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Phd in public policy.
The PhD in Public Policy prepares qualified candidates to shape the direction of public policy research and to train the next generation of researchers, teachers, and leaders. It also qualifies individuals to perform high-level policy analysis in both national and international organizations.
Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs
Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, Massachusetts 01238 USA
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For Prospective Graduate Students
The Department of Government. Calling all researchers, leaders, and changemakers.
When you join Harvard University’s Department of Government, you become part of a highly-recognized intellectual community of scholars, researchers, visionaries, leaders, and changemakers. Our strength in teaching and research in all fields of political science is reflected in both our faculty and our curriculum.
Harvard University’s Department of Government is a world leader in the study and scholarship in political science. Our programs of study include:
- American Government
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Political Methodology/Formal Theory
- Political Philosophy and Its History
Our innovative curriculum reflects a diverse range of fields and methodologies. The vibrant graduate student body receives hands-on training by conducting supervised dissertation research and working with our faculty in research projects and undergraduate teaching.
Here, scholars have access to unparalleled resources. They have the opportunity to define and formulate their own research questions and to apply a variety of research methodologies.
- Graduate students research is greatly facilitated by the exceptional resources offered by the Department of Government and the University.
- Harvard has the largest university library in the world .
- Harvard expansive network of research centers and top international studies centers bring together scholars and researchers from around the globe.
Scholars can also take advantage of Harvard’s generous financial aid program. In addition, there is just no match to the energy and excitement that accompanies student life in the Cambridge/Boston area.
Harvard University does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classificiation.
PhD Requirements
Candidates for the PhD in Government are expected to complete the required coursework during their first two years of graduate study and take the General Examination at the end of the second year. A typical schedule consists of these two years, followed by three or four years of work on a dissertation, combined with supervised teaching.
Admissions
The graduate program of the Department of Government is designed to train students for careers in university teaching and advanced research in political science. The department does not offer an independent master’s program, the master of arts in political science being reserved for PhD candidates on the way to their final degrees. Click here to visit the Graduate School of Arts and Science’s page on admission to the Government Department to learn more about the application process.
Application for Admission
The application for admissions is available at http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/apply .
The application fee is $105. Applicants can determine eligibility for a fee waiver by completing a series of questions in the Application Fee section of the application. Once these questions have been answered, the application system will provide an immediate response regarding fee waiver eligibility.
Application information and instructions are available at www.gsas.harvard.edu . Applicants with admissions questions should call 617-496-6100 from 2-5pm EST or email [email protected] . Applicants with financial aid questions should call 617-495-5396 or email [email protected] .
Financial Aid and Fellowship Opportunities
Financial aid is administered under the direction of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) . The department intends that all graduate students should have support adequate to enable them to complete their studies while enrolled full-time. Prospective students apply for financial aid at the same time they apply for admission and are also required to submit a Statement of Financial Resources. The financial aid package for government students typically includes tuition and fees plus a stipend and a summer research grant for the first two years; tuition and fees plus guaranteed teaching fellowships and a summer research grant for years three and four; tuition and fees in year five; and tuition and fees plus a stipend for the completion year.
In addition to funding from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , graduate students are encouraged to apply for outside fellowships and grants. Please visit the website of the GSAS Fellowships Office for more information.
Master in Public Policy
Understand complex public problems and craft concrete solutions in this rigorous two-year program
Key Program Information
Program Length: Two years (varies for students pursuing joint or concurrent degrees)
Degree Awarded: Master in Public Policy
Admission Application Deadline: December 2024
Financial Aid Application Deadline: January 2025
Contact the MPP Program
79 John F. Kennedy Street Littauer Building, Room 133 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Become an expert problem solver
The Master in Public Policy Program provides you with a conceptual toolkit rooted in the social sciences and adapted for action.
A defining feature of the Master in Public Policy (MPP) Program is its commitment to practice. Take what you learn here and apply it right away—through capstone exercises, case studies, experiential learning opportunities, and optional internships—to deliver lasting results.
At the heart of the program is a cross-disciplinary core curriculum that exposes you to the analytic methods, conceptual frameworks, and habits of mind that empower you to craft solutions for real-world public problems.
“At HKS, my professors taught me valuable quantitative skills, strategies on working multilaterally with different stakeholders in different sectors, the power of storytelling, and how to build an effective organization.” —Sebastian Agignoae MPP 2022
About the MPP Program
Curriculum overview.
The MPP curriculum will broaden your perspective and sharpen skills to prepare you for a successful career in public service.
