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Statistics is a relatively young discipline, organized around the rapidly growing body of knowledge about principled methods for data collection and data analysis, the making of rational decisions under uncertainty, and the modeling of randomness in any quantitative inquiries, including the social, natural, and medical sciences. A basic goal of the concentration in Statistics is to help students acquire the conceptual, computational, and mathematical tools for quantifying uncertainty and making sense of complex data arising from many applications – including statistically sound ways of collecting such data. Students are also eligible to apply for an A.B./A.M. degree program.

The Department of Statistics graduate program aims to develop statisticians not only for academia, but also ones who will become leaders in endeavors such as medicine, law, finance, technology, government, and industry. Graduates have an outstanding placement record, having had their choice of careers in academia, banking and financial services, information technology, medical research, economic research and public policy.

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The Miratrix C.A.R.E.S. Lab

Causality, applications, and research in education and statistics.

Harvard Graduate School of Education / Harvard Department of Statistics

Overview of PhD Admission Process for HGSE and for Statistics

Are you interested in joining the CARES lab and working with me (Luke Miratrix)? This document is intended to provide prospective applicants with general – and equitable – information about what I personally look for in a PhD applicant. In particular, below I provide responses to several questions that I often get from prospective doctoral students. [1] This information may also be useful for thinking about applying to (and getting in to) PhD programs more generally. Please note I’m speaking only as an individual faculty member, not on behalf of any program or the University.

I offer these thoughts on the “ hidden curriculum ” of this program in the spirit of leveling the playing field for all potential students. I do not take individual meetings with prospective students; this way, everyone gets the same information. If you have a question that I don’t answer, send me an email ( [email protected] ) that mentions this page and I’ll add the answer here.

First, you should know that individual professors are not in control of the admission process (at Harvard/HGSE). Both the education school and the statistics department have admissions committees that review applications as a pool. The way it works is there is an initial committee that reviews applications, and then the finalists are sent out to individual professors to gauge interest. When that step happens, I would read your application as a faculty member and express interest. 

Q: What background do I need? (for Education programs)

• Background Most of my education students have at least a couple years of post-undergrad work experience. These experiences help students identify problems that need solving and get a sense of what is important in the world of education. Some successful students do come straight from undergrad or via a master’s program, but having had some meaningful exposure to the research process (e.g., through a part-time position, undergraduate/master’s thesis, monitoring and evaluation experience) prior to enrolling is really important.
• Quantitative skills You’ll need to show that you can handle a good amount of quantitative rigor (this will help with the program, and with working with me in particular). If you haven’t taken (and gotten good grades in) advanced math classes like calculus or statistics, and are planning on doing quantitative research, you’ll need to explain this history to the admissions committee, and identify how you will make up for this in your written statement or in the explanations of grades section of your application. 
• Experience with data Hands-on experience analyzing real data to answer real-world questions is common for our PhD admits. Working on “toy data” for problem sets in classes usually isn’t enough. (By “toy data”, I mean easy-to-use data created for students or to demonstrate a method. These data don’t have complications like missing values or hierarchical structure). Ideally, you would have some experience using data to answer a real, relevant, and challenging research question.

Q: What background do I need? (Statistics)

• Background Most of my stat students have at least some research experience as an undergrad with some faculty. These experiences help students identify problems that need solving and also help the admissions department know that you know what you are getting yourself in to.
• Quantitative skills You’ll need to show that you can handle the quantitative rigor of the program. Ideally this means you have taken advanced stat courses, and are getting good grades in some advanced math. I don’t need or look for pure math powerhouses, however.  But to compete in the overall pool, you would need strong research experience or experience with data to offset less math experience.
• Experience with data Hands-on experience analyzing real data to answer real-world questions is really good to have, especially if you are interested in working with me. Alternatively, having worked on a complex simulation or some sort of methods development can help make for a strong application.

Q: How does applying work?

This is too big a question to answer here, but in brief: You will need to prepare an application and solicit some letters of recommendation.  This all happens in the fall.  Applications are read in January and February.  You start hearing back in the spring.  For a lot more about this process, see below.

Q: Where can I get more information about your work and/or the doctoral admissions process?

This website (cares.gse.harvard.edu/) is a good place to learn about my research, my students, and the culture we try to create at the Miratrix CARES lab.

For general information about this process, see the Health Policy Data Science Lab’s page for prospective students at https://healthpolicydatascience.org/prospective-student-info (although much of that material I have stolen for this page and a page overview of being a student as well).

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

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

Q: Can you give me an overview of the stat or education PhD Programs at Harvard, assuming I was working with you?

Yes!  Please see here .

Q: What do your students tend to do after graduating?

The best way to tell is to scan our page of alumni .  The short version is: lots of different things!  A good number end up with various professorial posts ranging from more teaching to more research.  Many work in industry or join policy evaluation firms such as Abt. Most continue using their skills gained in their PhD program to do things that interest them. As far as I know, most are quite fulfilled by their post-graduate work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, I am always enthusiastic about taking on new doctoral students!  It is important to understand, however, that unlike in some institutions, individual HGSE faculty do not have the authority to admit individual students.  Rather, we accept candidates as an entire faculty (represented by the admissions committee).  You should therefore think of the audience for your application as being the whole faculty, not just me (and other prospective advisors).  You do need to excite at least one prospective advisor, as we accept students only if there is one (or more) faculty member who is enthusiastic about taking them on.  But at the same time, you also need to excite the faculty as a whole.  Advisors retire, get ill, move institutions, get pulled into new roles, etc.  When we admit you, we commit ourselves to you as a school.

