Environmental Science and Engineering

Entry requirements

Students with bachelor’s degrees in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering are invited to apply for admission.

Through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, prospective students apply for doctoral study at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). These programs lie at the interfaces of engineering, the applied sciences (from biology to physics), and technology.

When applying, select “Engineering and Applied Sciences” as your program choice and your degree and area of interest in the Area of Study menu. You must complete the Supplemental SEAS Application Form as part of the online application process. Please read the form carefully and indicate your specific interests only in the area to which you are applying.

Months of entry

August

Course content

"Among the many things that make graduate study at SEAS uniquely rewarding, two stand out: our world-class faculty; and the fact that SEAS is part of the larger Harvard community. Our students have limitless opportunities for fruitful collaboration with colleagues from preeminent programs in the sciences, and world-class schools of medicine, business, law, government, design, and public health."

-Dean Frank Doyle

John A. Paulson Dean, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; John A. & Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering & Applied Sciences

In order to better understand and address environmental challenges, environmental scientists and engineers provide technical solutions and advance innovations in environmental measurements, modeling, and control through the application of scientific and engineering principles.

Students in environmental science and engineering study the fundamental processes and technologies underlying environmental systems, including natural and polluted waters and soils, the atmosphere, climate, and energy. Students learn to apply these principles to develop solutions to complex environmental problems and to mitigate human impacts on the environment.

Fees and funding

5 years’ funding is guaranteed to all Harvard GSAS PhD students.

Applicants who are British citizens, normally resident in the UK and who are, or will be, graduates of a British university, are welcome to submit an additional application for a Kennedy Scholarship and/or a Frank Knox Fellowship.

An application for either award is separate from and totally independent of an application to a particular programme. Frank Knox Fellowship funding is advantageous in the taught-master phase of a doctorate. Both awards offer significant social and networking benefits.