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Info for Prospective Students

Thank you for your interest in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s (HGSE’s) PhD program!  Recognizing that the admissions process can be inequitable based on a number of factors, this page is intended to provide prospective applicants with general – and equal – information about what I (Dana McCoy) look for in a PhD applicant.  In particular, below I provide responses to several questions that I often get from prospective doctoral students. [1]

Where can I get more information about your work / the doctoral admissions process?

For information on my research and team, you are welcome to check out the rest of this website!

For information on HGSE’s admissions process, I recommend the resources provided by the Admissions Office: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/admissions/apply

For broader information on the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school, I would recommend the book A Field Guide to Grad School by Jessica Calarco.

Are you available to discuss my interests/application prior to my acceptance?

For both practical and principled reasons, I don’t meet (in person or on the phone) with prospective students prior to admission, nor do I read draft personal statements or other materials outside the normal admissions process.  On the practical front, I tend to get numerous inquiries a year, and I just can’t make time to respond substantively to prospective applicants while also giving my current students the time and attention they deserve.  On the principled front, I believe strongly in trying to level the playing field for prospective applicants and am concerned that individualized meetings may lead to further inequities.

With this being said, if you are admitted to the PhD program, you can rest assured that I will shower you with attention and answer every possible question you may have.  It is in our collective interest to ensure that the relationship is a good fit, and that you can achieve your goals if you come to Harvard!

Does this mean that I shouldn’t contact other HGSE/non-HGSE faculty, either?

No, it definitely does not!  Norms and protocols regarding admissions vary widely both within and across institutions.  At some schools, individual faculty play an important role in selecting students for admission and, as a result, contacting faculty ahead of submitting your application can be an important means of demonstrating interest and ensuring your full application will be read by someone who could advocate for your selection.  It is therefore probably a good idea to reach out by email to other faculty members with whom you are considering working ahead of submitting your application.  These emails do not have to be complicated.  They can include several sentences that clearly, concisely, and politely communicate your background, key research interests, and the alignment of these interests with the prospective faculty member’s research agenda.  It can also be helpful to include your CV and any additional follow-up questions you might have for that person (e.g., whether they are accepting new students, are available to talk further, etc.).  If you don’t receive a response immediately, you can follow up with a polite reminder.   With all of this being said, you should not take it personally or as a negative sign if you do not hear back from a prospective faculty mentor.

Are you accepting students to work with you this coming year?

Yes, I am always enthusiastic about taking on new doctoral students!  It is important to understand, however, that unlike in some institutions, individual HGSE faculty do not have the authority to admit individual students.  Rather, we accept candidates as an entire faculty (represented by the admissions committee).  This is important for two reasons.  First, we have way more faculty than we have new PhD slots, and my colleagues also generally look forward to taking on new students.  On balance, I am therefore unlikely to get a new doctoral advisee in any particular year.  Second, you should think of the audience for your application as being the whole faculty, not just me (and other prospective advisors).  You do need to excite at least one prospective advisor, as we accept students only if there is one (or more) faculty member who is enthusiastic about taking them on.  But at the same time, you also need to excite the faculty as a whole.  Advisors retire, get ill, move institutions, get pulled into new roles, etc.  When we admit you, we commit ourselves to you as a school, and commit that even if (heaven forfend) your advisor gets hit by a bus, you will still receive the support and training you need to do great work in education. So make sure you really want to be at HGSE, not just working with me, and make sure you can explain to the faculty as a whole, not just to me, what work you want to do, why it’s important, and why you’re well positioned to do it.

What do you look for in a PhD application?

I am happy to provide some details of things that I look for when I read a PhD application, with the caveat that these are my own personal opinions.  Other readers of your application (including members of the HGSE admissions committee, who vary across any given year) may look for other implicit or explicit criteria.  As such, you should take these ideas with a grain of salt!

In my opinion, the personal statement is the most important piece of a doctoral application.  In the personal statement, I look for:

• A clear account of a topic, question, or phenomenon that you want to research . What are you curious, bothered, excited, angry, or fascinated by, and why?  In particular, why is this a question/topic/field/phenomenon that is ripe for research rather than working it out in the field?  Although these research interests should speak to a broader problem space, they should also be concrete and narrow enough to be feasibly addressed with the confines of a (time-limited) doctoral program.  For example, a specific interest in “the effects of community violence on early childhood development in Latin America” may be better received than a more general interest in “human development,” “resilience,” or “violence.” 
• Compelling motivation for why you believe this problem matter s. What makes this problem (or set of problems) come alive for you, and why should it matter to the rest of us? Why does it matter enough to you that you’re willing to sacrifice a half-decade of your life to figuring out (likely only part of) the answer?
• Explanation of how your prior experiences have led you to the point that you are ready for a PhD program . Your personal statement should not rehash your CV in narrative form (e.g., “first I did X, then I did Y, now I want to do Z”), but rather paint a more detailed picture of how your professional and academic experiences have prepared you for this moment in your career.  What did you learn in each of your positions, and how did these experiences lead you to want to address your stated research questions within a doctoral program?
• Evidence that HGSE/I could support you in addressing your identified topic of interest and future goals .  Even the most qualified students are often not admitted to PhD programs in which the admissions committee does not see a good “fit.”  What makes you a good match for HGSE’s PhD program, specifically?  How do you see the faculty at HGSE (and me, in particular) supporting you in achieving your conceptual, methodological, and professional goals?  
• Good writing . Is your statement organized, clear, and engaging? Does it make efficient use of the short amount of space we give you?  Does it demonstrate that you will be able to write good papers?  Does your writing demonstrate that you can think, and that you have something interesting to say that you can convey cogently to others?