I personally think this last point deserves extra attention: the more a school engenders a community where a student can potentially find mentorship from multiple faculty, the greater the chance that the relationships can be genuine and good fits. If there is only a single advisor that works, and there is a relationship mismatch, then a student can get trapped in a bad (and imbalanced) relationship dynamic. I believe it is better for students to have freedom to change advisors.

In both Harvard Stats and HGSE, I have found that students do have this mobility which means students can obtain the support and training they need to do great work. But this means you should be looking at the school and the faculty as a whole, not just me, when evaluating fit.

Q: Do I have to do statistical methodology work to have you as my advisor?

If you are an education student, you definitely do not need to do methodology work with me. That being said, what I hope will happen is in the course of tackling interesting and engaging applied problems, you and I will find some area where the want to tweak methodology, or borrow methodology from somewhere unusual to answer the applied question you are working on. I particularly love this kind of paper, where a real methodological strength can open doors to inquiry!

Q: Do I have to work only with you as my advisor?  Can I have multiple advisors?

I have a set of specialized skills that put me between education and statistics. This means that in general, I believe my students are better served if they are working with me and other faculty as well. This gives them a broader perspective on their chosen field, and make sure that whatever gaps I have in my own mentoring are filled by mentoring from elsewhere. It's also much more exciting and fun to work with multiple people, I believe. So I strongly encourage my students to build real relationships with other faculty throughout the University as suits their research interests.

Q: What do you look for in a PhD application?

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

In general, I look across the materials of an application and try to assess whether we would have a good and productive research relationship.  For me, some signs of a good fit are

• Curiosity : I love those who are trying to understand the world around them. I also highly value those who want to understand how the methods of knowing (research methodology) itself work.  Even if you are planning on doing applied work (trying to answer questions about how society or education functions, I mean), I look for evidence that the means of learning these things is itself of interest to you.
• Excitement : Some people are mission driven (they have found a problem they want to work on and solve), others love the work (the excitement of discovery), and others see it as a path to service (the joy of building tools that can help people achieve their goals). One way or the other, I get excited by people who are taking this on because they are excited by something.
• Capability : I look for evidence that you have the potential to do and excel at quantitative research ranging from thoughtful application of quantitative methods to problems of practice to designing new quantitative methods to help others take on problems of practice. Even if you are a math powerhouse, I want to see evidence of being able to think about the application of methods to practice, and how that can succeed or fail (this is a very different kind of thinking than mathematical theory, and one can be able to do one and not the other in either direction).
• Mathematical comfort and curiosity : I tend to be more successful with students who are wanting to continue to develop their mathematical ability in addition to whatever core research program they are on. This interest can be demonstrated through prior coursework, applied quantitative work (e.g., as a research assistant), and/or explicit statements of interest in your personal essay.
• Independence : Given my role as a statistical methodologist in an education school, I am simultaneously very well positioned and not so well positioned to advise both stat and ed students. The best mentoring I do is with students who also have other mentors, and also have some independence.  For example, in education I am not good at connecting students to specific education research problems, but I am good at helping them work on a problem they have. So independence, here, would be identifying the problem.
• Explanation of how your prior experiences have led you to the point that you are ready for a PhD program . Your personal statement should not rehash your CV in narrative form (e.g., “first I did X, then I did Y, now I want to do Z”), but rather paint a more detailed picture of how your professional and academic experiences have prepared you for this moment in your career.  What did you learn in each of your positions, and how did these experiences lead you to want to address your stated research questions within a doctoral program?
• Good writing . Is your statement organized, clear, and engaging? Does it make efficient use of the short amount of space we give you?  Does it demonstrate that you will be able to write good papers?  Does your writing demonstrate that you can think, and that you have something interesting to say that you can convey cogently to others? 
• Demonstrated research experience (in general) .  A PhD is, first and foremost, a research degree.  Again, the important thing here is not that you are already a fully trained researcher (this is what getting a PhD is for!), but rather that you know what you are getting into, at least a little. For ed students, having several years of full-time research assistant experience prior to enrolling in a doctoral program can give you the perspective to really take advantage of a PhD program.  For stats, this is less important as it is easier to get a sense of “I want to do more of this,” given an undergraduate experience, but I still want to know that you know what this might look like for you.

Overall, I want my education students to be leaning a bit towards being a statistics student, and for my statistics students to be leaning a bit towards being a student in some social science.

I should note that most other professors also look for a few other things (even though I do not tend to).  For a comparison, please read Dana McCoy’s version of this document (this document, in fact, is an edited version of hers): https://seed.gse.harvard.edu/info-prospective-students .  Some things to consider:

• A clear account of a topic, question, or phenomenon that you want to research .
• Compelling motivation for why you believe this problem matter s.
• Evidence that HGSE/I could support you in addressing your identified topic of interest and future goals . 

In your personal statement, you do not need to:

• include statements about how wonderful HGSE is, or about the eminence of a particular faculty member, or what a privilege it would be to study here.  (In fact, please save yourself space and delete all such commentary.)  
• cite a bunch of literature, although you are welcome to if it adds to your argument.
• share personal anecdotes or vignettes that are not directly relevant to the work you want to do.  

Q: How and when will you read my application?

The PhD in Education Doctoral Admissions Committee will forward to me applications that are relevant to my areas of expertise.  You therefore do not need to send me your application separately or do anything special to draw my attention to your work. You should write my name down on the application as a person you are interested in working with, however.  This will ensure that I will review your application in the normal course of the admissions process.