The first year of the MPP Program focuses on the cross-disciplinary fundamentals of policy design, analysis, and implementation. You will take core courses to develop professional competencies in:
- Financial management
- Negotiation
- Policy design and delivery
- Quantitative analysis
- Applied history
Areas of Focus
As a complement to the MPP core curriculum, you will also choose a Policy Area of Concentration (PAC) in one of five areas:
- Business and Government Policy
- Democracy, Politics, and Institutions
- International and Global Affairs
- Political and Economic Development
- Social and Urban Policy
Summer Internships
While it isn’t a formal requirement, most MPP students take on a policy-oriented internship during the summer after the first year. You’ll apply what you’ve learned in class to gain deeper insights; use new skills; and face challenges in different professional areas, policy fields, or parts of the world.
Core Curriculum
Most first-year MPP students take 38 credits, which consists of 18 core course credits in the fall and 16 core course credits credits in the spring. Many students also begin taking elective courses in the spring of their first year.
Required Core Courses (First Year)
- Resources, Incentives, and Choices I: Markets and Market Failures (API-101, 4 credits)
- Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods (API-201, 4 credits)
- Policy Design and Delivery I (API-501, 4 credits)
- Race and Racism in the Making of the United States as a Global Power (DPI-385M, 2 credits)
- Race and Racism in Public Policies, Practices, and Perspectives (DPI-386M, 2 credits)
- Fundamentals of Negotiation Analysis and Practice (MLD-220M, 2 credits)
- Resources, Incentives, and Choices II: Analysis of Public Policy (API-102, 4 credits)
- Empirical Methods II ( API-202M , 2 credits & API-203M , 2 credits)
- Politics and Ethics in Unstable Times (DPI-200, 4 credits)
- Spring Exercise (API-500M, 0 credits)
Spring Exercise
The first-year MPP curriculum culminates in the Spring Exercise, a two-week simulation that applies the tools and concepts of the first-year core to a real-world, real-time policy issue.
During the Exercise, you are assigned to a five-person team tasked with forging solutions to a deliberately tough challenge. You’ll conduct research, attend sessions and presentations that link the topic to your core courses, and work with your team to prepare a package of policy and management recommendations.
Required Core Courses (Second Year)
- Policy Area of Concentration year-long seminar (or “PAC Seminar”), including completion of the Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) (4 credits)
- PAC electives (8-20 credits dependent on PAC/Concentration)
Policy Analysis Exercise
The Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) is the capstone of the MPP experience.
The PAC Seminars familiarize you with key issues and policy debates in your particular area and guide you through the PAE writing process. Once you declare your PAE topic, you will be assigned a faculty advisor with the expertise to help you succeed.
During the PAE, you develop solutions for a policy or management problem that your client—a public or nonprofit organization—is grappling with. You and your client work together to scope the problem, examine the context, gather data, formulate and evaluate options, and make actionable recommendations. The final analysis—usually around 40 pages or 10,000 words—gives you the opportunity to integrate the technical skills and specialized knowledge you have gained from the MPP curriculum while also helping your client organization create public value.
Learn more about the Policy Analysis Exercise and read past examples.
Degree Requirements
The MPP Program consists of four semesters of full-time coursework in residence at HKS.
To graduate, you must:
- Earn at least 72 credits, which must include the required core curriculum, your PAC requirements, capstone experiences, and electives
- Matriculate as a full-time, in-residence student and take between 12-24 credits per semester
- Finish with a GPA of B or better
- Earn a B- or higher in all required MPP core courses, and PAC requirements, as well as a passing grade for the Spring Exercise, PAE, and PAC Seminar
Joint and Concurrent Degrees
You might consider pursuing a second degree jointly or concurrently if you’re interested in how the world’s challenges can be addressed at the intersection of public policy and business, law, medicine, design, or other fields.
Pursuing a joint or concurrent degree reduces coursework and residency requirements and makes it possible to earn two degrees in a shorter amount of time.
Joint Degrees
As an MPP student, you can pursue a joint degree —either an MBA at Harvard Business School or a JD at Harvard Law School —that involves carefully crafted and integrated coursework.
Concurrent Degrees
You can pursue a concurrent degree in business, law, medicine, design, or another field—as long as it is:
- A professional degree (an MBA, MD, or JD; not a PhD or an academic master’s)
- At least a two-year program
- Completed at a partner school
The concurrent degree program allows you to pursue degrees at HKS and at a partner school; however, the coursework is not as closely integrated as the joint degree program. As a concurrent degree student, you are responsible for weaving together the two halves of your learning experience.
Faculty members at HKS aren’t just teachers. They are global experts who shape public policy, advise governments, and help run major institutions in the United States and abroad. Learn more about our core MPP faculty members.