In your personal statement, you do not need to:

• include statements about how wonderful HGSE is, or about the eminence of a particular faculty member, or what a privilege it would be to study here.  (In fact, please save yourself space and delete all such commentary.)  
• cite a bunch of literature, although you are welcome to if it adds to your argument.
• share personal anecdotes or vignettes that are not directly relevant to the work you want to do.  
• convince me that you want to be exactly like me in every way.  I love my research, but am more interested in supporting students whose work is authentic and true to their own passions!

Beyond the personal statement, I personally also look for prospective students who show:

• An inclination toward quantitative methods .  Please note that this does not mean you have to be an advanced statistician in order to successfully apply!  Rather, I want to know that you are curious and motivated to learn more about a diverse set of quantitative approaches, including those that support measurement validation, causal inference, etc.  This interest can be demonstrated through prior coursework, applied quantitative work (e.g., as a research assistant), and/or explicit statements of interest in your personal essay.
• Demonstrated research experience .  A PhD is, first and foremost, a research degree.  Again, the important thing here is not that you are already a fully trained researcher (this is what HGSE is for!), but rather that you have enough experience working in a research setting that you know that this type of environment is a good fit for your long-term career goals.  In my view, the best preparation for this type of work is several years of full-time research assistant experience prior to enrolling in a doctoral program. Some successful students do come straight from undergrad or via a master’s program, but my belief is that it is important to have had some meaningful exposure to the research process (e.g., through a part-time position, undergraduate/master’s thesis, monitoring and evaluation experience) prior to enrolling.

How and when will you read my application?

The PhD in Education Doctoral Admissions Committee will forward to me applications that are relevant to my areas of expertise.  You therefore do not need to send me your application separately or do anything special to draw my attention to your work.  If you are a good candidate for the program and our interests overlap in some way, then you can be reassured that I will review your application with care and attention in the normal course of the admissions process.

Can you provide me with feedback if my application is unsuccessful?

Unfortunately, providing this sort of feedback is typically not possible.  It is important to understand that the admissions committee and each individual faculty member at HGSE are always enthusiastic about more candidates than we are able to admit.  Often decisions have little to do with personal aptitude, and more to do with whether the prospective candidate is a good match with the needs of the school/faculty in any given year.  Please do not castigate yourself, therefore, if your application is unsuccessful.

[1] Many of these responses have been borrowed directly or adapted from a document written by HGSE Professor Meira Levenson.  Thank you, Meira!

Ed.M. and Ed.L.D. Application & Requirements

General requirements.

You must submit all of your required documents online, including your academic transcripts and letters of recommendation, by the application deadline. A complete application to Ed.M. or Ed.L.D. consists of the following:

Of note: Applications are currently closed.

Statement of Purpose

Your statement should be your own original work and may not be written, in part or in whole, by a third party. It should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 1,500 words. International applicants must write their statement in English; the use of translators is not permitted. The admissions committee will carefully consider both the content and the writing in its assessment of your candidacy for graduate study at HGSE. 

Tips and FAQs about your statement of purpose .

Résumé or C.V.

The length and format of your résumé or C.V. is up to your discretion.

Three Letters of Recommendation

Applicants are required to submit three recommendations using the online application system. We are unable to facilitate changing recommenders once you have entered them in the Recommendations section of your application. Please think carefully and thoughtfully about who you would like to serve as your recommenders before adding them to your application.

You cannot be involved in any way in the drafting or writing of your recommendation letter nor can you help your recommender submit your own letter. The HGSE Admissions Office may follow up with recommenders as needed for additional information.

Letters of recommendation FAQs .

Standardized Tests

The GRE test is optional for Ed.M. and Ed.L.D. applicants.

GRE and GMAT scores are valid and reportable within a five-year period from the original test date. The test must have been taken on or after January 1, 2019, if you are applying for enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year. If your scores are no longer reportable/expired, you will need to submit new GRE or GMAT test results.

TOEFL or IELTS

Applicants whose native language is not English and whose bachelor's degree is not from a college or university where English is the sole language of instruction are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS exam. You are exempt from this requirement if you have earned a bachelor's degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction. Additionally, you must have completed at least 3 years of full-time enrollment at the institution, otherwise, TOEFL/IELTS scores are required.

Tests must have been taken on or after January 1, 2022, if you are applying for enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Transcripts

You are required to upload transcripts from each postsecondary institution that you have attended showing all undergraduate and graduate work (including non-degree classes) in the Academics section of the application.

At this stage of the application process, you may upload unofficial or student copies. All transcripts should show courses completed, grades received, duration of study, and degree or diploma received, if applicable.

Please keep in mind that you will need to provide official transcripts (and translations, if applicable) for verification, should you be admitted. HGSE reserves the right to withdraw an admissions offer if there is a discrepancy between the uploaded version and the official original transcript and/or the official translation.

Application Fee

You must submit your $85 application fee when applying to an Ed.M. program or Ed.L.D. using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. The application fee is nonrefundable. 

Fee Waivers

Written fee waiver requests will be considered if they are accompanied by documentation of need. Fee waivers are subject to approval by the Admissions Office. The fee waiver request form is located within the online application. 

Program Specific and Licensure Requirements

These requirements include specific requirements for all Ed.M. applicants, the Ed.L.D program, the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) Licensure Strand, the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) School Leadership Pathway and Principal Licensure, and the Human Development and Education (HDE) School Counseling Strand.

All Ed.M. applications are required to respond to the following prompt (250 words):

Short Essay prompt (750 words)

Describe a strategy from outside your organization — or even the education sector — that could radically improve the American PreK-12 education system and explain why you think this strategy would have a strong impact. 

