View source for Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

{{Short description|Graduate school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts}}
{{Infobox university
| name                   = Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
| image_name             = harvard-gsas.png
| image_size             = 150px
| former_names            = Graduate Department of Harvard University (1872–1890)<br />Graduate School of Harvard University (1890–1905)<br/> Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1905–2023)
| established            = 1872
| type                   = [[Private school|Private]]
| dean                   = [[Emma Dench]]
| city                   = [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]
| state                  = [[Massachusetts]]
| country                = United States
| students               = 4,824 (4,599 [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])<ref name = enrollment>{{cite web |title=GSAS at a Glance |url=https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/gsas-glance |website=The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=21 October 2020}}</ref>
| campus                 = [[urban area|Urban]]
| website                = {{url|https://gsas.harvard.edu/}}
}}
The '''Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences''' ('''GSAS''') is the largest of the twelve graduate schools of [[Harvard University]], when measured by the number of degree-seeking students. Formed in 1872, GSAS is responsible for most of Harvard's graduate degree programs in the [[humanities]], [[social science]]s, and [[natural science]]s. The school offers [[Master of Arts]] (AM), [[Master of Science]] (SM), and [[Doctor of Philosophy]] (PhD) degrees in approximately 58 disciplines.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/history |website=The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>
Academic programs offered by the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have consistently ranked at the top of graduate programs in the United States.<ref>[https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/harvard-university-166027 Harvard University: Grad School], [[U.S. News & World Report]], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref> The School's [[List of Harvard University people|graduates]] include a diverse set of prominent public figures and academics. The vast [[List of Harvard University people#Nobel laureates|majority]] of Harvard's [[Nobel Prize]]-winning alumni earned a degree at GSAS.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} In addition to scholars and scientists, GSAS graduates have become [[Cabinet of the United States|U.S. Cabinet Secretaries]], [[List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court Justices]], foreign [[head of state|heads of state]], and [[head of government|heads of government]].
==History and organization==
GSAS was formally created as the Graduate Department of Harvard University in 1872 and was renamed the Graduate School of Harvard University in 1890. Women were not allowed to enroll in GSAS until 1962.<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/history History: Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref> In 2023, the GSAS was renamed after a $300 million donation from philanthropist [[Kenneth C. Griffin]] to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 11, 2023 |title=Kenneth C. Griffin makes gift of $300 million to FAS |work=[[The Harvard Gazette]] |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/04/kenneth-c-griffin-makes-gift-of-300-million-to-fas/ |access-date=April 11, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shaw |first=Jonathan |date=April 11, 2023 |title=Ken Griffin’s Naming Gift for the Graduate School |work=[[Harvard Magazine]] |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2023/04/griffin-fas-gift |access-date=April 11, 2023}}</ref>
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences forms part of the [[Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences|Faculty of Arts and Sciences]] (FAS), along with [[Harvard College]], the [[Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]], and the [[Harvard Division of Continuing Education]]. The dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, who reports to the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, is charged with the responsibility of implementing and supervising the policies of the faculty in the area of graduate education. In the administration of academic policy, the dean is guided by the Administrative Board and the Committee on Graduate Education. The dean is assisted by an administrative dean of GSAS, who has day-to-day responsibility for the operations of the school, a dean for admissions and financial aid, and a dean for student affairs. While the GSAS office oversees the processing of applications, financial aid and fellowships, thesis guidelines, and graduate student affairs, the individual departments in FAS retain considerable autonomy in the administration of their respective graduate programs.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences oversees GSAS and is responsible for setting the conditions of admission, for providing courses of instruction for students, for directing their studies and examining them in their fields of study, for establishing and maintaining the requirements for its degrees and for making recommendations for those degrees to Harvard's Governing Boards, for laying down regulations for the governance of the school, and for supervising all its affairs. The dean of GSAS is responsible for implementing and supervising the policies of the faculty in the area of graduate education.
In addition to its own master's and PhD programs, GSAS nominally oversees the PhD programs in Harvard's professional schools: [[Harvard Business School]], [[Harvard Divinity School]], the [[Harvard Graduate School of Education]], [[Harvard Medical School]], the [[Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health]], the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]], and the [[John F. Kennedy School of Government]].
