Ph.D. Admissions Levels
Dear colleagues,
I am writing to share an update on graduate admissions levels for the coming year.
As you will recall, following the termination of Harvard’s federal grants in April 2025, I made the difficult decision to reduce Ph.D. admissions substantially. As federal funding was restored later that year, and we became more confident that funds would continue to flow, we adjusted those levels upward. By December 2025, each Division was operating at or above 50 percent of its historical admissions levels. We planned for reductions over two years, undertaken in response not only to the immediate disruption in federal funding but also to continued uncertainty about its reliability.
As we enter the second year, I have asked the Divisional Deans to plan for 80 percent of historical admissions levels in each division. This target will be allocated among programs at the divisional level later this term, noting that individual programs may be higher or lower than 80 percent. In the Science Division, we will return to the practice of providing block grants for departments to manage; in the Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities, we will continue to allocate slots.
The ability to set a substantially higher target reflects important work across the FAS. All units across the FAS have reduced their budgets. We are making progress in using our restricted funds more effectively to support core academic priorities. And our alumni and friends have responded with generous support: we recently completed a $100 million challenge to endow Ph.D. fellowships, and we have launched a second effort with the same goal. Together, these actions have strengthened the financial foundation for graduate student support.
Looking beyond the coming year, we will need to consider what long-term, sustainable cohort sizes should be across the FAS. This requires a transparent approach that considers our academic priorities, our responsibilities to our students, and our financial realities. To this end, I am establishing a faculty committee, chaired by Fiery Cushman, charged with developing a principled framework to guide decisions about the number of Ph.D. students we can responsibly support and mentor, while being responsive to changes in our external environment. These guiding principles will account for the distinctive needs of different disciplines, the full cost of graduate education, and our commitment to provide every admitted student with an exceptional education and preparation for a future career.
I am grateful to our departmental chairs, graduate program leaders, faculty, and staff for the thoughtful work that has made it possible to move forward. We will continue to keep you informed as the divisional allocations are developed later this year and as the faculty committee undertakes its work to guide long-term planning.
With gratitude,
Hopi
Hopi Hoekstra
Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Science
Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences