harvard economics phd graduates

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The department of Economics at Harvard University is committed to seeking out and mentoring scholars who wish to pursue a rigorous and rewarding career in economic research. Our graduates are trailblazers in their fields and contribute to a diverse alumni community in both the academic and non-academic sectors. We invite you to learn more about the PhD program in Economics . Have questions about applying? Please thoroughly check the GSAS admission website before emailing us at: [email protected] . 

Harvard does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job or course of study requirements, and we actively  seek applicants  from historically underrepresented communities. We hope you’ll consider applying. Immigration status does not factor into decisions about admissions and financial aid. For more information, see  Undocumented at Harvard . 

Apply to Economics @Harvard

Application Requirements

• Completed online application form (Must be completed by December 1st)
• Statement of Purpose
• Transcripts for all college/university degrees and courses Self-reported transcripts are accepted for both all programs at the application stage. Applicants must upload copies of his/her transcripts to the online application system. Hard copy transcripts will only be required if admitted to a program, prior to enrollment.
• Current GRE scores
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (non-native English speakers see details below)
• Three letters of recommendation (at least one from an academic source). Recommendation letters must be submitted online through the online application system. 
• Application fee 
• Writing sample (at least 15 pages in length)

All applicants are required to take the  General Test of the Graduate Record Examination  (GRE). Test scores are valid for five years (scores must be from no earlier than January 5, 2019 for Fall 2024 admission). Applicants are, however, advised to take the exam no later than mid-November. There is no minimum test score requirement. A department code is not required for score submission. Institution Codes for PhD Programs GRE: 3451

Financial Aid

All admitted students are awarded a financial package which includes tuition, single-person health insurance, living stipend for the first two years, teaching and research assistant stipends and a completion fellowship in the final year of the program.

International Applications

Adequate command of spoken and written English is required for admission. Applicants whose native language is other than English and who do not hold a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an institution at which English is the language of instruction must submit  TOEFL  or IELTS scores.

TOEFL/IELTS scores are valid for two years. (scores must be from no earlier than January 5, 2022 for Fall 2024 admission). The committee prefers scores of at least 100 on the internet-based test.  Institution Codes for Toefl score reports PhD programs: 3451

Reapplicants

Applicants who applied last year are considered reapplicants. Those reapplying must submit a completely new application. The new application must include all required documents to be provided by the applicant - we will not re-use material previously submitted. These materials include an updated statement of purpose, transcripts, test score reports, updated letters of recommendation, the application fee, and any other supporting materials

Please note, Harvard University will accept no more than three applications from any one individual over the course of his/her lifetime.

Applying to more than one Program

Harvard has several PhD programs that may also be of interest to students considering applying to the PhD program in economics. These include Business Economics, Political Economy and Government, Public Policy, and Health Policy.  Many students in these programs have considerable overlap in their coursework with courses offered to PhD students in economics.   Many also have dissertation committees that include faculty members of the economics department. Please refer to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for applicable program deadlines.  (Deadlines have already passed for some programs this year but not for others.) We encourage those with interest in any of those programs to also apply to those programs. The economics department will make admissions decisions independently, so application to or admission to other programs will not adversely affect admissions decisions within the Economics department. If you opt to apply, please note, the Graduate School will not accept more than three applications from any individual during the course of his or her academic career. 

Economics Mentoring Program

Many students interested in an economics PhD experience disparate degrees of support in the application process. The Economics Mentoring Program (EMP, formerly known as AAMP) aims to mitigate these gaps by helping students from underrepresented groups connect with graduate student mentors in the economics PhD programs at Duke, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. These mentors can provide:

• Advice on graduate school and fellowship applications, including questions about the application process and feedback on application materials.
• Information about economics research, life as a PhD student or in an academic career, for students who are deciding whether a PhD in economics is the right choice for them.

The EMP aims to increase the pipeline of diverse talent in economics PhD programs and welcomes participation from all groups underrepresented in economics, including but not limited to: Black, Hispanic-Latin, Native American, low-income, and LGBTQ+ students, women, students with disabilities, and students who are the first in their families to go to college. The EMP welcomes participation among students at various stages of their economics studies, including undergraduates and college graduates. The EMP is open to students who are curious about the academic economics experience and interested in figuring out if it’s right for them.

Interested participants should fill out the application linked below. We will accept applications until July 22, 2024. Mentorship will begin over the summer and continue through Fall 2024. Mentees who prefer to meet for a single “coffee chat” may indicate their preference on the form. We will do our best to match all interested applicants with a mentor; however, demand may exceed the availability of mentors.

Please note that the EMP is a volunteer-based, student-run program. This program is not considered part of the admissions process for the economics PhD at Duke, Harvard, MIT, or Stanford nor will any student's participation in the EMP be considered by the graduate admissions committee at any school.

Please direct any questions to [email protected] . To join the program, please click the link below to fill out the form. For more information, please visit our website here

Website link: www.economicsmentoringprogram.com

EMP Application Form Link: https://forms.gle/tWvNRXRJQWEHhFn16

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FALL COURSE REGISTRATION  is open through August 29. Explore courses today.

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Business Economics Graduate Certificate

Learn how to integrate economic principles and business concepts.

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Number of Required Courses

Next Start Term: Fall 2024

Registration open through August 29

What You'll Learn

• Understanding of current economic issues and economic principles and methods, including real-world applications and elements of microeconomics and macroeconomics.
• Knowledge of economic perspective on the nature, scale, and organization of businesses and the role of information and transaction costs in internal and external markets.
• Deepened knowledge in focused topic areas, such as labor economics, economics of financial markets, economic strategy and competitiveness, and economics of emerging markets.

Register for Fall 2024

Enroll in your first certificate course this fall — no application required. Registration is open through August 29.

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Our Community at a Glance

Together with your diverse peers, you can advance a career in business, finance, a multinational corporation, trade, or international development.

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Certificate Courses

The professional graduate certificate in Business Economics requires four courses.

You may choose from the following course groups, using the certificate course search :

• Principles of Economics (choose one course from this group)
• Microeconomics (choose one course from this group)
• Electives (choose any two courses from this group)

Earning Your Certificate

Most of our certificates can be completed online and no formal application process is required to pursue a certificate.

To meet the requirements for the certificate, you must:

• Complete the  four certificate courses for graduate credit .
• Earn at least a  B grade  in each course.
• Complete the courses within three years .

Learn more about  pursuing a certificate  and the process of  requesting your certificate .

Stack Your Certificate Into a Degree

Stackable credential pathways allow you to earn multiple credentials by completing courses that meet overlapping requirements. In the short term, you can earn your business economics certificate. Once completed, those four courses may count toward either a master’s degree in finance or a master’s degree in management .