==Academic programs==
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers many degree programs, including:<ref>{{cite web |title=Degree Programs |url=https://gsas.harvard.edu/programs-study/degree-programs |website=The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref>
{{div col}}
* African and African American Studies
* American Studies
* [[Anthropology]]
* [[Astronomy]]
* [[Bioengineering]]
* [[Biological Sciences in Public Health]]
* Celtic Languages and Literatures
* [[Chemistry]] and Chemical Biology
* [[Computer Science]]
* The Classics
* [[Comparative Literature]]
* Earth and Planetary Sciences
* East Asian Languages and Civilizations
* [[Economics]]
* [[Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences|Engineering and Applied Sciences]]
* [[English studies|English]]
* Germanic Languages and Literatures
* [[Government]]
* [[Harvard University Department of History|History]]
* History of Art and Architecture
* History of Science
* Human Evolutionary Biology
* [[Linguistics]]
* [[Mathematics]]
* [[Middle Eastern Studies]]
* [[Molecular biology|Molecular]] and [[Cellular Biology]]
* [[Music]]
* Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
* Organismic and [[Evolutionary Biology]]
* [[Harvard University Department of Philosophy|Philosophy]]
* [[Physics]]
* [[Psychology]]
* Romance Languages and Literatures
* Slavic Languages and Literatures
* [[Sociology]]
* South Asian Studies
* [[Statistics]]
* Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
{{div col end}}
==Student life==
[[File:Dudley House, Harvard College, Cambridge MA.jpg|thumb|right|Lehman Hall is the center of GSAS student life on [[Harvard Yard]]]]
As of 2019, Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences had 4,521 students, with the vast majority (4,392 students) pursuing PhDs.<ref name = enrollment/> 46% of GSAS students are women, 30% of students are international, and 12% are underrepresented minorities. 20% of GSAS students pursue degrees in [[humanities]], 26% in [[social science]]s, and the remaining 54% in [[natural science]]s.<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/gsas-glance GSAS at a Glance], [[Harvard University]], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref>
GSAS students have a dedicated space on [[Harvard Yard]], known as The Student Center at Harvard Griffin GSAS at Lehman Hall. Graduate students who prefer to dine on-campus do so at the Student Center, which features a full-scale dining hall as well as a smaller cafe. The building also provides study and leisure spaces.
===Financial aid===
GSAS guarantees full funding for all PhD students for five years, which covers tuition, health fees, and living expenses. The PhD funding packages include a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments.<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/financial-support/funding-aid Funding and Aid],  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, [[Harvard University]], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref> Although master's students are not guaranteed full funding, they often receive financial support covering at least half of tuition and fees.
==Housing==
[[File:Conant Hall, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).jpg|thumb|right|[[Conant Hall]], as seen in 2017]]
[[File:Perkins Hall.JPG|thumb|right|Perkins Hall, as seen in 2013]]
As of 2017, Harvard's GSAS guarantees housing for all first-year graduate students, as long as the students apply for accommodations by April 22.<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/news/stories/housing-options-graduate-students Housing Options for Graduate Students], [[Harvard University]], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref> GSAS offers housing through several on-campus residence halls, as well as Harvard-owned apartments, both on and off-campus. In addition, approximately 100 GSAS students live in Harvard's [[Harvard College#House system|undergraduate houses]] and [[List of Harvard College freshman dormitories|freshman dorms]] as resident tutors and proctors.<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/facts/fact-housing-and-dorms Fact: Housing and Dorms], [[Harvard University]], Retrieved: 7 April 2017</ref>  GSAS residence halls include the following:<ref>[https://gsas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/atoms/files/reshall_handbook_2017-2018_0.pdf GSAS Residence Hall Handbook: 2017-2018] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824133404/https://gsas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/atoms/files/reshall_handbook_2017-2018_0.pdf |date=2017-08-24 }}, [[Harvard University]], Retrieved: 24 August 2017</ref>
===Conant Hall===
Constructed in 1894, [[Conant Hall]] was designed by [[Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge]], reflecting the [[Georgian architecture]] of freshman residences found around [[Harvard Yard]]. It was built with funds gifted by [[Edwin Conant]], whose name the building currently bears. Originally consisting of 29 suites, Conant has since undergone numerous renovations and currently houses 84 single rooms.
===Perkins Hall===
===Richards Hall and Child Hall===
Designed by the German modernist architect [[Walter Gropius]], Richards and Child Halls were built in 1949. Richards is named after the Nobel Prize-winning chemist [[Theodore William Richards|Theodore Richards]], while Child Hall takes its name from [[Francis James Child|Francis J. Child]]. The two residence halls are constructed on the former Jarvis Field, where the first [[American football]] game was played in 1874. Child Hall houses approximately 100 students and Richards Hall houses over 70. The lawn space includes Richard Lippold's “World Tree” sculpture, a 27-feet-tall steel construction designed to be climbed by students.
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://gsas.harvard.edu/ GSAS website]
*[https://www.harvard.edu/academics/schools/ Harvard Schools]
*[https://gsas.harvard.edu/about/150th-anniversary GSAS 150th Anniversary]
*[https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2022/09/gsas-150-anniversary Our History Is a Treasure Box]
*[https://gsas.harvard.edu/news/stories/all-their-best All at Their Best]
{{harvard}}
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[[Category:Harvard University schools|Graduate School of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Graduate schools in the United States]]
[[Category:Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:University subdivisions in Massachusetts]]