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

Unfortunately, providing this sort of feedback is typically not possible.  It is important to understand that the admissions committee and each individual faculty member at HGSE are always enthusiastic about more candidates than we are able to admit. Every year, for both stat and ed students, I end up identifying several students I am extremely excited about and that I think would be wonderful to admit. And usually only a few, if any, of these recommendations are let in. Often final decisions have little to do with personal aptitude, and more to do with whether the prospective candidate is a good match with the overall needs of the school in any given year.

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

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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.

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A Grand Journey of Statistical Hierarchical Modelling 

Advances in empirical bayes modeling and bayesian computation , advances in statistical network modeling and nonlinear time series modeling , advances in the normal-normal hierarchical model , analysis, modeling, and optimal experimental design under uncertainty: from carbon nano-structures to 3d printing , bayesian biclustering on discrete data: variable selection methods , bayesian learning of relationships , a bayesian perspective on factorial experiments using potential outcomes , building interpretable models: from bayesian networks to neural networks , causal inference under network interference: a framework for experiments on social networks , complications in causal inference: incorporating information observed after treatment is assigned , diagnostic tools in missing data and causal inference on time series , dilemmas in design: from neyman and fisher to 3d printing , distributed and multiphase inference in theory and practice: principles, modeling, and computation for high-throughput science , essays in causal inference and public policy , expediting scientific discoveries with bayesian statistical methods , exploring objective causal inference in case-noncase studies under the rubin causal model , exploring the role of randomization in causal inference , extensions of randomization-based methods for causal inference , g-squared statistic for detecting dependence, additive modeling, and calibration concordance for astrophysical data .

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Welcome to the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where Research, Methodology, and Education are key to accomplishing our mission.  With multiple degree options and twelve areas of specialization  to choose from, epidemiology students have the flexibility conducive to focused research, with the support of Harvard University’s well-established faculty and research opportunities.

Interested applicants can contact the Harvard Chan Office of Admissions for general application information (applications are electronic).   Sign up to receive relevant application and event notifications from our Admissions Office.  Applicants wishing to learn more about the Epidemiology department can contact our academic team through email.

Faculty in the PGSG advise students in both the Epidemiology and Biostatistics departments. Prospective students can apply to either department. While it is possible to apply to both departments, it is typically not recommended. For Students applying through the GSAS for the PhD in Population Health Sciences , an individual may submit up to three applications during the course of his/her/their academic career. Submission of additional applications may result in the withdrawal of the application. For applicants applying through SOPHAS, there is not a set maximum of applications

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Selecting a program that fits your needs and aligns with your current experience in Public Health and related fields is the first step in the application process. We hope that our Degree Flow Charts listed below will help you select the best program for your needs. Once you have selected one or more that meets your needs, we encourage you to reach out to the appropriate staff member as indicated on the flow charts if you have additional questions.

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Harvard Epidemiology Degree Flow chart for applicants with a prior advanced degree Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Epidemiology Degree Program

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Course requirements.

All first-year students are required to complete OEB399.

All courses must be taught by OEB faculty members or be courses in other departments approved by the OEB Graduate Committee. The grade minimum for graded courses is B-. OEB students must maintain a grade point average of at least a B (3.00) each academic year; the grade point average is weighted for each course based on the number of course credits. For example, a grade received in a two-credit course proportionally impacts the grade point average compared to a four-credit course. 

Students admitted in 2017 or later  are required to have completed four graded, four-credit courses by the end of their second year and a total of six graded, four-credit courses by the end of their third year. Students may fulfill up to two of these six total course requirements by teaching unique courses. For instance, a student who takes four graded courses and teaches two unique courses during their first three years would fulfill this requirement. A student can count a course once as a student and once (but not more than once) as a Teaching Fellow.  

For some students, specific courses may be prescribed by the OEB Graduate Committee. No student can be expected to have deep knowledge of all areas of modern biology, but all OEB graduate students are expected to have some familiarity with biological processes in (i) suborganismic (molecular and cellular biology), (ii) organismic (structure and function) and (iii) supraorganismic levels (evolution and ecology). Students are also expected to have competence in (iv) basic mathematics and statistics. Soon after their arrival at Harvard University, incoming students will meet with their advisor and members of the OEB Graduate Committee to review the student’s previous coursework, identify any gaps in basic knowledge, and develop a plan of study. If gaps are identified in any of the basic areas (i)–(iv), this plan of study will include prescribed courses to be completed by the end of the student’s second year with a grade of B- or better. All prescribed courses count toward the requirement for six graded four-credit courses. 

Students admitted prior to 2017 are required to have completed any prescribed courses by the time of their qualifying examination and a minimum of four graded courses by the time they defend their dissertation. With advisor approval, students may opt to take courses beyond their four-course requirement. The grade minimum for graded courses is B-. OEB students must maintain a grade point average of at least a B (3.00) each academic year; the grade point average is weighted for each course based on the number of course credits. For example, a grade received in a two-credit course proportionally impacts the grade point average compared to a four-credit course. 

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Teaching in the first year is not allowed per Harvard Griffin GSAS policy.

For students admitted in 2016 and later , the department requires at least three teaching fellow assignments for completion of the degree. Students must teach at least two different courses over at least two different terms. As part of your dissertation proposal for the qualifying examination, you should develop a teaching plan that will help you balance factors, including when courses of interest are being offered and when you might have a particularly intense field or laboratory work. 

Students admitted prior to 2016  are required to complete two teaching fellow assignments to meet the pedagogical requirement. 

Satisfactory Progress Requirements

All students in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences must be making satisfactory progress in order to be eligible for any type of financial aid. The following provisions are the interpretation of satisfactory progress for graduate students in OEB.