This stackable pathway offers an efficient, cost-effective way to earn short-term credentials to help fill immediate skill gaps and acquire specialized knowledge while building a foundation for long-term success that showcases your expertise in the field.

Learn how to plan a stackable credential pathway .

Affordability is core to our mission. When compared to our continuing education peers, it’s a fraction of the cost.

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

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PhD Programs

• Accounting & Management
• Business Economics
• Health Policy (Management)
• Organizational Behavior
• Technology & Operations Management

Students in our PhD programs are encouraged from day one to think of this experience as their first job in business academia—a training ground for a challenging and rewarding career generating rigorous, relevant research that influences practice.

Our doctoral students work with faculty and access resources throughout HBS and Harvard University. The PhD program curriculum requires coursework at HBS and other Harvard discipline departments, and with HBS and Harvard faculty on advisory committees. Faculty throughout Harvard guide the programs through their participation on advisory committees.

How do I know which program is right for me?

There are many paths, but we are one HBS. Our PhD students draw on diverse personal and professional backgrounds to pursue an ever-expanding range of research topics. Explore more here about each program’s requirements & curriculum, read student profiles for each discipline as well as student research , and placement information.

The PhD in Business Administration grounds students in the disciplinary theories and research methods that form the foundation of an academic career. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program has five areas of study: Accounting and Management , Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a field exam. The remaining years of the program are spent conducting independent research, working on co-authored publications, and writing the dissertation. Students join these programs from a wide range of backgrounds, from consulting to engineering. Many applicants possess liberal arts degrees, as there is not a requirement to possess a business degree before joining the program

The PhD in Business Economics provides students the opportunity to study in both Harvard’s world-class Economics Department and Harvard Business School. Throughout the program, coursework includes exploration of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, probability and statistics, and econometrics. While some students join the Business Economics program directly from undergraduate or masters programs, others have worked in economic consulting firms or as research assistants at universities or intergovernmental organizations.

The PhD program in Health Policy (Management) is rooted in data-driven research on the managerial, operational, and strategic issues facing a wide range of organizations. Coursework includes the study of microeconomic theory, management, research methods, and statistics. The backgrounds of students in this program are quite varied, with some coming from public health or the healthcare industry, while others arrive at the program with a background in disciplinary research

The PhD program in Organizational Behavior offers two tracks: either a micro or macro approach. In the micro track, students focus on the study of interpersonal relationships within organizations and the effects that groups have on individuals. Students in the macro track use sociological methods to examine organizations, groups, and markets as a whole, including topics such as the influence of individuals on organizational change, or the relationship between social missions and financial objectives. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program includes core disciplinary training in sociology or psychology, as well as additional coursework in organizational behavior.

Accounting & Management  

Business economics  , health policy (management)  , marketing  , organizational behavior  , strategy  , technology & operations management  .

100 Notable alumni of Harvard University

Updated: February 29, 2024

Harvard University is 1st in the world, 1st in North America, and 1st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Harvard University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 38 individuals affiliated with Harvard University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president in U.S. history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004, and as a civil rights lawyer and university lecturer.

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to as JFK or Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to his presidency.

William Henry Gates III is an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and writer best known for co-founding the software giant Microsoft, along with his childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief software architect, while also being its largest individual shareholder until May 2014. He was a prominent pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded the social media service Facebook, along with his Harvard roommates in 2004, and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), of which he is executive chairman, chief executive officer and controlling shareholder.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a member of the Democratic Party and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. His initial two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II.

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Robert Oppenheimer

J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist. He was director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and is often called the "father of the atomic bomb".

Matthew Paige Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars in 2007, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim: as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles; as a recording artist; and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award. Garland won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her 1961 live recording, Judy at Carnegie Hall; she was the first woman to win that award.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Jr., often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, conservationist, naturalist, and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously held various positions in New York politics, rising up the ranks to serve as the state's 33rd governor for two years. He later served as the 25th vice president under president William McKinley for six months in 1901, assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination. As president, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies.

Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven, when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person in the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg authored the majority opinions in cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005). Later in her tenure, Ginsburg received attention for passionate dissents that reflected liberal views of the law. She was popularly dubbed "the Notorious R.B.G.", a moniker she later embraced.

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy, also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968, when he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Like his brothers John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, he was a prominent member of the Democratic Party and is an icon of modern American liberalism.

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to former president Barack Obama.

Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

Henry Kissinger

Henry Alfred Kissinger was an American diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, and politician who served as the United States secretary of state and national security advisor in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford between 1969 and 1977.

Rashida Jones

Rashida Leah Jones is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series Boston Public (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series The Office (2006–2009; 2011), as Ann Perkins on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), and as the eponymous lead role in the TBS comedy series Angie Tribeca (2016–2019).

Susan Wojcicki

Susan Diane Wojcicki is an American business executive who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of YouTube from 2014 to 2023. Her net worth was estimated at $765 million in 2022.

Jon Bernthal

Jonathan Edward Bernthal is an American actor. Beginning his career in the early 2000s, he came to prominence for portraying Shane Walsh on the AMC horror series The Walking Dead (2010–2012; 2018), where he was a starring cast member in the first two seasons. Bernthal achieved further recognition as Frank Castle / Punisher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Daredevil (2016) and The Punisher (2017–2019). For his recurring role as Michael Berzatto in the series The Bear (2022–present), Bernthal received a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Elisabeth Shue

Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid (1984), Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Soapdish (1991), The Saint (1997), Hollow Man (2000), Piranha 3D (2010), Battle of the Sexes (2017), Death Wish (2018) and Greyhound (2020). For her performance in Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Shue was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award.

Jared Kushner

Jared Corey Kushner is an American businessman, investor, and former government official. He is the son-in-law of former president Donald Trump through his marriage to Ivanka Trump, and served as a senior advisor to Trump from 2017 to 2021. He was also Director of the Office of American Innovation.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor. He has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Ben Shapiro

Benjamin Aaron Shapiro is an American lawyer, columnist, author, and conservative political commentator. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, Newsweek, and Ami Magazine, and serves as editor emeritus for The Daily Wire, which he co-founded in 2015. Shapiro is the host of The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily political podcast and live radio show. He was editor-at-large of Breitbart News from 2012 until his resignation in 2016. Shapiro has authored sixteen books.

John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War and in the early years of the new nation, he served the U.S. government as a senior diplomat in Europe. Adams was the first person to hold the office of vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams and his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson.

Rafael Edward Cruz is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008.

Eduardo Saverin

Eduardo Luiz Saverin is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor based in Singapore. Saverin is one of the co-founders of Facebook. In 2012, he owned 53 million Facebook shares (approximately 2% of all outstanding shares), valued at approximately $2 billion at the time. He also invested in early-stage startups such as Qwiki and Jumio. As of February 17, 2024, his net worth was $26.2 billion, making him the 65th richest person in the world.