John Donahue
MPP Faculty Chair; Raymond Vernon Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
Marcella Alsan
Angelopoulos Professor of Public Policy
Desmond Ang
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Christopher Norio Avery
Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy
Gloria Ayee
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Jeeyang Rhee Baum
Jonathan Borck
Cornell Brooks
Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations; Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership
Michela Carlana
Dara Kay Cohen
Professor of Public Policy
Suzanne Cooper
Academic Dean for Teaching and Curriculum; Edith M. Stokey Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
Justin de Benedictis-Kessner
Pınar Doğan
Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
Lecturer in Public Policy
Anthony Foxx
Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership
Archon Fung
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Jason Furman
Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy
Sharad Goel
Yanilda Gonzlez
Juan Jimenez
Juliette Kayyem
Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security
Robert Lawrence
Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment
30th Anniversary Associate Professor of Health Care Policy, HMS
Elizabeth Linos
Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management
Brian Mandell
Mohamed Kamal Senior Lecturer in Negotiation and Public Policy
Liz McKenna
Julia Minson
Associate Professor of Public Policy
Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy
Thomas Patterson
Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press
Christopher Robichaud
Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy
Eric Rosenbach
Juan Saavedra
Benjamin Schneer
Daniel Schneider
Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy, HKS; Professor of Sociology, FAS
Mark Shepard
Kathryn Sikkink
Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy
Sandra Susan Smith
Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice, HKS; Professor of Sociology, FAS; Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Radcliffe
Teddy Svoronos
Charles Taylor
Stephen Walt
Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs
Setti Warren
Mpp at a glance.
*Statistics are based on a five-year average.
Employment Snapshot: MPP Class of 2023 Employment Sectors
Featured MPP stories
A new graduate heads for u.s. space force.
Megan Cordone MPP 2023 is a rocket enthusiast who combined her strengths in physics and policy to pursue a public service career.
Strengthening public institutions
Austin Boral MPP/MBA 2023 wants public officials to retain and share what they learn tackling the most complex public problems.
Shaping AI policy
Grace Park MPP 2023 is exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and public policy.
“I believe every public servant should be polished in a basic toolset: economics, ethics, statistics, policy analysis, negotiations, leadership. The MPP core offers that and more.”
Hiram ríos hernández mpp 2017 , applying to the mpp program, prerequisites.
To apply to the MPP Program, you must have:
- A bachelor’s degree with a strong academic record
- Evidence of quantitative proficiency such as success in undergraduate-level economics, statistics, or calculus courses, regardless of your undergraduate major
Work experience is not strictly required but is an advantage for admission, and more importantly, for making the most of the MPP experience. Incoming MPP students typically have 2-3 years of professional work experience.
How to Apply
A complete application to the MPP Program includes:
- Online application
- Three letters of recommendation
- GRE or GMAT required
- Non-native English speakers who did not earn an undergraduate degree conducted in English must submit TOEFL, IELTS, or Cambridge English exam results
- Academic transcripts
- $100 application fee or waiver
Read more about how to apply .
The application for the 2025-2026 academic year will be available in September 2024. There is one admission application deadline and one start date for each degree program per year. You may apply to only one master's degree program per admissions cycle.
Tuition & Fees
The cost of attendance for the 2024-2025 academic year is outlined in Funding Your Master’s Education to help you plan financially for our master’s degree programs. Living expense costs are based on residence in Cambridge. The 2025-2026 academic year rates will be published in March 2025. HKS tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.
Financing your education is a partnership—we are here to help guide you. You are strongly encouraged to explore all funding opportunities .
Learn more about the HKS community
Student life, student stories, admissions & financial aid blog.
PhD Program Requirements
- Introduction
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.
- Application for Degree
- Credit for Completed Graduate Work
- Ad Hoc Degree Programs
- Dissertations
- English Language Proficiency
- African and African American Studies
- American Studies
- Anthropology
- Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- Biological Sciences in Public Health
- Biostatistics
- Business Administration
- Business Economics
- Byzantine Studies
- Celtic Languages and Literatures
- Chemical Biology
- Chemical Physics
- Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- Comparative Literature
- Division of Medical Sciences
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- East Asian Languages and Civilizations
- Engineering and Applied Sciences
- Film and Visual Studies
- Germanic Languages and Literatures
- Health Policy
- History of Art and Architecture
- History of Science
- Human Evolutionary Biology
- Inner Asian and Altaic Studies
- Linguistics
- Mathematics
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
- Organizational Behavior
- Political Economy and Government
- Population Health Sciences
- Public Policy
- Quantum Science and Engineering
- Religion, The Study of
- Romance Languages and Literatures
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Social Policy
- South Asian Studies
- Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology
- Secondary Fields
- Year of Graduate Study (G-Year)
- Master's Degrees
- Grade and Examination Requirements
- Conduct and Safety
- Financial Aid
- Non-Resident Students
- Registration
In addition to the common degree requirements expected of Harvard Griffin GSAS students, students must meet additional requirements specified by their department or program. This section provides additional degree requirements by academic program.
CONTACT INFO
Student affairs, explore events.
PhD in Population Health Sciences
Prepare for a high-impact career tackling public health problems from air pollution to obesity to global health equity to the social determinants of health.