• During the first two years of graduate study, any student who is permitted to register is considered to be making satisfactory progress. OEB students are required to enroll and participate in OEB 399 in their first year.
• Students admitted in  2017 and later  must have completed four letter-graded courses (including all prescribed courses) and have taken the qualifying examination by the end of the second year. Students admitted  before 2017  are simply required to complete their prescribed courses and their qualifying examination by the end of the second year. Students can petition the OEB Graduate Committee to have their qualifying examination deferred until their third year. Such a petition takes the form of a written request to the director of graduate studies (DGS), endorsed by your advisor, and submitted during the second year. A deferral, if granted by the OEB Graduate Committee, does not change the requirement that a student who has not passed the qualifying examination by the end of their third year will be expected to withdraw. OEB students must maintain a grade point average of at least a B (3.00) each academic year; the grade point average is weighted for each course based on the number of course credits. For example, a grade received in a two-credit course proportionally impacts the grade point average compared to a four-credit course.
• Students admitted in  2017 and later  must have passed the qualifying examination and completed six letter-graded courses by the end of the third year. Students admitted  before 2017  must complete four letter-graded courses by the time they defend their dissertation.
• After passing the qualifying examination, students must hold a yearly dissertation advisory committee meeting and be judged to be making satisfactory progress.
• Students in their fourth year must participate in the G4 symposium in the spring.
• A student who is judged not to be making satisfactory progress may, with department endorsement, be placed on  grace status  for up to one year. Students on grace status remain eligible for financial aid during this period but cannot hold teaching appointments. At the end of the grace period, the student must have rectified the deficiency and be in compliance with all other established criteria in order to be considered to be making satisfactory progress. A student is ordinarily allowed only one period of grace.
• As noted above, the calendar of requirements may be interrupted by a single year of department-approved leave. In the particular case of a student who wishes to obtain a professional degree, the approved leave period can be extended beyond a single year.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is an oral examination conducted to assess whether the student has a well-designed research plan for their dissertation and to examine the student’s knowledge in broad areas of organismic and evolutionary biology. Students are expected to have taken the qualifying examination before the end of the second year of graduate study (exceptions may be granted by petition to the OEB Graduate Committee) and, at the very latest, to have passed the examination before the end of the third year of graduate study.

The qualifying examination committee consists of the student’s advisor and at least three other individuals. At least three committee members, including the chair,  must be members of the OEB faculty. Students should choose their committee chair (any OEB faculty committee member except their advisor) in consultation with their advisor. They should invite the chair to serve in that capacity when they invite them to serve on the committee. Students must obtain DGS approval of their qualifying examination committee and chair designation prior to submitting a notice of their examination to the senior academic programs administrator.

Students contact their committee to arrange an examination date and time. Three hours must be allotted for the meeting. Students should be aware that many faculty members may not be available when classes are not in session. Students are advised to remind faculty of the time and place of the meeting several days before the examination.

During the exam,  students will be tested on three broad topics pertinent to, but not restricted to, the specific topic of the proposed or ongoing dissertation studies. Topics should overlap a little and should be broad in scope. Students must obtain approval from the DGS for the three exam topics for these syllabi. After DGS approval, the student prepares a course syllabus outline for each topic. At least two of these courses should be modeled on a one-term lecture course meeting two to three times a week and addressing a broad area of biological knowledge. One course can be an advanced-level seminar on a more specialized topic. These syllabi will serve as a guide for the qualifying examination committee members to begin asking questions. However, committee members are not limited to asking questions directly relevant to the syllabi. Students are encouraged to meet with committee members before the examination to discuss questions that might be asked and to receive advice and recommendations on specific material that may be worth reviewing. There are no set guidelines on syllabus format; they should be modeled after those commonly distributed at the beginning of OEB courses. Students should consult with their advisor on the format.

The student is also expected to prepare a written dissertation   research proposal  for the qualifying examination committee.  Students should consult with their advisor about the format. In the examination, students will present a brief oral presentation on the proposal, designed to last approximately 15 to 20 minutes, not counting questions (recalling that committee members will have read the proposal so that it is neither necessary nor desirable to review everything in it).

The syllabi and dissertation proposal must be electronically distributed to qualifying examination committee members and the senior academic programs administrator at least two weeks before the examination. Failure to do so will result in the postponement of the examination .  

The qualifying examination committee chair will be in charge of the examination. At the outset, the student will be asked to leave the room so that the committee can discuss progress to date and ensure course prescriptions have been fulfilled. The advisor will then be asked to leave the room for the student to talk with the other committee members. After the advisor’s return, the student will then make their oral presentation, after which committee members will ask questions. Usually, committee members take turns, each asking several questions, with several rounds of questioning. At the end of the examination, students will again be asked to leave the room.

After the exam , students who passed the qualifying examination will be promptly notified and approved for the continuation of dissertation studies and advancement to doctoral candidacy. At least one term should ordinarily elapse between the qualifying examination and when the dissertation examination can be held. The qualifying examination committee may pass the student but prescribe additional coursework or other additional work (such as writing a review paper on a particular topic). Completion of this prescribed work is required before the next dissertation advisory committee meeting for the student to be judged at that time as making satisfactory progress.

If the qualifying examination reveals serious deficiencies , the committee may decide: (1) that the student be reexamined at a later date (but not later than the end of the G3 year) or (2) that the student not be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree. In the latter case, the committee will recommend that further candidacy be terminated not later than the end of the ongoing academic year. The recommendation to terminate must be reviewed and approved by the OEB graduate committee. The student, together with the advisor, may appeal any such decision by submitting to the OEB graduate committee written arguments for a reversal of the decision to terminate. Under such circumstances, the case will be further reviewed by the OEB graduate committee and the department before a final decision is rendered.