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 2014 until 2023. He served as the mayor of New York City for three terms from 2002 to 2013 and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the United States. He has served as chair of the Defense Innovation Board, an independent advisory board that provides recommendations on artificial intelligence, software, data and digital modernization to the United States Department of Defense, since June 2022.

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna Judd. Her acting career has spanned more than three decades, and she has become heavily involved in global humanitarian efforts and political activism.

Ron DeSantis

Ronald Dion DeSantis is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Florida. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. DeSantis was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He withdrew his candidacy in January 2024.

Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky is an American filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, melodramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological fiction.

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1993 and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2000 presidential election, which he lost to George W. Bush.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., also known by his initials as RFK Jr. and the nickname Bobby, is an American politician, environmental lawyer and activist who promotes anti-vaccine misinformation and public health conspiracy theories. He is the chairman and founder of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group, and an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election. A member of the Kennedy family, Kennedy is a son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and senator Ted Kennedy.

Pete Buttigieg

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg is an American politician and former naval officer who is currently serving as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 32nd mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to 2020, which earned him the nickname "Mayor Pete".

Caroline Kennedy

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Australia since 2022. Kennedy previously served in the Obama administration as the United States ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. She is a member of the Kennedy family as well as the only surviving child of US president John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

David Rockefeller

David Rockefeller was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, and family patriarch from 2004 until his death in 2017. Rockefeller was the fifth son and youngest child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and a grandson of John D. Rockefeller and Laura Spelman Rockefeller.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its $210 million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000. Since 1996, he has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore Kennedy was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party and the prominent Kennedy family, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died. He is ranked fifth in U.S. history for length of continuous service as a senator. Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the father of U.S. representative Patrick J. Kennedy.

Mitt Romney

Willard Mitt Romney is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Utah since 2019. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election, losing to Barack Obama.

Conan O'Brien

Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has also been host of the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018 and is set to launch a travel show, Conan O'Brien Must Go, on Max.

Colin Kelly Jost is an American comedian, writer, and actor. Jost has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2005, and co-anchor of Weekend Update since 2014. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers from 2012 to 2015 and later came back as one of the show's head writers in 2017 until 2022 alongside Michael Che.

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades including six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ratan Naval Tata is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was a chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, and interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. He continues to head its charitable trusts. In 2008, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India, after receiving the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in 2000.

Tyra Lynne Banks, also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, on which she appeared three times. Banks was one of only a few Black models to achieve Supermodel status. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1997 to 2005. By the early 2000s, Banks was one of the world's top-earning models.

Jeremy Shu-How Lin is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player for the New Taipei Kings of the P. League+ (PLG). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2011–12 season, sparking a cultural phenomenon known as "Linsanity". Lin was the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, and is one of the few Asian Americans to have played in the league. He is the first Asian American player to win an NBA championship, having done so with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

Paul Gardner Allen was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, film producer, and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which helped spark the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Allen was ranked as the 44th-wealthiest person in the world by Forbes in 2018, with an estimated net worth of $20.3 billion at the time of his death.

Isoroku Yamamoto

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II.

Steve Bannon

Stephen Kevin Bannon is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during the first seven months of Trump's term. He is a former executive chairman of Breitbart News and previously served on the board of the now-defunct data-analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state.

Mike Pompeo

Michael Richard Pompeo is an American politician who served in the administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United States secretary of state from 2018 to 2021. He also served in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.

Mira Sorvino

Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995).

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was an American statesman, politician, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diplomatic and political career, Adams served as an ambassador and also as a member of the United States Congress representing Massachusetts in both chambers. He was the eldest son of John Adams, who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, and First Lady Abigail Adams. Initially a Federalist like his father, he won election to the presidency as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and later, in the mid-1830s, became affiliated with the Whig Party.

Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Rajiv Gandhi is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, who represents the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the Lok Sabha. He previously represented the constituency of Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. He is a member of the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress and was the party president from December 2017 to July 2019. He is the chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress, the National Students Union of India and a trustee of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. He is the son of the former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980.

B. J. Novak

Benjamin Joseph Manaly Novak is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs is an American writer. She is the daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Chrisann Brennan.

David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace's 1996 novel Infinite Jest was cited by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. His posthumous novel, The Pale King (2011), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012. The Los Angeles Times's David Ulin called Wallace "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years".

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published eighteen books of poetry, eighteen novels, eleven books of non-fiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.

Kayleigh McEnany

Kayleigh McEnany is an American conservative political commentator, television personality, and writer who served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021.

Jack Lemmon

John Uhler Lemmon III was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leading The Guardian to label him as "the most successful tragi-comedian of his age."

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and Pinocchio in New Line Cinema's 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr

Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was a patriarch of the Kennedy family, which included President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and longtime Senator Ted Kennedy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson, who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. Friedrich Nietzsche considered him "the most gifted of the Americans", and Walt Whitman referred to him as his "master".

Tom Morello

Thomas Baptist Morello is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. Morello was a touring musician with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Under the moniker the Nightwatchman Morello released his solo work. Together with Boots Riley, he formed Street Sweeper Social Club. Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, which airs a monthly program on Pacifica Radio station KPFK (90.7 FM) in Los Angeles.

Michael Crichton

John Michael Crichton was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. Crichton’s novels often explore human technological advancement and attempted dominance over nature, both with frequently catastrophic results; many of his works are cautionary tales, especially regarding themes of biotechnology. Several of his stories center specifically around themes of genetic modification, hybridization, paleontology and/or zoology. Many feature medical or scientific underpinnings, reflective of his own medical training and scientific background.

Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and stateswoman who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman elected to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country. Ideologically a liberal and a secularist, she chaired or co-chaired the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her assassination in 2007.

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 October 2010, becoming the 20th player in the Open Era and the first from a Scandinavian country to hold the top position. In 2018, she became the first Dane to win a major singles title, at the Australian Open.

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim. Bernstein was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history" according to music critic Donal Henahan. Bernstein's honors and accolades include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award) as well as an Academy Award nomination. He received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.

T. S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. He is considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest poets, as well as a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry. His use of language, writing style, and verse structure reinvigorated English poetry. He is also noted for his critical essays, which often reevaluated long-held cultural beliefs.

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual anchor for the originalist and textualist position in the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative wing. For catalyzing an originalist and textualist movement in American law, he has been described as one of the most influential jurists of the twentieth century, and one of the most important justices in the history of the Supreme Court. Scalia was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University was named in his honor.

John Roberts

John Glover Roberts Jr. is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a moderate conservative judicial philosophy, though he is primarily an institutionalist. He has shown a willingness to work with the Supreme Court's liberal bloc, and has been regarded as a swing vote on the Court.