The PhD in population health sciences is a multidisciplinary research degree that will prepare you for a career focused on challenges and solutions that affect the lives of millions around the globe. Collaborating with colleagues from diverse personal and professional backgrounds and conducting field and/or laboratory research projects of your own design, you will gain the deep expertise and powerful analytical and quantitative tools needed to tackle a wide range of complex, large-scale public health problems.
Focusing on one of five complementary fields of study at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and drawing on courses, resources, and faculty from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, you will become well-versed in a wide variety of disciplines while gaining specialized knowledge in your chosen area of study.
As a population health sciences graduate, you will be prepared for a career in research, academics, or practice, tackling complex diseases and health problems that affect entire populations. Those interested in pursuing research may go on to work at a government agency or international organization, or in the private sector at a consulting, biotech, or pharmaceutical firm. Others may choose to pursue practice or on-the-ground interventions. Those interested in academics may become a faculty member in a college, university, medical school, research institute, or school of public health.
The PhD in population health sciences is a four-year program based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the world-renowned Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The degree will prepare you to apply diverse approaches to solving difficult public health research issues in your choice of one of five primary fields of study:
- Environmental health
- Epidemiology
- Social and behavioral sciences
- Global health and population
In your first semester, you and your faculty adviser will design a degree plan to guide you through the program’s interdisciplinary requirements and core courses, as well as those in your chosen field of study. After successfully completing the preliminary qualifying examination, usually at the end of your second year, you will finalize your general research topics and identify a dissertation adviser who will mentor you through the dissertation process and help you nominate a dissertation advisory committee.
All population health sciences students are trained in pedagogy and teaching and are required to work as a teaching fellow and/or research assistant to ensure they gain meaningful teaching and research experience before graduation. Students also attend a special weekly evening seminar that features prominent lecturers, grant-writing modules, feedback dinners, and training opportunities.
All students, including international students, who maintain satisfactory progress (B+ or above) receive a multiyear funding package, which includes tuition, fees , and a competitive stipend.
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
Anyone with a distinguished undergraduate record and a demonstrated enthusiasm for the rigorous pursuit of scientific public health knowledge is encouraged to apply. Although a previous graduate degree is not required, applicants should have successfully completed coursework in introductory statistics or quantitative methods. Preference will be given to applicants who have either some relevant work experience or graduate-level work in their desired primary field of study.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Like all PhD (doctor of philosophy) programs at the School, the PhD in population health sciences is offered under the aegis of the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). Applications are processed through the Harvard Griffin GSAS online application system located at gsas.harvard.edu/admissions/apply.
OUR COMMUNITY: COMMITTED, ACCOMPLISHED, COLLABORATIVE
As a PhD in population health sciences candidate, you will be part of a diverse and accomplished group of students with a broad range of research and other interests. The opportunity to learn from each other and to share ideas both inside and outside the classroom will be one of the most rewarding and productive parts of the program for any successful candidate. The program in population health sciences provides these opportunities by sponsoring an informal curriculum of seminars, a dedicated student gathering and study area, and events that will enhance your knowledge, foster interaction with your peers, and encourage you to cooperatively evaluate scientific literature, while providing a supportive, collaborative community within which to pursue your degree.
As members of both the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences communities, students have access to the Cambridge and Longwood Medical Area campuses. Students also qualify for affordable transportation options, access to numerous lectures and academic seminars, and a wealth of services to support their academic and personal needs on both sides of the Charles River.
LEARN MORE Population Health Sciences Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health www.hsph.harvard.edu/phdphs
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Harvard Ph.D. Program in Health Policy
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The Harvard PhD in Health Policy, awarded by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, is a collaborative program among six Harvard University faculties: Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
While the program is interdisciplinary in nature, students specialize in one of five concentrations: decision sciences, economics, management, methods for policy research, or political analysis.
Approximately 110 faculty members from schools within the University are involved with the program, and students are free to take classes throughout the University. A hallmark of the program is the accessibility of faculty members to students and the commitment of faculty to students enrolled in the program.
The program started in 1992, and there are 67 students currently enrolled and over 250 alumni.
PhD Program in Health Policy Concentration Areas:
Decision sciences.
Methods for Policy Research
Political Analysis
Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy
The Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy studies a range of issues at the intersection of behavioral economics, law, and public policy. The issues include energy, health, obesity, highway safety, economic growth, finance, the environment (including climate change), savings, uses of social media, human rights, education, discrimination, and poverty. A particular emphasis is on behaviorally informed tools, such as default rules, norms, simplification, education, and warnings . There is continuing attention to the newest and best work in behavioral economics and its implications for public policy.
The following Harvard faculty are participating members in the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy.