Dissertation Advisory Committee Meetings

Students have opportunities to review their dissertation project, its progress, and future potential with their dissertation advisory committee (DAC) in annual DAC meetings.  The first DAC meeting should be held no later than one year after the qualifying examination and at one-year (or shorter) intervals thereafter.  The student should present a brief account of any results obtained and plans for additional research. The DAC should indicate to the student whether it anticipates that the dissertation will be acceptable. It should also suggest improvement where needed. The DAC meeting is not intended to be an oral "examination,” but the DAC must approve the student’s progress and plans. If the DAC does not approve, then the student will be considered not to be making satisfactory progress, and a plan must be prepared to return to good standing within six months. Failure to do so may lead the DAC to recommend dismissal from the graduate program. Students more than six months late in holding a DAC meeting will automatically be considered not to be making satisfactory progress.

The DAC will consist of the student’s advisor and at least two other members. At least three members of the DAC must be OEB faculty. Additional members affiliated with other departments or institutions may be added after consultation with the advisor. Students should choose their DAC chair (any OEB faculty committee member except their advisor) in consultation with their advisor when they are assembling their DAC. The overall composition of the DAC must be approved by the DGS. The members of the DAC will, in most cases, also constitute the dissertation examination committee. In some situations, scheduling a meeting that all DAC members can attend may not be possible. With permission of the advisor and the DGS, one DAC member may be absent from the meeting, as long as arrangements are made for the student to meet separately with that DAC member. 

Dissertation Presentation and Examination

All graduate students in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology come under the jurisdiction of the OEB graduate committee. The DGS is authorized to approve all examination committees appointed for doctoral candidates.

1.  Application for the PhD Degree

Information on the degree  application is available on the  Harvard Griffin GSAS website . Students can find updated degree applications on the Harvard Griffin GSAS  Degree Calendar  and  Academic Calendar  pages. All applications must be approved by the DGS. Students should be aware that many committee members are not available for dissertation defenses when courses are not in session.

2.  Dissertation Presentation

The student must present the subject matter of the dissertation in a seminar open to the community and to which the members of the dissertation examination committee have been invited. This presentation shall take place prior to the dissertation examination. The senior academic programs administrator will send out notice of the public presentation to the OEB community two weeks prior to the date. A copy of the posted notice of the seminar will become part of the student's record.

3.  Dissertation Abstract

Each PhD candidate will prepare an abstract of the dissertation —ordinarily limited to one page, single-spaced—and submit it to the senior academic programs administrator two weeks prior to the date of the dissertation examination. Copies of the dissertation abstract will be distributed to the OEB community.

4.  Dissertation Examination

The  dissertation  is written under the supervision of the student's research advisor and should conform to the standards outlined in the Harvard Griffin GSAS policy page on  Dissertations .

The  Dissertation Examination Committee  will consist of the student’s advisor and at least two other members. At least three members of the committee must be members of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Additional members affiliated with other departments or institutions may be added by the advisor. As with the DAC, the committee chair must be an OEB faculty member who is not the student's advisor. The overall composition of the committee must be approved by the DGS. 

The senior academic programs administrator and the DGS must be notified of the  time and location of the dissertation   examination at least four weeks prior to the date  desired. The candidate must electronically distribute to their dissertation examination committee and the student academic programs administrator  their dissertation in final form at least 10 business days prior to the defense date .  Failure to electronically distribute the finalized dissertation to the dissertation examination committee and the senior academic programs administrator 10 business days prior to the exam date will automatically lead to postponement of the dissertation defense.

The student should observe the final dates for holding the dissertation examination indicated in the  Academic Calendar  posted on the Harvard Griffin GSAS website. It is strongly suggested that the dissertation examination be held at least one month prior to the dissertation electronic submission deadline to allow time for revisions; students should not expect committee members to approve a dissertation because a student has an impending deadline.

After examination, the dissertation examination committee will decide whether the candidate will pass, fail, or pass on the condition that specified changes be made to the dissertation (because students are often required to do additional work before the dissertation is passed, we recommend that students defend two to four weeks before degree filing or other deadlines). The dissertation examination committee may delegate to its chair the responsibility for seeing that such changes are made in a satisfactory manner before the award of the degree is recommended to the department by the graduate committee. The student's advisor should make such certification in writing to the DGS.

If possible, students should schedule their last DAC meeting one to three months before their dissertation defense. At this time, they should review the dissertation thoroughly, allowing committee members to identify issues that should be rectified prior to the presentation of the dissertation. Holding such a DAC meeting is the best way to ensure that problems are identified prior to the defense, thus minimizing the chance that the committee will require substantial additional work that may delay awarding of the degree.

In rare cases, it may be possible to hold the dissertation exam with one committee member absent. Arrangements must be made for that committee member to confer with the advisor prior to the dissertation being approved. Approval for such an arrangement must come from the DGS and only will be granted under unusual circumstances.

5.  Filing the Dissertation 

Students should consult the  dissertation submission guidelines . Each candidate must be registered in Harvard Griffin GSAS, with the required registration fee(s) paid, at the time the dissertation is filed, as summarized on the  Application for Degree  page. It is the student's responsibility to  electronically   via ProQuest ETD in accordance with the desired graduation date deadline.

Requirements for the AM Degree

The Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology does not admit students whose sole purpose is to study for the Master of Arts (AM) degree.