Once all applications have been reviewed, HGSE will invite selected Ed.L.D. applicants for required virtual interviews (both individual and group) with members of the admissions committee. These virtual interviews will take place in February.

Ed.M. Referral

It is not possible to submit multiple HGSE applications for the same academic year. Ed.L.D. applicants who wish to be considered for admission to an Ed.M. program, should they not be admitted to the program to which they applied, must indicate their interest in an Ed.M. referral on their online application. They will be required to select a specific Ed.M. program (and strand, if applicable) and provide a statement regarding their referral interest.

ELOE School Leadership Pathway & Principal Licensure

In the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship Program, some students seek, but are not required, to pursue the School Leadership Pathway or Principal Licensure. Applicants interested in the School Leadership Pathway must submit an employment verification form on school letterhead verifying your employment . This form should include the school(s) where you were employed as a full-time teacher for at least one year under your teaching license, if applicable, and include the dates of employment.

Principal Licensure only

• A photocopy of your teaching license if you have a teaching license (can be expired).
• Teaching experience must be in the state in which you hold the license. (If you are not currently working as a teacher, you will still need to complete the form confirming your teaching experience.)
• To assist you, we will provide a template of the form that both HGSE and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will accept to document experience. Both the copy of your teaching license and your employment verification form should be uploaded in the Additional Materials section of the online application.

HDE School Counseling Strand

Counseling licensure applicants are required to respond to the following prompt with a short essay (500 words):

Describe your interest in counseling, as well as your general preparedness to pursue this curricular pathway.

TTL Licensure Strand

Application Deadline: November 1, 2023 

The application includes a template for you to list all post-secondary courses you have taken relevant to your intended subject area and AP credits you have earned that address each particular topic. You should also list any courses that you have taken/are taking during the fall of 2023 or intend to take in the spring of 2024.

The licensure subject areas are:

• General Science 
• Mathematics

Reapplication Requirements

The Harvard Graduate School of Education will accept a maximum of three applications from one individual over their lifetime.

If your most recent application submission was for or prior to the 2020-2021 academic year, you are required to submit all new application materials. 

You are eligible to reapply for the 2024-2025 academic year without resubmitting all supporting documents if one or both of your previous applications were for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and/or 2023-2024 academic years. In these cases, the requirements are as follows:

Statement of Purpose and Resume

You must submit both an updated statement of purpose and resume.

Letters of Recommendation 

You must submit at least one new letter of recommendation. This can be updated from a previous recommender or a new letter from a new recommender. (You may submit all new letters up to a maximum of three letters.)

Short Essay Question (Ed.L.D. Reapplicants Only)

Test scores (if expired).

For Ed.M. and Ed.L.D. reapplicants who choose to submit GRE scores, the test must have been taken on or after January 1, 2019, if you are applying for enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Updated Transcripts (if applicable)

Unofficial transcripts do not need to be resubmitted during the application process unless new courses were taken or a new degree program was completed. 

You must submit your $85 application fee when applying to an Ed.M. program. or Ed.L.D. using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. The application fee is nonrefundable.

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Whether you’ve just finished your undergraduate degree or you want to pivot your career, grad school may be the next logical step in your educational and professional development.

But how do you apply to graduate school so you have the best chance at receiving that coveted acceptance letter? Read on to learn how to submit the perfect graduate school application to impress admissions officers. For information on due dates and a printable timeline, check out our  grad school application checklist .

How Grad Schools Evaluate Your Application

The exact criteria for  graduate school admissions  vary depending on the school and program. Still, there are certain qualifications, including GPA and grades from specific undergraduate courses, that all admissions officers consider. Most graduate programs look for a minimum 3.0 GPA.

A Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of at least 318 is considered strong and can help your application. A professional resume with work experience related to your program is often helpful or required. Programs typically ask for letters of recommendation and a  graduate school admissions essay  as well.

Are You a Good Fit for the Program?

Whichever program you apply for, you must first make sure it’s a good match. Consider the following questions before submitting your application:

• Do you love the field of study the program you’re applying to focuses on?
• Do you have an undergraduate degree or work experience in an area related to your graduate school program of choice?
• Will earning this degree help you advance your career or earning potential?
• Do you have the resources to pay for graduate school, either through your own funds or through loans, grants and scholarships? For more information about this, see our guide on  how to pay for graduate school .

Taking time to reflect on these questions can help you decide whether graduate school is right for you. You can also reach out to professors, students and alumni to get a better feel for your prospective program. You might even schedule a tour of the campus before applying.

Do You Have Relevant Internship or Research Experience?

Internships and relevant work experience may not make or break your graduate school application, but they can help set your application apart from the rest. Once you’re in a graduate program, you may be required to complete an internship or research work to graduate.

What Does Your Statement of Purpose Demonstrate?

A statement of purpose or personal statement tells admissions committees more about you. This essay should touch on your interests, especially as they relate to the graduate school program. The statement of purpose should also describe what you can bring to the program and why you want to be a part of it.

What Do Your Letters of Recommendation Demonstrate?

Letters of recommendation are important for graduate school because they show that credible academics and professionals think highly of you and believe you would be a good asset to the program you’re applying to.

An effective letter of recommendation is written by someone who knows you well academically or professionally, such as a professor, mentor or work supervisor. It should include titles of relevant research articles you’ve written, academic awards and honors and relevant academic activities like projects, presentations or research studies.

What Do Your Undergraduate Transcripts Show?

Simply put, official undergraduate transcripts verify that you attended the school you said you did and maintained a GPA that’s consistent with the program’s requirements. Undergraduate transcripts also allow admissions officers to see whether you took courses relevant to your prospective course of study.