Cass Sunstein
Iris Bohnet
David Laibson
Adrian Vermeule
Max Bazerman
Sendhil Mullainathan
Oren Bar-Gil
Featured Research
Algorithmic Harm in Consumer Markets Oren Bar-Gill, Cass R. Sunstein & Inbal Talgam-Cohen August 21, 2023
Decisions about Decisions: Practical Reason in Ordinary Life Cass R. Sunstein Harvard Law School June 2023
Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It Cass R. Sunstein Harvard Law School September 6, 2022
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony & Cass R. Sunstein May 31, 2022
Do Nudges Reduce Borrowing and Consumer Confusion in the Credit Card Market? Paul Adams, Benedict Guttman-Kenney, Lucy Hayes, Stefan Hunt, David Laibson & Neil Stewart May 3, 2022
Rethinking Nudge: An Information-Costs Theory of Default Rules Oren Bar-Gill & Omri Ben-Shahar 2021
Borrowing to Save? The Impact of Automatic Enrollment on Debt John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian & William L. Skimmyhorn July 19, 2021
Hayekian Behavioral Economics Cass R. Sunstein Harvard Law School March 19, 2021
The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World Michael Luca and Max H. Bazerman Harvard Business School March 2, 2021
Behavioral Welfare Economics Cass R. Sunstein Harvard Law School June 1, 2020
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Public Policy Courses
- Social Sciences
Public Leadership Credential
Developed by Harvard Kennedy School faculty, this professional credential program equips you with the skills necessary to advance the public good.
Systematic Approaches to Policy Design
This free online course from Harvard Kennedy School introduces approaches to analytical decision-making for policy design.
4P Model for Strategic Leadership Podcasts
A Free Podcast Series
The Science of Corresponding with Busy People Webinar
This free webinar from HKS professor Todd Rogers is his take on the five principles for effective communication and how to implement them in your writing.
Global News & Technology Leadership in Challenging Times
Join HKS Shorenstein Center Director and former TIME Editor in Chief Nancy Gibbs and colleagues for a panel discussion on the challenges facing global news-industry leaders.
Big Data Solutions for Social and Economic Disparities
Join Harvard University Professor Raj Chetty in this online course to understand how big data can be used to measure mobility and solve social problems.
United States Health Policy
Learn the essentials of U.S. health care policy from some of the nation's top experts.
U.S. Public Policy: Social, Economic, and Foreign Policies
Learn about public policy in America and the dynamics of American politics.
Citizen Politics in America: Public Opinion, Elections, Interest Groups, and the Media
Learn about the forces in American politics that seek to influence the electorate and shift the political landscape.
Prescription Drug Regulation, Cost, and Access: Current Controversies in Context
Understand how the FDA regulates pharmaceuticals and explore debates on prescription drug costs, marketing, and testing.
Leadership: Creating Public Value
Learn how to face and meet today’s challenges and design a public value proposition that is both actionable and value creating.
A Darkening Horizon: Nuclear Dangers Around the World with Matthew Bunn
This free webinar from HKS Professor Matthew Bunn tours the horizon of nuclear dangers.
2024 Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program Guide
Explore the world’s top executive programs and make a difference in your career today.
Strategy Execution for Public Leadership
Join Harvard Kennedy School faculty and former Pentagon Chief of Staff Eric Rosenbach to learn how to develop strategies for public leadership success.
Howard Gardner
Faculty info, contact information, personal site, faculty coordinator.
Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also the head of the Steering Committee of Harvard Project Zero . Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship and a Fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1981 and 2000, respectively. In 1990, he was the first American to receive the University of Louisville's Grawemeyer Award in Education. He also won Howard Gardner, recipient of the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. In recognition of his contributions to both academic theory and public policy, he has received honorary degrees from thirty-one colleges and universities, including institutions in Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, and Spain. He has twice been selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. In 2011, Gardner received the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences; in 2015, he was chosen as the recipient of the Brock International Prize in Education; and in 2020, he received the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Education, and the London-based Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.
The author of thirty books translated into thirty-two languages, and several hundred articles, Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments (please see Multiple Intelligences Oasis ). Since the middle 1990s, Gardner has directed The Good Project , a group of initiatives, founded in collaboration with psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and William Damon.
In 2020, Gardner’s memoir, A Synthesizing Mind was published by MIT Press. He also recently completed The Real World of College with Wendy Fischman, to be published by MIT Press in 2022. This book explores the results of their large-scale national study documenting how different groups think about the goals of college and the value of a course of study emphasizing liberal arts and sciences. He contributes to his personal blog regularly.
Publications
- Kornhaber, M., & Winner, E. (Eds.). (2014). Mind, Work, and Life: A Festschrift on the Occasion of Howard Gardners 70th Birthday, with responses by Howard Gardner (Vols. 1-2). Amazon via CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Available online at: http://howardgardner01.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/festschrift-_-volumes-1-2-_-final.pdf.
- Gardner, H. and Davis, K. (2013). The App Generation: How today's youth navigate identity, intimacy, and imagination in a digital world . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Translated into: Italian, Korean, Spanish, Romanian, and Chinese (simple characters).