However, graduate students admitted to  any PhD program  at Harvard University or  OEB graduate students admitted prior to 2017 may apply for the AM degree if they fulfill the following requirements:

• Six letter-graded four-credit courses in the department (or other courses approved by the DGS), with no grades lower than B-. Students must maintain a grade point average of at least a B (3.00) each academic year; the grade point average is weighted for each course based on the number of course credits. For example, a grade received in a two-credit course proportionally impacts the grade point average compared to a four-credit course.  
• AM candidates must submit a written paper based on original research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member in the department. Both the student's advisor and the DGS must send the senior academic programs administrator their written approval of the paper.

OEB graduate students admitted in 2017 and later  may also apply to be awarded the AM degree. The requirements for students within the department are:

• Four graded four-credit courses by the end of their second year. In addition, students must either have completed a total of six graded four-credit courses by the end of their third year, or have completed four graded four-credit courses and acted as a Teaching Fellow in two additional courses by the end of their third year. All courses must be taught by OEB faculty members or be courses in other departments approved by the OEB graduate committee. The grade minimum for graded courses is B-. Students must maintain a grade point average of at least a B (3.00) each academic year; the grade point average is weighted for each course based on the number of course credits. For example, a grade received in a two-credit course proportionally impacts the grade point average compared to a four-credit course.  A student can count a course once as a student and once (but not more than once) as a Teaching Fellow.  All prescribed courses count toward the requirement for six graded four-credit courses.
• A written report based on original research conducted under the guidance of a faculty member in the department (the student’s dissertation proposal will often satisfy this requirement). The student's advisor and the DGS must send the senior academic programs administrator their written approval of the report.

Contact Info

Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Website

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Statistics Spotlight: Steve Howard Ph.D. ‘10

Steve Howard’ s early interest lay in programming and was nowhere near statistics. As a high school student, he attended coding camps and competitions. Howard’s internships and other opportunities focused on programming and computer science throughout his education. Notably, Howard never found much interest in statistics growing up despite living under the same roof as a statistician. 

“My mom was actually a biostatistician working in healthcare, doing what I now appreciate as pretty interesting work on medical studies, but it's funny because I was never really interested in what she was doing growing up,” Howard said.

“Basically like any startup or any tech company, we were running A/B tests, and no one at the company knew anything about statistics or experimentation. So I said, ‘I'll learn about it,’ and I ordered some textbook on statistics from Amazon and started reading. I started asking my mom questions and realized, ‘oh, this is kind of useful.’”

Howard would go on to teach himself more about statistics and machine learning, and it was clear his interests were piqued.

“I found it fascinating that in this field, even the most basic questions, like how to form a confidence interval for a conversion rate, did not seem to have straightforward answers.”

Despite not having a background in statistics, Howard was accepted into the Ph.D. program and enrolled at Berkeley in 2015. In the year between acceptance and enrollment he studied statistics to prepare himself, but once Howard started, he quickly realized that his thirst for knowledge was strong.

“Working in industry, you don’t get to spend that time learning and investing in yourself. It almost feels like an indulgent luxury just to spend all day every day reading books and thinking about stuff I want to think about and teaching myself or learning.”

Howard quickly found a collaborative department with a collegial cohort of graduate students and a rigorous academic environment with faculty willing to share their expertise. Advised by Adjunct Professor Jon McAuliffe  (Ph.D. 2005) and former faculty member Jasjeet Sekhon , his thesis was titled “Sequential and Adaptive Inference Based on Martingale Concentration.” When reflecting on his time at Berkeley, Howard lauded how his degree gave him a solid foundation from which to solve real-life problems.

“That is what is great about going through the challenges of earning a Ph.D. at a place like Berkeley Statistics. I was able to get comfortable thinking from first principles rather than just applying a prepackaged kind of method to solving problems.”

Following graduation, Howard joined McAuliffe at the Voleon Group , one of the leading quantitative investment management firms, where he is a member of the research staff. Howard lives with his wife and two daughters in Orinda and serves on the Statistics Alumni Advisory Board .  

-Alex Coughlin

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Adobe Systems

2024 intern – research, firefly.

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Adobe seeks a Machine Learning Engineer to enhance customer experiences through AI and generative technologies. This is an exciting internship opportunity inside Adobe Firefly’s applied research organization. You will be surrounded by amazing talents who build the Firefly family of models from research inception all the way to production. We offer internship roles situated at different stages of the development pipeline from fundamental research to advanced development to production engineering directly shaping the training and integration of Firefly production models. Your role will center on pioneering models and applications that shape the future of technology in the realms of images, videos, audio, and 3D. Join us in reshaping the future of technology and customer experiences at Adobe! 

What You’ll Do   

Work towards results-oriented research goals, while identifying intermediate achievements. 

Contribute to research and advanced development that can be applied to Adobe product development. 

Help integrating novel research work into Adobe Firefly product. 

Lead and collaborate on projects across different teams. 

What You Need to Succeed  

Currently enrolled full time and pursuing a Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineer, machine learning, AI, computer science, statistics, or scene semantic understanding or equivalent experience required 

1 + years of experience in computer vision or natural language processing or machine learning 

Some experience in Generative AI 

Experience communicating research for public audiences of peers. 

Experience working in teams. 

Knowledge in Python and typical machine learning development toolkits. 

Ability to participate in a full-time internship between May-September. 

If you’re looking to make an impact, Adobe’s the place for you. Discover what our employees are saying about their career experiences on the Adobe Life blog and explore the meaningful benefits we offer. 

Adobe is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage diversity in the workplace regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status. 