How Are Your GRE Scores?

Most graduate school programs require students to take the GRE as part of the application process. An overall score of 318 or higher is considered a good score, so you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to study and retake the test if needed before your grad school application is due.

Is Your Prior Academic Experience Relevant?

While you don’t always need an undergraduate degree in the same field as the graduate program you’re applying to, admissions officers typically consider relevant undergraduate coursework, research projects and work experience when reviewing applications.

Statement of Purpose Tips

Your statement of purpose gives you the chance to show some individuality and let your personality shine through. You should aim to leave a memorable impression and craft a well-written, concise statement of purpose to boost your application. See our tips below for writing a statement of purpose.

Follow the Prompt Carefully

Be sure to answer all of the questions in the prompt to give admissions officers all the information they need. Additionally, make sure to follow any guidelines for things like style, font and file format. While these factors may seem small, incorrect formatting can lead to your application being disqualified.

Get Personal

This is your chance to tell your story. Write a statement of purpose that only you could write. Does your passion for medicine date back to an injury or illness you had as a child? Did you grow up watching Law & Order and feel inspired? These details remind graduate admission committees that you are a well rounded person with much to offer.

Discuss Your Goals

Aside from how your own personal and career goals relate to the program, you should also touch on how you can contribute to your school or program of choice. Do you plan on collaborating with colleagues or contributing to your institution’s research goals? Make this known in your statement of purpose.

Know Your Audience

What is the culture of the school or program you’re applying to? What does the institution value? Spend some time on its website and social media accounts to find out. You can even reach out to current students and alumni to get a better idea so you can tailor your statement of purpose accordingly.

Proofread and Revise as Needed

Don’t just write your first draft and send it off. After writing it, take some time to sleep on it, then come back and read and revise with fresh eyes. You should also have someone like a professor or tutor read your statement of purpose and provide feedback.

Interview Tips

The interview is a big part of the graduate school application process if your program requires one. Make sure to come ready and prepared.

Do Your Research

Read up on the university and program you’re applying to so you can sound knowledgeable and interested during the interview. Answer questions such as, how big is the program or school? What have its graduates gone on to do? What are the program requirements?

You can also read up on any academic articles or research professors in your program have created.

Prepare Questions for Your Interviewer

Remember, this isn’t just about the school interviewing you. You’re also interviewing the program to determine if it’s a good fit for you. What career and network opportunities are available to students and alumni? What about grants and scholarships? Will you be paired with a mentor or an advisor?

Practice With Mock Interviews

Practice makes perfect. Look into common graduate school interview questions, and practice with a professor, classmate or friend. You can even practice solo using these  20 Graduate School Interview Questions .

Bring a Professional Portfolio

Depending on the nature of your work, it may be helpful to bring in a professional portfolio, such as if your speciality is print graphic design. Other subject areas like writing or research lend themselves to online portfolios, which you can send to your interviewers ahead of the scheduled interview.

What Does a Grad School Application Look Like?

In addition to your transcripts, test scores, statement of purpose and portfolio, your graduate school application will require some basic background information about you.

Biographical Information

• Full legal name
• Any previous legal names used
• Age and date of birth
• Social Security number

Ethnicity Information

Ethnicity information about applicants and current students is used by the university to see if it is meeting diversity quotas and to share with stakeholders. You may select one particular ethnicity, or choose options like “other,” “multiracial” or “decline to state.”

Military Status

Scholarships, grants and special services can be available to active-duty and reserve military service members and veterans.

Contact Information

• Current mailing address
• Current phone number
• Current email

Program Selection

• The program you’re applying to
• Any speciality or concentrations available as part of your program

Academic Interests

• Specialities in your program that you want to focus on
• Research topics or projects you want to pursue

History of Education

• Undergraduate degree and major
• Academic achievements and awards

Standardized Test Information

• *GRE scores (Check with your program as some may no longer require or accept GRE scores )
• Scores from any other required tests

Financial Aid

Deadlines for financial aid often coincide with deadlines for admissions. Make sure to submit the FAFSA to ensure you qualify for as many financial aid resources as possible. Visit the  Federal Student Aid  website for more information, and check out our guide on  how the FAFSA differs for graduate school .

Previous Employment

• Relevant work history related to your program
• Internship or research experience related to your program

Do you speak the primary language spoken in the area where your campus is located? Do you speak more than one language? These are things admissions officers will want to know.

Supplemental Information

• Certifications or special licenses or training
• Special Awards

Reference Information

• Contact information, like phone numbers and emails, for professors, mentors and work supervisors who are willing to provide a reference

Upload Documents

When submitting your online application, make sure to upload all required documents so your application will not be disqualified.

Application Fee

• Graduate school application fees can range from around $60 to more than $100. You must pay this fee before you can submit your application.

Confirm and Submit Form

• Finally, make sure to confirm that all your information is correct and all necessary documents are uploaded before you submit your application.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com on Feb. 3. 2023. Author is Ryah Cooley Cole, and Editor is Brenna Swanston.

PhD Program Requirements

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PhD in Public Policy

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As an exceptional scholar, you want an exceptional graduate program.

The PhD in Public Policy (PPOL) program provides the advanced graduate training you need to successfully launch yourself into a research or related position in academia, government, a nongovernmental organization, or the private sector. 

You will get the training you need to conduct analytical research, help shape and execute policy, and teach the next generation of educators, researchers, and practitioners. The program encourages scholarly research that empowers public policy practitioners like you to make informed decisions and be leaders in their fields. 