Damien Chazelle

Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for directing the films Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022), for which he has won various awards, including an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA Award.

Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of Israel from 2007 to 2014. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and except for a three-month-long interregnum in early 2006, served as a member of the Knesset continuously until he was elected president in 2007. Serving in the Knesset for 48 years (with the first uninterrupted stretch lasting more than 46 years), Peres is the longest serving member in the Knesset's history. At the time of his retirement from politics in 2014, he was the world's oldest head of state and was considered the last link to Israel's founding generation.

Chuck Schumer

Charles Ellis Schumer is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since 2021 and the senior United States senator from New York since 1999. A member of the Democratic Party, he has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017 and was Senate Minority Leader from 2017 to 2021. Schumer is in his fifth Senate term, making him the longest-serving US senator from New York, having surpassed Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jacob K. Javits in 2023. He is the dean of New York's congressional delegation.

Mehmet Cengiz Öz, also known as Dr. Oz, is an American television personality, physician, author, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, and former political candidate.

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front runner.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy is an American entrepreneur and politician. He founded Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, in 2014. In February 2023, Ramaswamy declared his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination in the 2024 United States presidential election. He suspended his campaign in January 2024, after finishing fourth in Iowa's caucuses.

Neil Gorsuch

Neil McGill Gorsuch is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since April 10, 2017.

Tatyana Ali

Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series Love That Girl!, and played a recurring role as Roxanne on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2007 to 2013.

William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst Sr. was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboyant methods of yellow journalism influenced the nation's popular media by emphasizing sensationalism and human interest stories. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 with Mitchell Trubitt after being given control of The San Francisco Examiner by his wealthy father, Senator George Hearst.

Robert Kraft

Robert Kenneth Kraft is an American sports executive and businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development, and a private equity portfolio. Since 1994, he has owned the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Kraft also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS), which he founded in 1996, and the esport-based Boston Uprising, which he founded in 2017. He has an estimated net worth of $11.1 billion dollars according to Forbes.

Steven James Zahn is an American actor. His film roles include Reality Bites (1994), Stuart Little (1999), Daddy Day Care (2003), Shattered Glass (2003), Sahara (2005), Chicken Little (2005), the Diary of a Wimpy Kid trilogy (2010–2012), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), The Good Dinosaur (2015), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). On television, Zahn appeared as Davis McAlary on HBO's Treme (2010–2013), and as Mark Mossbacher in the first season of the HBO satire comedy miniseries The White Lotus (2021), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Zahn won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Happy, Texas (1999).

Michael Collins

Michael Collins was an American astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon in 1969 while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface. He was also a test pilot and major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early 20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.

William S. Burroughs

William Seward Burroughs II was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature. Burroughs wrote eighteen novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays, and five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences; he was initially briefly known by the pen name William Lee. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "Shotgun Art".

Aga Khan IV

Shah Karim al-Husayni, known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis. He has held the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan since 11 July, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, who is considered an Imam by Nizari Ismailis, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage.

W. E. B. Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist.

Dustin Moskovitz

Dustin Aaron Moskovitz is an American billionaire internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms) with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found Asana with Justin Rosenstein. In March 2011, Forbes reported Moskovitz to be the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, on the basis of his then 2.34% share in Facebook. As of October 2023, his net worth is estimated at US$18.0 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Antony Blinken

Antony John Blinken is an American lawyer and diplomat currently serving as the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. Blinken was previously national security advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2013.

William James Sidis

William James Sidis was an American child prodigy with exceptional mathematical and linguistic skills who was active as a mathematician, linguist, historian, and author (whose works were published covertly due to never using his real name). He wrote the book The Animate and the Inanimate, published in 1925 (written around 1920), in which he speculated about the origin of life in the context of thermodynamics.

Steve Ballmer

Steven Anthony Ballmer is an American business executive and investor who was the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a co-founder of Ballmer Group, a philanthropic investment company. As of January 2024, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his personal wealth at around $135 billion, making him the sixth-richest person in the world.

Stockard Channing

Stockard Channing is an American actress. She played Betty Rizzo in the film Grease (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing (1999–2006). She also originated the role of Ouisa Kittredge in the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation; the 1993 film version earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She was also one of two comic foils of The Number Painter on Sesame Street.

Dean Norris

Dean Joseph Norris is an American actor. He is best known for playing DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2020). He also portrayed town councilman James "Big Jim" Rennie on the CBS series Under the Dome (2013–2015) and played mob boss Clay "Uncle Daddy" Husser on the TNT series Claws (2017–2022). Throughout his career, Norris has acted in nearly 50 movies and more than 100 different TV shows.

Christian Horner

Christian Edward Johnston Horner,, is a British former racing driver and team principal of the Red Bull Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005, winning thirteen world titles (six World Constructors' Championships and seven World Drivers' Championships). His motorsport career started as a racing car driver, before he switched roles to become head of International Formula 3000 team Arden International Motorsport in 1999.

Elaine Chao

Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as United States secretary of labor in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009 and as United States secretary of transportation in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet or as secretary of transportation.

Bridgit Mendler

Bridgit Claire Mendler is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Radio Disney Music Award, and nominations for three Shorty Awards, eight World Music Awards, and a Young Artist Award.

B. F. Skinner

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. Considered the father of Behaviorism, he was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.

Gabe Newell

Gabe Logan Newell, also known by his nickname Gaben, is an American businessman who is the president of the video game company Valve Corporation.

Timothy Michael Kaine is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 70th governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. Kaine was the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election as Hillary Clinton's running mate.

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Kara Sandberg is an American technology executive, philanthropist, and writer. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is also the founder of LeanIn.Org. In 2008, she was made COO at Facebook, becoming the company's second-highest-ranking official. In June 2012, she was elected to Facebook's board of directors, becoming the first woman to serve on its board. As head of the company's advertising business, Sandberg was credited for making the company profitable. Prior to joining Facebook as its COO, Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and was involved in its philanthropic arm Google.org. Before that, Sandberg served as research assistant to Lawrence Summers at the World Bank, and subsequently as his chief of staff when he was Bill Clinton's United States Secretary of the Treasury.

Get started with your application to the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS)

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Welcome! 

Applications to degree programs for the 2025-2026 academic year will be available in early fall 2024.

Click here to Access the Applicant Portal

We’re delighted that you are interested in pursuing academic studies at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). Whether you intend to study toward a master’s or PhD degree, join a visiting students program, or participate in one of our outreach programs, we are looking forward to reviewing your application. For information about tuition and fees, see the Cost of Attendance section.

Harvard does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, political beliefs, veteran status, disability or any other protected classification, and we actively seek applicants from historically underrepresented communities. We hope you’ll consider applying. 