• It Takes a Village: Harvard Students Reflect on Creating the HUM SAB EK (We Are One) Exhibition

Apr 10, 2024 | Announcements , COVID-19 , India , News , Students

The multimedia exhibition, HUM SAB EK (We Are One), based on Dr. Satchit Balsari ’s research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2.9 million-strong Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and its members’ response to it, launched this past week in CGIS South ( read an interview with Dr. Balsari here ). Ahead of the April 15 Opening Reception , we spoke with some of the students who volunteered their time to make this exhibition a reality. Few had prior experience bringing an exhibit to life, yet they all pitched in to make it a reality. They hail from departments and Schools across Harvard, with a variety of academic backgrounds and interests. Together they created something powerful, and look forward to bringing their immersive show to sites around the U.S. in in South Asia. 

Behind-the-scenes images of creating the HUM SAB EK exhibit | By Bettina Weyler.

Hiteshree Das , MDes ’25 (Harvard Graduate School of Design)

Mittal Institute: What was your role in the exhibition – how did you help?

Hiteshree Das:  I’ve been fortunate to design and co-curate this exhibition alongside Professor Satchit Balsari.  We envision Project Hum Sab Ek as a two-year long multipronged initiative to effectively convey SEWA’s pandemic response story to academics, policy-makers, creatives, and citizens who are still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic, both in India and globally. This initiative comprises a traveling exhibition, archival resources, and seminars to engage a wide-ranging audience.

To kickstart the project, we undertook the task of transcribing and translating 30 hours of SEWA members’ testimonies from Gujarati to English. Simultaneously, I delved into Prof. Balsari field notes from 2022 to grasp SEWA members’ experiences, and develop a preliminary catalog for our envisioned traveling exhibition using digital collage as a medium. Towards the end of this phase, I visited SEWA in Ahmedabad, conducting interviews with the members to present our exhibition proposal and refine it based on their feedback. We engaged with various subject matter experts, multilateral organizations, museums, and think tanks to introduce our project proposal and establish partnerships for this unique art-science collaboration. And by the end of January 2024, we had formed a strong interdisciplinary team consisting of engineers, researchers, filmmakers, and designers. 

The several iterations of the proposed exhibition design catalog served as a broad framework for the individual installations that were detailed by our team members. For example, I had rendered an initial vision for our ‘You Are On Mute’ installation, showcasing SEWA’s massive digital literacy drive. This was depicted through 100 smartphones arranged asymmetrically, each lighting up sequentially to symbolize the multitude of Zoom calls the members engaged in—despite lacking any expertise in programming video loops or video editing. Soon Bobby began experimenting by splitting a video across two phones, eventually escalating to over 70 devices to realize our vision. Deepak collaborated with him to sift through a myriad Zoom recordings to create a three-minute video montage showcased on the phones. Meanwhile, William constructed the framework that supports the installation, completing the task over a single weekend.

As the team worked on their individual installations asynchronously, I also took on the responsibility of coordinating with the venue’s building services team and the fabricators to ensure a significant part of the installation was completed over the spring break. This experience opened up a new realm of learning for me about spatial codes within the university, which differed significantly from my previous work as an exhibition designer in India. 

Mittal Institute:  Why did you decide to get involved in the first place?

Hiteshree Das:  I enrolled in the GSD’s Masters of Design Studies program with the goal of expanding my skillset beyond traditional industrial and exhibition design. I was eager to explore an over lap between design and deep social science research and believed that the liberal arts environment at Harvard would support this pursuit, although I wasn’t sure how at the time. One day, before the class of the course GENED 1011: Entrepreneurial Solutions for Intractable Problems, co-taught by Professor Balsari, I struck up a conversation with him about a recent trip to India, where he had interviewed informal working women. He was contemplating the idea of creating an archive and I was intrigued by the fact that a physician was exploring this concept and felt that it was something I could contribute to, especially considering my previous experience working with India’s first virtual museum through Google Arts and Culture. Now, a year later, we have developed a comprehensive exhibition that aims to start conversations about ways to include communities in policy decisions that impact their lives and livelihoods.

Mittal Institute: What did it mean to you to be involved in this project? What are you most proud of?

Hiteshree Das:  Being part of this project has allowed me to evolve and reshape my design practice using systems thinking and participatory research approaches, while gaining a deeper understanding of the responsibilities associated with being a designer and researcher. I now view design as a process of negotiation–one that involves the democratic collection and creation of knowledge,  and facilitates its sharing for collective objectives while carefully weighing trade-offs influenced by socio-political, economic, and geographic factors.  

I believe that through this journey of learning about SEWA and contributing to this exhibition, we absorbed SEWA’s values into our curatorial and design approach, albeit at a subtle level. Despite our initial lack of clarity, there was a strong foundation of trust demonstrated by the team which provided a lot of freedom to make mistakes and learn iteratively. I am proud of the fact that despite limited resources, technical challenges, and time constraints, we did not compromise on the shared vision of the project.

Robert McCarthy , BA ’23 (Harvard College)

Robert McCarthy:  My role was to prototype and build the phone component of the you are on mute exhibit. So I programmed the system that cropped the videos and synchronized them across the phones, I built the cases that were used to mount the phones to the wall, and I edited the videos that went onto the phones.

Mittal Institute: Why did you decide to get involved in the first place?

Robert McCarthy:  Originally they had asked the professor for the class that I am a teaching assistant for, but he did not have the free time to work on the project, so he asked me if I wanted to get involved. Before I even knew about the material of the exhibit, you are on mute was just a very interesting engineering problem to solve, but once they told me more about SEWA, taking on this project was a no brainer.