Finding firm grounding for research in environmental economics

PPOL PhD alumnus Todd Gerarden’s fascination with bike mechanics mingled with his love of cycling and the outdoors; what emerged was a budding interest in energy and environmental policy. An undergraduate professor suggested he read  Economics of the Environment,  a collection of selected readings edited by HKS professor  Robert N. Stavins . That suggestion changed the course of his career.

Todd Gerarden PPOL PhD 2018

The complete phd.

The PPOL admits students to one of four tracks: Economics ; Judgment and Decision Making ; Politics and Institutions ; and Science, Technology and Policy Studies .    

PPOL graduates enter the workplace prepared to teach, carry out research, and make a profound impact in academia, while for others the degree leads to productive careers in think tanks, multinational organizations, NGOs, or the private sector.

"I've joined two research labs at HKS: Jennifer Lerner's and Julia Minson's. The brainstorming, feedback, and mutual pursuit of important research that comes from working in the labs is truly fulfilling."

Brad dewees ppol phd 2019, doctoral program admissions, funding your doctoral education.

Women in Education Leadership

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Strengthen your leadership practices in a supportive community of HGSE faculty and peers.

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AASA members are eligible for an exclusive membership discount on this program. Please visit AASA's website for details.

For most leaders, the past few years have demanded more innovation, endurance, and creativity than at any time in recent history. This period of change, activated by a global pandemic and social justice movements, has called for rapid redeployment of resources while positioning and maintaining equity as a priority. For women, the circumstances have generated new opportunities to demonstrate their leadership talent and also presented new challenges, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities related to gender.

Women in Education Leadership is a forum for you to celebrate your strengths, analyze your challenges, and focus on the skills you need now to engage multiple constituencies in the work of improving learning opportunities for students. This program empowers women to lead through adversity, and it provides a unique opportunity for growth and renewal among diverse groups of women.

An outstanding opportunity to connect with like minds in the field; it's a gift of time and growth for yourself, allow yourself this gift! I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and like I've had a month at the spa after this learning! It's self-care and growth all wrapped up and tied with a bow. Allison Roberts, Principal, Rochester Community Schools

Program Details

Women in Educational Leadership brings educators from around the world together on the HGSE campus. In advance of the residential program, you will work independently to complete activities, which might include listening to podcasts, watching short videos, and reading articles or case studies. On campus, you will participate in interactive sessions with faculty and, with their guidance, apply analytical frameworks to your context. You will also work in small groups for application, reflection, and peer coaching activities. You will address dilemmas common to all leaders and also those that are unique to women.

Learning Goals

• Learn strategies for prioritizing your equity agenda, especially in tumultuous times.
• Explore ways to build and sustain collaborative relationships with your team and other stakeholders.
• Gain essential negotiation skills to ensure your resource needs are met to be effective in your leadership role.
• Understand the nature of your professional challenges; understand how biases related to gender and race are at play and explore ways to respond.
• Create a lasting network of women leaders across the sector who are affecting change in education.

Faculty Chair

Deborah Jewell-Sherman

Featured speakers, vernetta walker.

Darienne Driver Hudson

Kathleen McCartney

Barbara Best

Monica C. Higgins

Jennie Weiner

Josephine M. Kim

Gillien Sarah Todd

Who Should Attend

Senior leaders across K-12 and higher education, including:

• Superintendents, assistant superintendents, chief academic officers, and principals
• Chief state school officers and state-level leaders
• CEOs of nonprofit organizations and foundations
• Program directors, department chairs, and other administrative leaders in higher education  

How to Apply

This program welcomes applications from both individuals and teams. First-time applicants need to create a Professional Education account to apply.

Individuals: Click the "Apply" button at the top of this page to log into your Professional Education account and access the application page. Proceed with the individual form until submission.

Step 1: Designate one participant or an administrative staff member as the Coordinator .

• The Coordinator should click the "Apply" button at the top of this page to log into their Professional Education account and access the application page.
• Proceed with the team form, including providing the name, email address, and job title of each participant in your team. 
• The Coordinator can choose to receive a team invoice.
• Contact us if you need to make any changes to your team after submitting the form.

Step 2: Upon the submission of the team application, all team members will receive an email notification with a link to their personal application form. Team members should complete their forms promptly. Once all team members submit their forms, the application is considered complete and ready for review by the Admissions Committee.

Invoices: Invoices will only be available upon your acceptance.

Considering this program?

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Moral Leadership in a Troubled Time: Lessons From the Life of John Rabe

Developing myself: a cael module, mental health in schools: building systems of care.

• Jun 11, 2024 - Jun 14, 2024 Price: $2,995.00

Harvard Seminar for New Presidents

Additional Resources

• Request More Information

Gain the support of expert faculty and a community of extraordinary peers throughout your first year in your new role as a college/university president.

Upcoming Sessions

• Jul 19, 2024 - Jul 24, 2024 Application Deadline: Jun 7, 2024 Tuition: $9,900.00

College and university presidents and chancellors are expected to be productive, articulate, and responsive leaders from the moment they assume office. With an array of external and institutional challenges to address, new presidents do not have the luxury of learning on the job.

The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents provides a practical orientation to the presidency, familiarizing new presidents with the opportunities and hazards they will likely face and preparing them to respond to the multiple responsibilities that await in their new roles.

"The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents was invaluable to me as I navigated the first year of my presidency. I received practical advice during the program that I have often cited to my trustees and senior staff. But what was most valuable is the other presidents with whom I continue to speak, meet, and ask advice of, long after the seminar ended. The network, the advice, and the comradery were simply priceless." Joanne Berger-Sweeney, President, Trinity College

Program Details

This seminar focuses on critical issues in the first months and years of the presidency, with intensive sessions that address a range of topics critical to the current context of higher education, including board governance, fundraising, academic leadership, strategic planning, and the public role of the presidency.