Immigration status does not factor into decisions about admissions and financial aid. For more information, see Undocumented at Harvard . 

Get Started 

Step 1: choose a program. .

You have several options for study at Harvard Griffin GSAS. 

Degree Programs 

The school offers master’s and PhD degrees in programs based in the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering and applied sciences. Many programs also allow a student to conduct more focused research by choosing an area of study. Review the programs on offer to decide which program best meets your academic goals. 

Are you a Harvard College student looking for information on the AB/AM and AB/SM programs? Visit the Harvard AB/AM and AB/SM programs page.

Non-Degree Programs 

The Visiting Students Program offers you the opportunity to take classes and conduct research with faculty. 

Outreach Programs 

If you are looking for a short-term research experience, consider a paid summer internship  organized by Harvard Griffin GSAS, Harvard departments, and Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals. The School also offers  Research Scholar Initiative , a post-baccalaureate program that enables college graduates to take part in a long-term research experience. 

Information for Exchange Scholars:

Exchange Scholars  

Step 2: Make a note of the application deadline and review admissions policies.

Application deadlines vary by program and are noted on the relevant program page . You should also review our admissions policies and Applying to Degree Programs .

Step 3: Determine whether you need to take standardized tests and register early. 

Degree programs may require Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test or subject test scores. Applicants who are non-native English speakers may be required to demonstrate English proficiency by submitting scores from an English Language test (TOEFL or IELTS). Review the admissions policy on English proficiency for more information.  

Step 4: Complete your application by the deadline. 

The degree program application becomes available in September. You should review Applying to Degree Programs before starting your application. All components of the application to a degree program are due by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the deadline date.

Applications for the Visiting Students Program are accepted twice a year.

For application information about our Outreach Programs , visit your program page of interest.  

Who should I contact if I have a question about a specific program? 

If you still have questions after carefully reviewing your degree program of interest, reach out to the contact noted on the program’s page. 

Can I enroll in courses instead of applying to a degree program? 

If you are interested in taking courses for academic credit outside of a formal degree program, you may apply for Visiting Student status by the appropriate deadline. Please visit the Visiting Students website or contact [email protected] to learn more. 

Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) Applicants 

While prospective degree program applicants are encouraged to carefully choose the HILS program that best fits their academic goals, interested applicants may apply to up to three programs and pay only one application fee. If you elect to apply to three programs, only two may be programs in the Department of Medical Sciences (these programs are biomedical informatics, biological and biomedical sciences, immunology, neuroscience, speech and hearing bioscience and technology, and virology). The fee waiver for additional applications is ONLY available for those applying to multiple programs in the HILS federation. For more information, please consult the HILS page . 

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Doctoral Programs

In this section, phd in public policy.

• PhD in Political Economy & Government

PhD in Health Policy

Phd in social policy.

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Health care and politics. Inequality and public policy. Economics and disruption.

You see today's most compelling global issues as complex, interrelated, and urgent. You believe that fresh ideas—and research to carry them through—are critical to building stronger communities and a more just world.

In collaboration with the  Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences  (Harvard Griffin GSAS),  Harvard Kennedy School immerses you in rigorous learning that bridges academic disciplines and draws from leading faculties across the university’s graduate schools. When you pursue a doctoral degree at HKS, you are among extraordinarily bright minds, you’ll work with committed faculty members who are leaders in their fields, and you’ll have unparalleled access to resources across Harvard University.

Prepare yourself for a career in academia or policymaking that demands advanced knowledge of economics, political science, and social policy. Translate your ideas into action that can untangle our world’s unprecedented challenges. Join us.

Economics at Harvard University

Economics degrees available at harvard, harvard economics rankings.

Popularity of Economics at Harvard

How much do economics graduates from harvard make, salary of economics graduates with a bachelor's degree.

Economics majors who earn their bachelor's degree from Harvard go on to jobs where they make a median salary of $89,515 a year. This is higher than $45,868, which is the national median for all economics bachelor's degree recipients.

How Much Student Debt Do Economics Graduates from Harvard Have?

Student debt of economics graduates with a bachelor's degree.

While getting their bachelor's degree at Harvard, economics students borrow a median amount of $6,617 in student loans. This is not too bad considering that the median debt load of all economics bachelor's degree recipients across the country is $22,987.

Related Programs

Harvard economics students, harvard economics bachelor’s program.

Of the 154 economics students who graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2020-2021 from Harvard, about 64% were men and 36% were women.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's in economics.

Harvard Economics Master’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 70 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard. About 63% were men and 37% were women.

The following table and chart show the ethnic background for students who recently graduated from Harvard University with a master's in economics.

Majors Similar to Economics

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Announcing the 2024 Stone PhD Scholars

The Stone Program in Wealth Distribution, Inequality, and Social Policy has awarded ten fellowships to a new cohort of Stone PhD Scholars conducting research on inequality across disciplines at Harvard.

Gaby Aboulafia (Health Policy) is a PhD student in the Political Analysis concentration of the Health Policy program. Her research interests are in how politics shape health policy choices and how federalism creates unequal and racialized policy outcomes. In her work as a Stone Scholar, she hopes to examine how health insurance coverage policy contributes to disparities in wealth accumulation .

Aditi Bhowmick (Public Policy) studies barriers to female labor force participation and how social norms interact with economic shocks to perpetuate gender inequality. She was previously working as India Director at Development Data Lab, where she produced research on in-group judicial bias in India, upward mobility in South Asia, excess mortality during Covid-19 and implications of cultural distance on economic opportunity in India. She holds a MPA from Princeton University and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Cornell University. When not trying to make sense of the world through data, she can be found cooking, painting, or on long runs with her husband .

Aidan Connaughton (Government) studies local politics, accountability, civic engagement, and non-voting political behavior. His current research focuses on the attitudes and characteristics of local elites with regard to public comment and public commenters as well as the relationship between political and economic inequality .

Hannah Craig (Sociology) is a doctoral student in Sociology and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Her research interests include race/ethnicity, incarceration, and the criminalization of the body. Currently, she is studying the association between skin-tone and other physical characteristics and during-incarceration inequality. She is originally from Michigan, and received her B.A. in Political Science and Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Michigan. Before beginning her graduate studies, she worked in health and human services research in the Bay Area, as well as serving as a research assistant for the Institute for Social Research at U-M .

Major Eason (Sociology) is a PhD student in Sociology whose research interest revolve around environmental justice and sustainable development. These interests emerge from a pressing need to create solutions that can work to aid communities facing environmental racism at the local level. Namely, he analyzes how disparities in toxic facility placement manifest at the ground level. Through mutli-level and multi-method scholarship, he broadly examines the question, How is environmental racism manifested differently across place ?