Robert McCarthy:  I think I am proud of this exhibit for two reasons. One from an engineering perspective, this had been the biggest engineering project I had taken on to this point, so I am just proud that I was able to get the exhibit running. Second, I am just proud to have been a part of an exhibit that was displaying these powerful stories. In my life I have not done anything extraordinarily powerful or meaningful, so to use my engineering skills to be able to show what SEWA was able to overcome during the pandemic makes me happy.

A prototype of the “You Are On Mute” exhibit | Video courtesy of Robert McCarthy.

Deepak Ramola , EdM ’23 (Harvard Graduate School of Education)

Deepak Ramola: I was a member of the design team and assisted in curating all the video assets featured in the showcase such as the ‘You are on Mute’ exhibit and oral history short films. This entailed reviewing, shortlisting, and creating excerpts from the 30+ hours of oral history recordings captured by Satchit during his field trips.

Deepak Ramola: I’ve always been a firm believer in the wisdom and resilience of everyday people, and the women of SEWA epitomize this belief. Their stories reflect their grounded lives and aspirational dreams, showcasing the intersection of possibility and determination through resilience, hard work, and hope. Joining this project from its inception provided me with the chance to sit with some of India’s most inspiring women and hear their stories firsthand. Who could pass up such a remarkable opportunity for a masterclass in empowerment?

Deepak Ramola: Words like “innovation,” “path-breaking,” and “revolutionary” are rarely associated with marginalized communities and the impoverished. Yet, delving into the world of SEWA and witnessing the vibrant legacy of its members, these are the only descriptors that seem fitting. Throughout the project, I navigated between two contrasting worlds: from the bustling streets of India to the quiet lanes of Cambridge. The unspoken dialogue between these worlds, characterized by mutual respect, enabled us to design with sensitivity and care. I take the greatest pride in the collaborative effort of every team member, coming together to envision, design, and deliver this truly unique exhibition experience.

Constructing and designing the exhibit | Photos by Deepak Ramola.

Karthik Girish , MUP ’25 (Harvard Graduate School of Design)

Karthik Girish: I played the role of data visualizer and designer. I helped by converting data and statistics into visual pieces that conveyed powerful stories and information. I have a vendetta against pie charts and bar graphs, so I sit and think of ways to represent data through visually appealing but factually correct graphics.

Karthik Girish: My entry into the project was unexpected. Initially, I was onboarded to design exhibit description panels and resize images. Having no experience working on a project of this scale, I was thrilled to work and learn more. But before I got my initial tasks, Dr. Satchit Balsari asked me to make one data graphic. And then another. Then six more after that. I ended up designing the two big-wall graphics for ‘Every Body Counts’ and ‘Super Spreaders’. My love for designing data was fulfilled with every graphic that was created. I enjoyed the iterative design process for such an important and impactful message. This was a surreal experience, and I am highly indebted to Dr. Balsari and Hiteshree for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

Karthik Girish: The project was an eye-opener to me. I am happy I used my design tools to spread the effort and voices of poor working women and the SEWA organization. The intention to convey the recorded conversations and stories impactfully drove me and my design process. I am also extremely grateful to have worked with a multi-talented team.

Katikeya Bhatotia , MPP ’24 (Harvard Kennedy School)

Kartikeya Bhatotia: I contributed to the editorial and research aspects of the exhibition. After grasping the vision of Prof. Balsari and Hiteshree, I reviewed the transcripts and read the oral histories of women in SEWA. We brainstormed the types of narratives to highlight from their enriching lives, focusing on their perseverance through the pandemic, which significantly increased their socio-economic precarity. From the experiences of migration to living through one of the harshest lockdowns in the world, these women’s stories are both important to tell and inspiring to hold onto.

Kartikeya Bhatotia: I have been researching the informal economy for years. Although often overlooked in India, it offers deep insights into the narratives of development and growth. As the Head Teaching Fellow for the FAS fall course GENED 1011: Entrepreneurial Solutions for Intractable Problems, co-taught by Professor Balsari, I gained a deeper understanding of how entrepreneurs, like the women at SEWA, innovate across the economy’s various sectors. Their stories are not just fascinating; they are crucial for comprehending the intricacies of the Indian economy. This is what drove me to get involved and assist in sharing their experiences.

Kartikeya Bhatotia: As someone who lost a loved one in the pandemic, it was deeply important for me to carry forward the narratives of those who endured the worst suffering. To me, this project is a memory-keeping initiative. In popular imagination, the pandemic is about Zoom calls, yoga, and in India’s case, beating pots and pans. It rarely touches on the biggest internal migrant crisis of independent India or the massive undercounting of pandemic-related deaths. I am really proud that I have highlighted both the stories of perseverance and loss. In preserving our histories and keeping them alive, a significant part involves acknowledging how societies and states failed to care for their people. At its core, the project is about policy: it encompasses the world’s largest cash transfers, the complex supply chains of food in India, and it is about reclaiming the popular narrative.

Student Participants

Hiteshree Das, MDes ’25 (GSD), Lead Student Designer and Co-Curator

TECHNOLOGY LEAD

Robert McCarthy, BA ’23 (Harvard College)

DESIGN TEAM

William Boles, MLA ’26 (GSD)

Deepak Ramola, EdM ’23 (HGSE)

Shariq M. Shah, MDes ’24 (GSD)

Karthik Girish, MUP ’25 (GSD)

RESEARCH TEAM

Abhishek Bhatia, MS ’17 (HSPH)

Kartikeya Bhatotia, MPP ’24 (HKS)

Ravi Sadhu, (HSPH)

☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of LMSAI, its staff, or its steering committee.

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• Behind the Scenes of the Exhibition “HUM SAB EK – We Are One” with Dr. Satchit Balsari
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