Harvard Seminar for New Presidents is hosted on the HGSE campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This learning experience will include faculty-led sessions, discussion groups with your cohort, and, most importantly, connections with an extraordinary peer group of colleagues from across the country. You will have ample time to reflect and consult with experts about your particular concerns and circumstances.

*Please note that there will be faculty sessions on both Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21. We will provide and enjoy all meals together throughout the program, except for dinner on Sunday, July 21, when you will have a free night to enjoy.

Learning Goals

• Explore the president’s multiple roles: chief executive officer, senior personnel officer, and academic leader.
• Understand the relationship between the president and board of trustees.
• Examine the components of the fundraising process.
• Explore the importance of the culture and traditions of an institution.
• Consider how to enhance the effectiveness of your senior team.
• Consider the opportunity and challenges of social media in the president’s communications.
• Reflect on the role of the president in strategy development.

Faculty Chair

Judith Block McLaughlin

Judith Block McLaughlin’s work focuses on leadership and governance in higher education.

Who Should Attend

• First-time college and university presidents and chancellors, ranging from those who have been appointed but not yet assumed office to those within the first 12 months of their presidencies
• Presidents from all sectors of higher education — colleges, universities, and community colleges

The tuition covers all instructional materials, a daily continental breakfast and lunch, and beverages and light refreshments during our scheduled breaks between sessions.

Travel, lodging expenses, and most dinners are not included in this fee. We have blocked a limited number of rooms in select hotels in the Cambridge/Boston area. The daily rates for these hotels typically range from $250 to $375 per room, plus applicable taxes. Once your applicants are accepted into the program, they will receive detailed information about these hotel options.

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After a Year of Turmoil, Harvard’s Applications Drop

With the exception of Brown University, some other highly selective schools saw a record rise in the number of students who applied for admission.

By Anemona Hartocollis and Stephanie Saul

Applications to Harvard College were down this year, even as many other highly selective schools hit record highs.

The drop suggests that a year of turmoil — which went into overdrive with a student letter that said Israel was “entirely responsible” for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks — may have dented Harvard’s reputation and deterred some students from applying.

Harvard’s announcement on Thursday evening came as all eight Ivy League schools sent out their notices of admission or rejection, known as Ivy Day.

While Brown University also saw a drop in applications, applications rose at many other elite colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Columbia, M.I.T., Bowdoin, Amherst and the University of Virginia.

Harvard focused on the positive.

“Beyond another strong applicant pool, we are delighted by the stunning array of talents and lived experiences the class of 2028 will bring with them from throughout the United States and around the world,” William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a statement.

College counselors and admissions experts said that it was difficult to pin down the factors behind the decline in Harvard’s numbers, but that the scrutiny has been intense and, by some accounts, the reputational damage severe. It began with a historic Supreme Court decision on June 29, striking down decades of affirmative action policy at Harvard that had become a model for higher education across the country. It culminated in the resignation on Jan. 2 of Claudine Gay, who was not just Harvard’s president, but its first Black president. At that point, she faced accusations of plagiarism in her scholarly work, which she stood by, on top of complaints about her evasive testimony on antisemitism in December before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The effect on Harvard was so striking that a cartoon in The New York Daily News by Bill Bramhall showed a girl telling her parents, “Darn. I got into Harvard.”

A private college admissions coach, Hafeez Lakhani, said that the anxiety over campus climate was particularly acute in the fall. “Students were terrified about the doxxing trucks, the C.E.O.s calling for protester names, students losing job offers for speaking up about Israel-Palestine,” he said. “I think that drove some applicants to less-spotlight schools.”

Another coach, Deb Felix, said she had referred her concerned clients to a Facebook group Mothers Against College Antisemitism , which has gained 55,700 members since it was formed in late October, as a resource on campus climate.

But some families, even Orthodox Jewish families, were not deterred by the bad publicity.

“Getting accepted to Harvard is still getting accepted to Harvard,” said Rivka Scheinfeld, whose daughter, Tamar, a student at YULA High School, a Jewish day school in Los Angeles, was accepted early. Tamar said she applied after Oct. 7, and thought she could be a voice against antisemitism. “I want to go, I want to advocate for something that I know is right,” she said.

Many schools have been shaken by protests over the war in Gaza, as well as by complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia over the last few months. Brown saw its share of campus conflict over the war, with dozens of students arrested for trespassing following two sit-ins on campus.

But the University of Pennsylvania saw record applications — 65,230 — a nearly 10 percent rise from the year before, despite criticism of its then-president, M. Elizabeth Magill, for her legalistic testimony on antisemitism in the House hearing.

One significant difference between Harvard and Penn: Ms. Magill resigned swiftly — on Dec. 9, four days after her testimony. Dr. Gay, who testified the same day, lingered on until Jan. 2, as accusations of plagiarism against her mounted on top of the complaints that she had not taken a strong enough stance against antisemitism.

Overall, Harvard received 54,008 undergraduate applications in this admissions cycle, compared with 56,937 last year, a drop of about 5 percent. That continues a trend that began with early applications, which were down 17 percent this cycle. Regular applications were down by almost 3 percent, to 46,087 from 47,384.

The college offered admission to 1,937 students for the class of 2028. Harvard said that despite the year-to-year decline in numbers, this was the fourth year in a row that the college had received more than 50,000 applications.

Application numbers have been high since the start of the pandemic, after Harvard and other schools dropped their requirements for standardized test scores. Mr. Lakhani, the college consultant, said that the boost was fading as more students realized that they still needed to submit test scores to stay competitive.