- Gardner, H. (2011). Truth, beauty, and goodness reframed: Educating for the virtues in the era of truthiness and twitter . (Paperback edition, with new preface). New York, NY: Basic Books.
- James, C., Davis, K., Flores, A., Francis, J., Pettingill, L., Rundle, M., & Gardner, H. (2009). Young people, ethics, and the new digital media: A synthesis from the GoodPlay Project . Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
- Gardner, H. (2007). Five minds for the future . Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Translated into Korean, Italian, Japanese, Danish Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Romanian.
- Gardner, H., Ed. (2007). Responsibility at work: How leading professionals act (or don't act) responsibly . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Gardner, H. (2006). The development and education of the mind: The collected works of Howard Gardner . London, UK: Routledge. Translated into Italian, Spanish.
- Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons . New York: Basic Books. Translated into: Romanian, Chinese (SC), Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, and Bulgarian.
- Gardner, H. (2004). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other peoples minds . Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press. Paperback edition (2006). Translated into French, Spanish, Japanese, Danish, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Chinese (CC), Chinese (SC), Chinese (short version), Danish, Romanian, Norwegian, and Croatian. Awarded Strategy + Business's Best Business Books of the Year (2004). 2011 Edition with updated preface and bibliography: New York, NY, Basic Books.
- Fischman, W., Solomon, B., Greenspan, D., Gardner, H. (2004). Making good: How young people cope with moral dilemmas at work . Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Translated into Spanish, Korean, and Chinese.
- Gardner, H. (2002). Howard Gardner in Hong Kong . L.Lo (Ed.). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Educational Research.
- Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Damon, W. (2001). Good Work: When excellence and ethics meet . New York: Basic Books. Paperback edition with Afterword (2002). Translated into Korean, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Chinese and Romanian. Selected as one of ten most important books in Hong Kong (2003). Chosen as a Book of Distinction by the Templeton Foundation.
- Gardner, H. (1999). The Disciplined mind: What all students should understand . New York: Simon and Schuster. Translated into Portuguese, German, Spanish, Chinese (Taiwan), Italian, Swedish, Korean, Hebrew, Danish, Turkish, Romanian, Croatian. Excerpted in The Futurist , 34, (2), 30-32, (Mar/Apr 2000) . Paperback edition with new afterword, "A Tale of Two Barns": Penguin Putnam, New York, 2000.
- Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st Century . New York, NY: Basic Books. Translated into German, Spanish, Korean, Hebrew, Chinese (SC), Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, Bulgarian, Polish, Turkish, Dutch, and Croatian.
- Gardner, H. (1997). Extraordinary minds: Portraits of exceptional individuals and an examination of our extraordinariness . New York: Basic Books. British edition, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997. Translated into French, Portuguese, Chinese (Taiwan), Chinese (PRC), Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Spanish, Korean, Indonesian, and German.
- Gardner, H., with the collaboration of Laskin, E. (1995). Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership . New York: Basic Books. Translated into German, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Chinese (Taiwan), Greek, Korean, Spanish, and Japanese. British Edition: HarperCollins, 1996. Basic Books Paperback.
- Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice . New York: Basic Books. Selected by three book clubs. Excerpted in the magazine Behinderte in Familie , Schule und Gesellschaft , vol. 2 , 1997. Abridged, Danish translation, 1997, Copenhagen: Glydendal Undervisning. Translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Chinese (Taiwan), Hebrew, Korean, Polish, Chinese (R.C.), Danish, Ukranian, and Japanese.
- Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds: An anatomy of creativity seen through the lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi . New York: Basic Books. Quality Paperback Book Club. Translated into Swedish, German, Spanish, Chinese (Taiwan), Portuguese, Italian, Slovenian, Korean, Polish, and French.
- Gardner, H. (1990). Art education and human development . Los Angeles, CA: The Getty Center for Education in the Arts. Translated into Italian and Spanish.
- Gardner, H. (1989). To open minds: Chinese clues to the dilemma of contemporary education . New York, NY: Basic Books. Basic Books Paperback with new introduction, 1991. Translated into Italian and Korean.
- Gardner, H. (1985). The mind's new science: A history of the cognitive revolution . New York: Basic Books. Translated into Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, and Portuguese. Adopted by six book clubs. Basic Books Paperback with new Epilogue, 1987.
- Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences . New York: Basic Books. Selected by five book clubs. British Edition, W. Heinemann. Translated into Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Hebrew, Chinese, French, and German. Basic Books Paperback, 1985. Tenth Anniversary Edition with new introduction, New York: Basic Books, 1993. Twentieth Anniversary Edition with new introduction. New York: Basic Books, 2004. Translated into Swedish, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Chinese (Taiwan), French, Norwegian, Hebrew, Slovenian, Korean, and Czech. Selected by three book clubs. Selected by the Museum of Education for Books of the Century exhibit, Columbia, SC, 1999. Tenth Anniversary British Edition, London: HarperCollins (Fontana Press), 1993.