Johann D. Gaebler (Statistics) is a Ph.D. student in Statistics whose research develops and applies data science and statistical tools to complex social problems, such as mass incarceration, hiring discrimination, and other issues at the intersection of statistics, computer science, and policy. His work focuses on the measurement of discrimination, computational social science, and algorithmic fairness, as well as causal inference, machine learning, Bayesian statistics, statistical computing.

Zheng Ma (Government & Social Policy) is a PhD student in Social Policy and Government at Harvard University. His research interests lie primarily in leveraging computational methods to understand social phenomena and solve social problems .

Clare Suter (Economics) is a third-year Harvard Ph.D. student in Economics, where she studies inequality and intergenerational mobility using tools from labor and public economics. Prior to graduate school, she was a predoctoral fellow at Opportunity Insights, and received her BA in Public Policy with a minor in Statistics from the University of Chicago .

Jessica Urzua (Sociology & Social Policy) is a PhD student in Sociology and Social Policy. She is interested in studying how power and social structure in labor markets affect economic inequality, and how social policies may exacerbate or mitigate this inequality. She received an AB in Social Anthropology from Harvard College and an MA in Economics from Columbia University .

Julius Wilson (Government & Social Policy) is a Ph.D. student in Government and Social Policy, with research interests broadly in government institutions. Prior to coming to Harvard, he worked at Columbia University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics, primarily on the Obama Presidency Oral History Project. He holds a B.A. from Columbia in Sociology, with a minor in African-American studies.

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• Student Paper Prize 2021
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• Peer Concentration Advisors (PCA) Program

PCAs serve as peer advisors for pre-concentrators (and current concentrators), providing a valuable perspective and helping students to discover additional resources and opportunities.

If you would like to be matched to a PCA, you can do one of the following:

• Reach out by email to a PCA with similar academic, career, or extracurricular interests by exploring their bios below. 
• Get paired with a PCA by filling out the Find my PCA Google Form . While we recognize some students might know exactly what they are looking for, we are happy to help pair you. 

If  you are interested in becoming a PCA, contact   [email protected] .

Please note More PCAs Coming Soon!

Matthew Andrews (Co-Captain)

Email: [email protected]

Hey! My name is Matthew and I am a junior studying Applied Math with a focus in Economics in Eliot House hailing from Pretoria, South Africa. On campus I’m the co-president of Woodbridge (the international student society), a CS 50 TF, a PAF, and do research. I'm interested in finance, economics, and economic policy and I spent my sophomore summer doing.research on industrial policy in Malaysia. I've benefited a lot from reaching out and asking my PCAs for advice so I'd love to help wherever I can be it classes, extracurriculars, teaching, research, finance or anything else.

Raquel "Rocky" Aguirre

Email: [email protected]

Hi! My name is Rocky Aguirre; I'm a junior in Eliot House studying Applied Math on the biological sciences track with a secondary in Molecular & Cellular Biology. I have always been very drawn to the sciences and analytics, so AM was the perfect mix for me. On campus, I am involved with the Fuerza Latina club and also a part of the Varsity Women’s Volleyball team. Outside of school, I’ve worked in the consulting industry but I am also interested in pursuing data science as a profession. During my free time, I enjoy reading (all kinds of genres) and watching movies (big Marvel and Harry Potter fan). Please reach out with any questions about AM-bio or if you just want to chat!

Emily Figueiredo

Email: [email protected]

Hi! My name is Emily Figueiredo, and I am a junior in Quincy House. I am studying Applied Mathematics on the Data Science track, with a secondary in Computer Science. In addition to being a peer concentration advisor, I am also a course assistant for Math 1a. Outside of academics, I love hiking, reading, traveling, soccer, and board games. I’m very excited to be a PCA this year, and I can’t wait to connect with you. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or simply want to chat!

Jessica Liang

Email: [email protected]

Hi everyone! My name is Jess and I'm a junior in Currier studying AM/Bio with a secondary in chemistry. I'm really interested in biochemistry, computational biology, and octopuses, and I do research in the CCB department studying all of these! On campus, I'm pretty involved in research and hope to go to grad school in a biology-flavored field. I'm also a member of Harvard Taekwondo and a course assistant for LS50. I'm super excited to be a PCA this year, and please reach out about AM/Bio, research, grad school, martial arts, or anything else you have questions about!

Arjun Nageswaran

Email: [email protected]

Hi, I'm Arjun! I'm a junior concentrating in applied math-economics in Quincy House. I'm interested in government policy and economic research, and my favorite thing about the concentration is the flexible way you get to pick and choose the classes to build a course schedule that supports your interests. Happy to talk anytime about courses or anything else applied math/econ related!

Email: [email protected]

Hi! My name is Janice, and I am a junior living in Quincy House studying Applied Math on the Sociology Track with a secondary in CS + citation in Spanish. On campus, I’m involved with PBHA’s Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment (BRYE) 1-2-1, the Harvard Korean Association, and the Harvard College Consulting Group. I’ve also studied abroad in Spain and interned with a healthcare non-profit in Burundi! I love reading (just finished The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion!), cooking, and trying new restaurants in my free time. If you want to chat or ask any questions about the Sociology Track, choosing courses, etc. feel free to reach out! I’m happy to meet you!

Jennifer Xiong

Email: [email protected]

Hi! My name is Jennifer, and I'm a junior in Lowell House studying Applied Math on the Economics and Computer Science track with a secondary in Philosophy. On campus, I'm Co-President of the Harvard Undergraduate Association for U.S.-China Relations and a Teaching Fellow for CS50. In my free time, I love to dance and travel. Don't hesitate to reach out about classes, the Ec/CS track, or AM in general - I'd love to meet you!

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Graduate Programs

MA in Managerial Economics

This big data emphasis track provides rigorous training in economics and data analytics and is designed for students seeking jobs in either the private or public sectors. This is a great way to progress your future career in many different fields.

Managerial Economics

MA in Applied Economics

This track provides rigorous training in economics and is designed for students seeking jobs in either the private or public sectors. The first year coursework of this program coincides with the first year coursework of the Ph.D. program, so this track is also appropriate for students who might wish to purse a Ph.D. degree.   

Applied Economics

Ph.D. in Economics

This curriculum provides a solid base of core theoretical and empirical skills and the opportunity to pursue advanced careers in Economics. Many of our graduates have gone on to distinguished careers in higher education, government, and the private sector.

