Next year will see boost in graduate funding

After several months of close study, Jeremy R. Knowles, the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), has decided to provide an additional $4 million in graduate student scholarships and fellowships, beginning in the next academic year.

Last year (academic year 2000-01), FAS contributed $34 million toward graduate student support. During the past three years, FAS has increased graduate financial aid and stipend support by $5.6 million. An additional $3.2 million was provided for the current year, amounting to a total increment of $8.8 million over four years.

The $4 million supplement will support three programs:

• Students in the humanities and the social sciences currently receive fellowships for their first two academic years and their first summer of study. Under the new plan, those fellowships will be expanded to cover a second summer of study. 
• Fifty students in the humanities will receive First Research Awards, including a full summer stipend plus $1,500 toward research or travel expenses. 
• Science departments will receive incremental funding to support plans to phase out first-year teaching requirements and fund competitive fellowships and stipend support.As occurred last year, all graduate students will see an increment in their annual stipends to reflect cost-of-living increases in the Cambridge/Boston area.

  “This new infusion of resources for graduate student financial aid will enable us to continue our efforts to transform the graduate experience at Harvard and make the path through a Harvard Ph.D. the path of choice for tomorrow’s intellectual leaders,” said Peter Ellison, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.