- Gardner, H. (1982). Art, mind, and brain: A cognitive approach to creativity . New York, NY: Basic Books. Basic Books Paperback, 1984. Translated into Spanish, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and Portuguese.
- Gardner, H. (1980). Artful Scribbles: The significance of children's drawings . New York: Basic Books. Behavioral Sciences book service selection. Basic Books Paperback, 1982. Translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, and Chinese.
- Gardner, H. (1979). Developmental psychology: An introduction . Boston: Little Brown, International Edition. Second Edition, 1982.
- Gardner, H. (1975). The shattered mind . New York: Knopf. Main Selection, Psychology Today Book Club, Jan. 1974; Vintage Paperback, 1976. Quality Paperback Book Club Selection. Routledge and Kegan Paul, British Edition. Translated into Japanese.
- Gardner, H. (1973). The quest for mind: Jean Piaget, Claude Levi-Strauss, and the structuralist movement . New York: NY: Knopf. Vintage paperback, 1974; coventure publication in England, 1975. Second Edition, 1981, University of Chicago Press. Translated into Italian and Japanese.
- Gardner, H. (1973). The arts and human development . New York, NY: Wiley. Translated into Chinese and Portuguese. Second Edition, 1994, New York: Basic Books.
- Brock International Prize in Education (2015)
- Prince of Asturias Award (2011)
- Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, International Scientific Committee of the Pio Manzu Centre (2001)
- Guggenheim Fellowship (2000)
- Grawemeyer Award in Education (1990)
- MacArthur Prize Fellowship (1981)
Associations
- American Philosophical Society, Council Member,(2013-2016)
- Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, England,(2007-)
- American Academy of Political and Social Sciences,(2000-)
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences,(1995-)
- Author's Guild,(1985-)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow,(1980-)
Sponsored Projects
Making ethics central in higher education: expanding and disseminating a promising approach (2022-2025) kern family foundation.
This project focuses on expanding and disseminating an intervention that prods college students to think and act beyond the self. It also seek to create a hub for similar approaches in higher education. The overarching goal is to help students become more aware of and sensitive to ethical dilemmas. As documented in the researchers national study of higher education, students routinely describe these issues in terms of how they are affected personally (the I), with little acknowledgement of how these issues affect others, or how the consequences of their own actions may affect a broader community (the we). This project seeks to move the needle on character and ethics from I to we in the personal and professional lives of young citizens. In a two-year pilot project supported by the Kern Family Foundation, the researchers developed and tested an intervention (hereafter referred to as Beyond the Self) with 150 students at four different colleges. The documentation provides evidence that the intervention helped students to reflect more deeply and more broadly on situations and decisions they face themselves, learn about in class, and observe on campus and beyond. To scale-up this work, this three-year project that has three major objectives: 1. To disseminate the approach to other institutionsto help others implement Beyond the Self with students. 2. To network with others engaged in similar work; 3. Drawing on the researchers decades of creating powerful syntheses in education, to collate their efforts with others across higher education and produce a coherent integrated account that will prove useful across higher education and perhaps beyond.
- Life-Long Learning Blog (https://howardgardner.com/category/life-long-learning-a-blog-in-education/)
- The Good Project
Phone Number
Featured articles.
Howard Gardner Named 2024 Convocation Speaker
Celebrated psychologist and originator of the theory of multiple intelligences will address HGSE graduates on May 22
The Real World of College
The Questionable Ethics of College Students
Advice to an Aspiring Researcher
Undergraduate
The concentration in Government introduces students to the discipline of political science: the study of power in all of its many forms and consequences. The program aims both to prepare students to lead engaged civic lives and to introduce them to the ways in which political scientists explain and analyze the social and political world around them.
Harvard University’s Department of Government is dedicated to excellence in all fields of political science and encourages diverse approaches to scholarship. Students in the Department of Government pursue a wide variety of approaches to the study of politics and have the opportunity to define and explore their own questions about politics and government.
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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 PhD in Public Policy Program trains candidates to conduct policy analytic research, help shape and execute public policy, and teach the next generation of educators, researchers, and practitioners. The flexible nature of the program allows you to choose your own path in areas that most interest you—from microeconomic research to ...
2023-2024 PhD in Public Policy Student Handbook. Get to know our community standards, policies, and requirements. This handbook covers the Public Policy (PPOL) doctoral program, which is administered jointly by Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS).
The PhD in Public Policy (PPOL) program balances theory with practical methods to prepare students for careers in academia, in government, at research organizations, or in the private sector. What do we look for in our PPOL students? Evidence of your ability to handle the rigor of our curriculum, which is why you're required to have completed and excelled in the following:
PhD in Public Policy. Current Students. Our PhD in Public Policy (PPOL) doctoral students are registered at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) and delve into a range of research areas during their time at Harvard. Our current PPOL students and their areas of interest are listed below.