Economics PhD

Master of Arts in Managerial Economics

The Department of Economics is now offering a Master's Degree in Managerial Economics with a Big Data Emphasis. This program is designed to be completed in 1-2 years, depending on full-time/part-time status, prerequisites, and scheduling. This track provides rigorous training in economics and data analytics and is designed for students seeking jobs in either the private or public sectors. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Nope! Applicants usually have a bachelor's degree in economics but this is not a prerequisite. Some course work in economics including both intermediate micro (ECON 3113) and macroeconomics (ECON 3133) is required prior to starting the program. All applicants need a good working knowledge of mathematics and basic statistics. At least two semesters of calculus and one semester of basic statistics (ECON 2843) or their equivalents are required. For Big Data courses, some knowledge of Excel, Access, SQL, or programming is helpful but not required.

The first year coursework consists of core courses in Economics, supplemented with Economics graduate electives and approved Data Analytics courses. Here is a sample schedule:

Fall Semester

• ECON 5023 – Statistics for Decision Making
• ECON 5033 – Managerial Economics I
• ECON Elective – Any 4000/5000-level Economics course that carries graduate credit*
• Big Data Elective - choose 1-2 graduate electives from courses in MIT / GIS / ISE**

Spring Semester

• ECON 5043 – Managerial Economics II
• ECON 4223 – Econometric Analysis OR Any 4000/5000-level Economics course that carries graduate credit*
• Big Data Elective - choose 1-2 graduate electives from courses in MIT / GIS / ISE** 

*with approval of graduate director **with approval of graduate director and departmental permission

The Department of Economics evaluates each applicant individually in order to select for admission those applicants who have the aptitude, scholarship, and analytical skill necessary to successfully complete an advanced degree. In order to form an opinion about an applicant's aptitude, scholarship, and analytical ability we require the following information.

• Transcript of all undergraduate and graduate coursework.
• Scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) aptitude test, taken within the last two years.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation.
• Statement of purpose

The Graduate College of the University of Oklahoma has specific admission requirements of:

• Minimum B average over the last 60 hrs of undergraduate study or the last 12 hours of graduate study 
• (for non-native English speaking applicants) a TOEFL score of 550 or higher.

The Department of Economics does not have specific admission requirements (e.g. minimum GRE scores). Rather, an admissions committee recommends admission on the basis of GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and prior academic record. All these sources of information are helpful in the evaluation of an applicant's ability to pursue an advance degree. Consequently, applications will not be considered unless all information is available.

International students are encouraged to apply for fall admission by January 1, and all other students are encouraged to apply for fall admission by March 1st.

Please note that there is a 2-semester sequence of core classes that start in Fall, but it may be possible to join the program in the Spring semester.

Students will enroll in ECON 5940 (Research in Economic Problems) for two hours in their final semester, for which they may write and present a research paper. A faculty supervisor and committee for the paper must be arranged before a student can enroll. 

Yes! All M.A. students in the Managerial Economics + Big Data Emphasis will be advised by the Graduate Program Director (GPD). In no circumstances will a student will be allowed to alter their course curriculum without the permission of the GPD and all elective course selections are to be approved by the GPD. 

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Master of Arts in Applied Economics

This track provides rigorous training in economics and is designed for students seeking jobs in either the private or public sectors. The first year coursework of this program coincides with the first year coursework of the Ph.D. program, so this track is also appropriate for students who might wish to purse a Ph.D. degree. Please note that students can only begin the Applied Track during the fall semester.  

Nope! Applicants usually have a bachelor's degree in economics but this is not a prerequisite. Some course work in economics including both intermediate micro (ECON 3113) and macroeconomics (ECON 3133) is required prior to starting the program. All applicants need a good working knowledge of mathematics and basic statistics. At least two semesters of calculus and one semester of basic statistics (ECON 2843) or their equivalents are required. A previous course in linear algebra is highly recommended.

This track requires: 

• Successful completion of 32 credit hours of coursework. 
• An MA Pass or better on the Core I Examination. 
• A pass grade on the Comprehensive Examination. 

The purpose of the core examination is to assure that the student has a firm foundation in economic analysis prior to taking advanced courses. The Economics Department Core Examination is given in August prior to the beginning of the student's second year. The exam has three portions. The first portion consists of microeconomic theory and tests over the material taught in ECON 5123 and ECON 6213. The second portion consists of macroeconomic theory and tests over material taught in ECON 5163 and ECON 6313. The third portion consists of statistics and econometrics questions and test over the material taught in ECON 5153 and ECON 5213. Grades are M.A. Pass and Fail. All parts must be passed at the M.A. Pass level.

This Comprehensive Examination tests over the course material that the student has covered in their formal coursework, with emphasis given to those courses taken in the second year of their academic study. The Comprehensive Examination must be taken no later than the first semester after the student has completed her coursework. If the student fails, they may repeat the examination one more time during the following semester or later.

For the Core Examination: 

In the event that the student fails to pass any or all portions at the M.A. Pass level, a retake opportunity is provided. The retake exam is given in the next semester, during the week prior to the beginning of classes for the spring semester. The student need only retake those parts in which a grade less than M.A. Pass was received. Only one retake is provided. If the student fails to obtain a M.A. Pass on the second effort, that student is required to leave the M.A. program.

For the Comprehensive Examination: 

If the student fails, they may repeat the examination one more time during the following semester or later.

The first year coursework parallels the Ph.D. program. It includes the following:

• ECON 5153 – Math for Economists
• ECON 5123 – Advanced Price and Welfare Theory
• ECON 5163 – Advanced Macroeconomics and Growth Theory
• ECON 5213 – Econometrics I
• ECON 6313 – Seminars in Macro and Growth Theory
• ECON 6213 – Seminar in Price and Welfare Theory
• ECON 5243 – Econometrics II

For the second year, you are required to take at least four courses (12 credit hours) approved by the Graduate Program Director, but these can include electives out side of economics. In addition, all students must enroll in Econ 5940 (Research in Economic Problems) for two credit hours, for which they will write a research paper. A faculty supervisor for the paper must be arranged before a student can enroll in Econ 5940.

After the first year, all students will be required to take the Core Examinations. 

The deadline to apply is January 31st. 

Please note that students can only begin  during the fall semester.

Yes! All M.A. students in the Applied Economics will be advised by the Graduate Program Director (GPD). In no circumstances will a student will be allowed to alter their course curriculum without the permission of the GPD and all elective course selections are to be approved by the GPD. Among other responsibilities, the GPD is responsible for the administration of the Core and Comprehensive Examination.

Doctor of Philosophy in Economics

The faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Oklahoma has a strong commitment to excellence in graduate education. The curriculum provides a solid base of core theoretical and empirical skills and the opportunity to pursue advanced careers in Economics. More than 150 Ph.D.s in Economics have been earned since the early 1950s. Many of our graduates have gone on to distinguished careers in higher education, government, and the private sector.