But at M.I.T., which reinstated testing requirements, applications were up by almost 5 percent. Its president, Sally Kornbluth, survived the congressional grilling that helped topple Dr. Gay and Ms. Magill.

Among the Ivies, applications to Brown were down by almost 5 percent from last year, still the third-largest applicant pool it has ever had. Brian Clark, a Brown spokesman, said that some students were put off by a longer application with more essay questions.

Yale and Dartmouth said they had received a record number of applications, both up by 10 percent from last year. At Columbia, which also was in the news because of student protests, applications rose by about 5 percent. Cornell and Princeton said they had made a policy decision not to release the number of applicants or the admission rates.

Applications also rose at the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, which was a defendant in the landmark Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.

Because of the Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions, colleges have said they will not be releasing the racial or ethnic breakdown of their applicants or admitted students until the summer or fall, after the waiting lists have been exhausted.

But it appeared that colleges were using other methods to enhance the diversity of their incoming classes, such as the recruitment of poor and rural students and students who would be the first generation in their families to go to college.

Harvard said that first-generation students made up about 20 percent of the class and that students eligible for federal Pell grants, a measure of poverty, made up almost 21 percent. Other colleges declined to release the poverty figures, saying the numbers were uncertain because of problems with the federal student aid application.

Anemona Hartocollis is a national reporter for The Times, covering higher education. More about Anemona Hartocollis

Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. More about Stephanie Saul

Can School Counselors Help Students with "FAFSA Fiasco"?

• Posted April 1, 2024
• By Elizabeth M. Ross
• College Access and Success
• Education Finances
• Education Policy
• Inequality and Education Gaps

Doreen Kelly-Carney, Ed.M.’93, fondly describes the school that she helped start 27 years ago as “The Little Engine That Could.” Tuition is free at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (APR) in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, and students apply through a lottery system. The majority of its learners are students of color, and many come from immigrant families. APR prides itself on offering students intensive and personalized help in every aspect of the college search, application, and financial aid process, beginning in ninth grade. It’s a level of support that resembles what you would find at a wealthy independent school. Seventy percent of its alumni go on to graduate from colleges and universities, some of whose prestigious insignia grace the school’s website .

APR is not a place where the co-directors of college placement, Kelly-Carney and Diane Scott, Ed.M.’97, typically struggle to get their students across the federal aid application finish line, but this year has been different. Why?

The pain points

The rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, used to determine a student’s eligibility for grants, scholarships, federal work study funds, and loans, has faced delays, mathematical errors, and technical difficulties that have put even the most seasoned and well-resourced school counselors, like Kelly-Carney and Scott, to the test this year. 

The glitchy December 30 debut versus the traditional October 1 start for the FAFSA “pushed everything back for us,” explains master's student Daniel Gutierrez, a college counseling intern at APR. Gutierrez and the college placement team found themselves doing a lot of financial aid work in January, at the same time as regular decision college application deadlines, which created “a double burden on students trying to get their college essays finished … and being worried about the FAFSA,” he says. 

At APR’s annual FAFSA assistance night for students and parents this year, gone was the usual air of calm and quiet confidence conveyed by the college counseling team. “That night was pretty chaotic,” admits Scott who has worked at the school since 2002, because the new process has been “so problematic.”

Around 30 percent fewer high school students have submitted the FAFSA compared with last year, as of March 22, according to the National College Attainment Network .

Challenges for first-generation and low-income students

Gutierrez says he encountered “totally weird” and unexpected issues when trying to help students and parents set up their FSA IDs — the first step in the new and supposedly simpler financial aid application process this year. Concerns included disappearing electronic signatures and cell phone numbers that showed up in the financial aid system as still belonging to their previous owners rather than APR students and families.  

Separate usernames and passwords for parents and students to complete their individual sections of the new FAFSA form have made the process “much more difficult from a counselor perspective,” says Scott, especially when trying to assist immigrant and low-income families who work multiple jobs and have limited English proficiency and time.

The new FAFSA form’s ability to draw on federal tax data from the IRS — meant to make the transfer of tax information easier — has led to additional layers of security and challenges, too. For example, when Kelly-Carney tried to help a student and her mom by setting up a phone call in her office with a federal student aid helper, she says they were left on hold for almost an hour. When they finally got through, Kelly-Carney says she was asked to take the call off speakerphone so the representative could speak privately with the parent, but the mother struggled to understand the questions she was being asked.

Hiring more counselors 

This year’s unique challenges and obstacles underscore how crucial counselors can be in helping students and families access financial aid. In fact, research shows that when schools hire more school counselors, students receive significantly more aid dollars. However, while the American School Counselor Association recommends a 250-to-1 ratio of students to school counselors, the ratios differ greatly from state to state and the national average is 385-to-1. APR has a senior class of just 61 students.

“You can’t get the results everybody wants with a [traditional] guidance counselor at a school with a big caseload, having to do course scheduling and social emotional counseling, lunch duty, college counseling, alternative pathways, because we know how many hours it takes per kid,” explains Kelly-Carney who once worked as an admissions officer at Harvard College and excels, with her colleagues, in helping talented students get into some of the most highly selective schools in the country including ones that meet full demonstrated financial need.

Preparing for "summer melt"

Some colleges and universities have extended their enrollment deadlines beyond May 1 this year to give prospective students more time to consider delayed financial aid packages. Kelly-Carney and Scott welcome the move but they also worry about unintended consequences, such as an adverse impact on summer melt — when college-bound students fail to turn up in the fall because they have been overwhelmed by the many administrative tasks they have to complete to get there. While the counselors hope to apply for extra funding so they can hire Gutierrez to work this summer to support APR students, they are concerned about the implications of enrollment delays nationally.

