for hurricane predictions.

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PhD in Electrical Engineering Degree

Harvard School of Engineering offers a  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)  degree in Engineering Sciences: Electrical Engineering , conferred through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). Prospective students apply through the Harvard Griffin GSAS. In the online application, select  “Engineering and Applied Sciences” as your program choice and select " PhD Engineering Sciences: Electrical Engineering ​."

The Electrical Engineering program does not offer an independent Masters Degree.

Electrical Engineering PhD Career Paths

Graduates of the program have gone on to a range of careers in industry in companies such as Tesla, Microsoft HoloLens, and IBM. Others have positions in academia at the University of Maryland, University of Michigan, and University of Colorado.

Admissions & Academic Requirements

Prospective students apply through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). In the online application, select  “Engineering and Applied Sciences” as your program choice and select "PhD Engineering Sciences: Electrical Engineering​." Please review the  admissions requirements and other information  before applying. Our website also provides  admissions guidance ,   program-specific requirements , and a  PhD program academic timeline .

Academic Background

Applicants typically have bachelor’s degrees in the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, or engineering. In the application for admission, select “Engineering and Applied Sciences” as your degree program choice and your degree and area of interest from the “Area of Study“ drop-down. PhD applicants must complete the Supplemental SEAS Application Form as part of the online application process.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Electrical Engineering Faculty & Research Areas

View a list of our electrical engineering  faculty  and electrical engineering  affiliated research areas , Please note that faculty members listed as “Affiliates" or "Lecturers" cannot serve as the primary research advisor.  

Electrical Engineering Centers & Initiatives

View a list of the research  centers & initiatives  at SEAS and the  electrical engineering faculty engagement with these entities .

Graduate Student Clubs

Graduate student clubs and organizations bring students together to share topics of mutual interest. These clubs often serve as an important adjunct to course work by sponsoring social events and lectures. Graduate student clubs are supported by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin School of Arts and Sciences. Explore the list of active clubs and organizations .

Funding and Scholarship

Learn more about financial support for PhD students.

• How to Apply

Learn more about how to apply  or review frequently asked questions for prospective graduate students.

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