There are three structural elements of our Ph.D. program. The first is a rigorous and well-integrated core curriculum of economic theory and statistical analysis. The second element consists of concentrated study in selected fields, including development economics, industrial organization, international economics, and public economics. The third element consists of training designed to prepare students to undertake independent research. This process culminates in a significant work of original research in the form of a dissertation. Having completed all three elements, our graduates are qualified to pursue academic, professional, or governmental careers.

Check out the PhD Handbook here (pdf)!

The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 hours beyond the Bachelor’s degree. A minimum of 54 these hours must consist of formal coursework, with the remainder comprised of dissertation research. Credit may be transferred in from prior graduate coursework. The Graduate Program Director, in consultation with the Graduate College, will determine which hours of previous coursework will be accepted for transfer.

Fields of specialization are designed to develop an in-depth knowledge of the theory and current literature in various areas of economics. The two course sequences prepare students to become active researchers in the field and to identify potential topics for dissertation research. Our department offers five fields of specialization: Labor Economics, Growth and Development Economics, Industrial Organization, International/Macro Economics, and Public Economics. For specifics on which courses can be taken for each field, please see the current Ph.D. Handbook.

We offer depth in our four supported fields: each field has several faculty members who are actively engaged in research and are able to supervise dissertations. This is supplemented with strong support in applied econometrics, including time-series and panel data methods. Students who wish to concentrate in fields not supported by our department should consider applying to programs that better match their research interests.

We offer a lot, but the biggest is the graduate assistance!

Each year the Economics Department typically extends financial support in the form of research and teaching assistantships for 6-10 incoming Ph.D. students. For full consideration of financial aid, applicants are encouraged to apply to the Ph.D. program by late January.

Students receiving a regular financial aid package will receive an assistantship for 4-5 years of graduate work, conditional on satisfactory progress in the Ph.D. program and satisfactory performance of assigned duties. Additional support for the fifth year is typically available. 

For each academic year, nine-month full time assistantships have a competitive stipend and include individual health insurance, tuition waivers for up to the 90 credit hours of courses required for degree completion. Conditionally admitted students may request waivers for courses needed prior to beginning the graduate coursework. Students are responsible for associated fees. Family health insurance plans are also offered through the University. For information on current resident and non-resident and fees, please see the  University of Oklahoma Bursar’s  website. 

A student on a full time assistantship is expected to perform approximately 20 hours of work per week and is required to attend the department’s weekly seminars. Duties include serving as research assistants and assisting in the Department’s teaching mission. Accordingly, students are expected to become certified to teach courses at the University of Oklahoma by the  English Assessment Program  by the end of their first year of study. English Language classes are available at no cost to qualifying graduate students.

Absolutely! We have a generous scholarship funding provided by the Chong Liew Endowed Scholarship Fund. The Chong Liew Outstanding Graduate Student Award is available for first year Ph.D. students. These are meant to support summer study and allow students to devote more time to their studies in Norman. Each year we typically select 2-4 students based on first year coursework performance. The awards range from $750 to $1000.

Chong Liew Summer Research Awards support dissertation research, especially in the summer before students plan to go on the job market. Students who have passed all of their required exams are eligible to submit a research proposal outlining their summer research plan. Proposals are selected based on merit and potential. Each year this award is typically given to 1-2 students. The awards range from $2000 to $2500 each.

We also offer travel scholarships through the Chong Liew Graduate Student Travel Scholarships for graduate student conference participation. Students are required to apply for travel support from the Graduate College and Graduate Student Senate prior to requesting Chong Liew Travel support.

Finally, graduate students who become certified to instruct at the University of Oklahoma may request to teach courses during summer terms or between semesters (Intersession). Students are chosen to teach these based on teaching experience, teaching performance, and undergraduate demand for courses. This provides great experience, and a little extra money too!

 If a student is admitted to our Ph.D. program, they are automatically considered for an assistantship. There is no separate application or further information needed. If you are to be offered an assistantship, you will receive an email from the Graduate Director with a letter attached. These letters are typically emailed in late March/early April every year.

International students are encouraged to apply for fall admission by January 1st, and all other students are encouraged to apply for fall admission by March 1st.

Please note that students can only begin the Applied Track during the fall semester.

Yes! All Ph.D. students are advised by the Graduate Program Director, Dr. Pallab Ghosh, until they form a Doctoral Committee. The Director will advise students regarding their field and elective course selections. In addition, the Director has final authority (within the rules of the Graduate College) over the acceptance of transfer credit from a Master’s Degree Program in Economics or other graduate program.

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Sterling Huang

Professor of Accounting, NYU Shanghai Email [email protected]

Professor Sterling Huang is a Professor of Accounting at NYU Shanghai. Before joining NYU, he served as an Associate Professor of Accounting at Singapore Management University. Professor Huang earned his Ph.D. and MS in Management from INSEAD Business School, along with an MS in Statistics, a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance (First Class Honors) from Macquarie University in Sydney. Before embarking on his doctoral studies, he gained valuable experience as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney.

Professor Huang's research has been widely published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Contemporary Accounting Research. His primary research interests focus on how various corporate governance mechanisms can mitigate agency conflicts and enhance corporate decision-making. 

His work has been cited extensively in major media outlets and practitioner forums, such as The Wall Street Journal, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, INSEAD Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, Booz & Co Strategy & Business Magazine, Barron’s Magazine, Chief Executive Magazine, American Banker Online, IMF’s Finance & Development, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance , and the Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets.

In addition to his research contributions, Professor Huang serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Corporate Finance , editor of Corporate Governance: An International Review, and editor of China Accounting and Finance Review. He is also a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance and the Journal of International Accounting Research.

Please refer to the CV here.

Select Publications

• Just Friends? Managers’ Connections to Judges (with Sugata Roychowdhury, Ewa Sletten and Yanping Xu), Journal of Accounting Research.
• The Governance of Director Compensation (with Lily Fang), Journal of Financial Economics 155, 2024, 103813.
• Contracting with Controllable Risk (with Chris Armstrong and Stephen Glaeser) The Accounting Review 97, 2022, pages 27-50.
• Do Innovative Firms Communicate More? Evidence from the Relation between Patenting and Management Guidance (with Jeffrey Ng, Tharindra Ranasinghe and Mingyue Zhang), The Accounting Review 96, 2021, pages 273-297.
• Does Litigation Encourage or Deter Real Earnings Management? (with Sugata Roychowdhury and Ewa Sletten), The Accounting Review 95, 2020, pages 251-278.

PhD, Management INSEAD Business School

MS, Management INSEAD Business School

MS, Statistics Macquarie University 

BCom, Accounting Macquarie University 

BCom, Finance (1st Class) Macquarie University 

Research Interests

• Corporate Governance
• Legal System
• Contract Design
• Executive Compensation
• Corporate Disclosure 

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