In the best of years there are “so many talented, talented students in our country that are totally falling through the cracks because they don’t have the knowledge and the support” they need to steer themselves successfully through the college and financial aid application process, explains Scott. This year has already been so much harder.  

Parts 1 and 2 of our FAFSA series:

Tips for navigating financial aid, getting to college: fafsa challenges for first-gen students.

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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The first in our series on how students, families, and colleges can find their way through the government’s “FAFSA Fiasco”

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In Year of Crisis, Harvard Admissions Has Resilient Showing

Harvard emerged mostly unscathed from its first application cycle since the fall of affirmative action, silencing critics who speculated the University’s recent controversies would deter students from applying to the College.

Instead, the College received 54,008 applications for the Class of 2028, marking the fourth year in a row more than 50,000 prospective students applied for admission. While the total for the Class of 2028 was a 5.14 percent decrease from the year before, the figures are in line with past trends.

After applications to Harvard peaked with the Class of 2026 , the number of students applying to the College has declined steadily. The Class of 2027 witnessed a drop in applications of approximately 7 percent from the previous year.

When the College reported in December a 17 percent decline in early applications, people who criticized Harvard’s handling of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel quickly claimed that the drop was related to the University’s ongoing controversies — despite Claudine Gay’s controversial congressional testimony taking place over a month after the early action application deadline.

Harvard donor Bill A. Ackman ’88 — a billionaire investor and vocal critic of former President Claudine Gay — wrote on X in December that “it takes 400 years to build a reputation and only a few months to destroy it.”

But five hours after Harvard announced its decisions for the regular admission cycle, Ackman’s X account was dormant and the University’s critics were generally silent about the admissions data.

While Harvard generally had a strong showing on Thursday, it did still experience an uptick in its admission rate while a number of peer institutions like Yale and Dartmouth reported record-low admission rates.

“You never know from one year to another why applications, precisely why applications go up or why they go down,” William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, Harvard’s dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a Thursday interview. “It’s meaningful to look over a three to five year period. And that’s what you should pay attention to.”

Still, the fact that many peer schools witnessed increases in applications while Harvard’s continued to fall indicated that the events of last semester could have had a small impact on the number of applicants. Is it also not yet clear that the Supreme Court’s ruling on race-conscious admission practices had an impact on applications to Harvard.

In an interview with The Crimson earlier this week, Dan Lee, founder of Solomon Admissions Counseling, explained interest in Harvard has remained high throughout the admissions cycle.

“We actually have not gotten a lot of questions regarding affirmative action. I think most clients still understand that it’s a very competitive landscape,” Lee said.

“In terms of interest in Harvard, it’s always been high so I don't think that’s really changed this year,” he added.

The socioeconomic data for the Class of 2028 also eased concerns regarding the demographic makeup of Harvard’s incoming class. Just less than 21 percent of accepted students are Pell Grant-eligible, a number consistent with figures provided by the College for recently accepted classes.

The stable representation of students eligible for Pell Grants may indicate that Harvard was successful at recruiting and admitting low-income students — who disproportionately represent minority racial and ethnic groups — as a means of fostering a diverse class without the use of race-conscious admissions practices.

In a bid to expand its recruitment of rural students – many of whom tend to be low-income and come from communities with lower rates of college enrollment – Harvard also joined the Small Town Outreach, Recruitment, and Yield consortium. STORY is a group of colleges and universities that work to expand their recruitment efforts towards students from rural areas.

Harvard’s joining of STORY may indicate the shifting priorities of the admissions office in the wake of the University’s loss at the Supreme Court. Now that Harvard can no longer make use of race-conscious admissions practices, it is increasingly shifting its focus toward the recruitment of low-income students.

Whether that effort has ultimately succeeded, however, will remain unknown for several more weeks. Harvard will only release data on the racial composition of its admitted class later into the summer .

For legal reasons, the College said it must wait at least until after the May 1 deadline for students admitted to the Class of 2028 to accept or reject their offers, in order to comply with the requirement that Harvard does not look at race data in its admissions process.

The results of that demographic release will provide the most insight into whether Harvard will be able to successfully maintain the racial diversity of its accepted classes without the explicit consideration of race.

But Harvard might find itself in a lose-lose scenario no matter what the data shows about the Class of 2028’s racial and ethnic composition.

Should the proportion of underrepresented minority groups within the Class of 2028 drop substantially compared to results from past years — an outcome that some experts have predicted — it would indicate that the University is complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Models produced by experts hired by Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, the anti-affirmative action group that sued the University, show that such drops would have been likely in past classes had Harvard admitted them without the consideration of race.

The result would also serve as a failing grade for the University’s new recruitment practices, showing that even efforts to bring in low-income applicants could not supplement the affirmative action policies of the past.

But if the University’s demographic release indicates that the Class of 2028’s racial composition remains consistent with past admitted classes, it would signal a victory for Harvard’s recruitment and admissions reforms following the Supreme Court decision.

It would also, however, invite heightened scrutiny from groups opposed to affirmative action, including Students for Fair Admissions. Harvard might face additional litigation if anti-affirmative action organizations have any reason to believe the University is not complying with the law.

As the present admissions cycle comes to a close, experts, admissions officers, and applicants will wait for the release of demographic data for the Class of 2028. But, for now, Harvard has successfully weathered a challenging first application cycle post-affirmative action.

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves or on Threads @elyse.goncalves .

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached [email protected] . Follow him on X @matanjosephy .

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