The Public Policy PhD is awarded by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences but is administered by the Higher Committee on Public Policy. Students enroll in one of four tracks: Economics, Judgment and Decision Making, Politics and Institutions, or Science, Technology and Policy. ...
Eligibility. You are eligible to apply to the PPOL PhD Program if you have earned a bachelor's degree; a master's degree is not required. You apply to and are admitted to one of four tracks (Economics; Judgment and Decision Making; Politics and Institutions; and Science, Technology and Policy Studies).You may not change tracks prior to matriculation.
Harvard Kennedy School. The Master in Public Policy (MPP) is a two-year program that prepares students to understand complex public policy problems and craft concrete solutions. Through coursework, exercises, and fieldwork, students master concepts and skills that draw on the social sciences but are adapted for action.
The joint PhD Programs in Social Policy combine the disciplinary depth of a PhD in political science or sociology with multidisciplinary perspectives and problem-driven research on questions of social policy. As a joint venture between the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ... public policy schools, law schools ...
PhD in Public Policy. The PhD in Public Policy prepares qualified candidates to shape the direction of public policy research and to train the next generation of researchers, teachers, and leaders. It also qualifies individuals to perform high-level policy analysis in both national and international organizations.
Application information and instructions are available at www.gsas.harvard.edu . Applicants with admissions questions should call 617-496-6100 from 2-5pm EST or email [email protected] . Applicants with financial aid questions should call 617-495-5396 or email [email protected].
The Master in Public Policy Program provides you with a conceptual toolkit rooted in the social sciences and adapted for action. A defining feature of the Master in Public Policy (MPP) Program is its commitment to practice. Take what you learn here and apply it right away—through capstone exercises, case studies, experiential learning ...
The Harvard Ph.D. in Education trains cutting-edge researchers who work across disciplines to generate knowledge and translate discoveries into transformative policy and practice. Offered jointly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Ph.D. in Education provides ...
Reflections on the Harvard PhD in public policy with Lawrence S. Bacow, PhD '78. Common Room, Student Center at Harvard Griffin GSAS, Lehman Hall 8 Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA 02138. 10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Panel on US-China Relations.
Political Analysis. Concentration Chair: Professor Benjamin D. Sommers. This concentration is intended for students who wish to do research on the relationship between politics and health policy. Students will study theories of political participation, legislative organization, interest group formation, and political communication. Applied ...
All first-time Teaching Fellows must enroll in Gov 3002: Teaching and Communicating Political Science. This is a required course for government PhD students who are teaching in the department for the first time (typically G3s). The course has five required meetings and three optional sessions in the fall semester.
PhD Program Requirements. African and African American Studies. American Studies. Anthropology. Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. Astronomy. Molecular and Cellular Biology. Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Biological Sciences in Public Health.
The following three PhD programs are based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, designed for students seeking specialized scientific and technical expertise to propel an academic or research career: PhD in Biological Sciences in Public Health PhD in Biostatistics PhD in Population Health Sciences. Harvard PhD program in Health Policy
The PhD in population health sciences is a four-year program based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the world-renowned Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The degree will prepare you to apply diverse approaches to solving difficult public health research issues in your choice of one of five primary fields of study ...
Welcome! The concentration in Environmental Science and Public Policy is designed to provide a multi-disciplinary introduction to current problems of the environment. It is founded on the premise that the ability to form rational judgments concerning many of the complex challenges confronting society today involving the environment requires ...
The Harvard PhD in Health Policy, awarded by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, is a collaborative program among six Harvard University faculties: Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The PhD in Public Policy (PPOL) program at Harvard Kennedy School 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. Harvard University. Cambridge , Massachusetts , United States.
Gain the skills to design, evaluate, and scale the effective policies and practices critical to improving outcomes for learners — at the global, national, state, and local levels. The Education Policy and Analysis (EPA) Program will prepare you to lead and engage in education policy development, analysis, and change in organizations and ...
The Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy studies a range of issues at the intersection of behavioral economics, law, and public policy. The issues include energy, health, obesity, highway safety, economic growth, finance, the environment (including climate change), savings, uses of social media, human rights, education, discrimination, and poverty. A particular emphasis is on […]
Strategy Execution for Public Leadership. Join Harvard Kennedy School faculty and former Pentagon Chief of Staff Eric Rosenbach to learn how to develop strategies for public leadership success. $1,600. 4 weeks long. Register by May 13.
Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. ... He has twice been selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. In 2011, Gardner received the Prince of Asturias Award for ...
Harvard Graduate School of Education Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences ... Harvard School of Dental Medicine Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Campus. Campus Harvard's Campus Get tickets to our next game, hours and locations for our libraries and museums, and information about your next ...