harvard social policy phd acceptance rate

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University Hall Cambridge, MA 02138

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86 Brattle Street Cambridge, MA 02138

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Search the site, search suggestions, admissions statistics, a brief profile of the class of 2028.

Harvard welcomes students from across the country and all over the world, with diverse backgrounds and far-ranging talents and interests.

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* Note: Race/ethnicity data is available for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents who chose to report their race/ethnicity. Students can select more than one race/ethnicity. (Note added on 9/13/2024)

Typical financial aid package for scholarship holders, 2022-2023

Data Reporting

Data on the Class of 2029 will be released in Fall 2025. Read more about Harvard’s approach to sharing admissions data below.

Posted October 24, 2024

What data does Harvard share?

The Admissions Statistics page includes data on the number of applications, the number of admitted students (including those admitted from the waitlist), and the number of enrolling students. The page also includes the share of enrolled students by:

Intended Field of Study
Race and Ethnicity

Harvard will also report additional data via the IPEDS fall admissions survey and Common Data Set .

When will Harvard release data on the newly admitted class?

Beginning with the Class of 2029, Harvard will share annual admissions data in the October/November timeframe, following the University’s mandatory reporting to the U.S. Department of Education.

Why is Harvard no longer releasing data following the early action and regular action admissions cycles?

Moving to a single, annual admissions data release each fall will provide the most complete view of the newly enrolled class, reducing confusion and offering a predictable timeline. Due to the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision, we are unable to access all information about Harvard’s applicants, admitted students, and enrolling students, while the application review process is still underway. Harvard will release admissions data, including final numbers of enrolled students consistent with our mandatory reporting to the U.S. Department of Education, as well as other information on applicants and admitted students. The new timeline for sharing admissions and matriculation data will provide clear and comprehensive information about the entire admissions process that can be compared on an annual basis. This approach will enable prospective students to have all the information they need to consider Harvard as a possible college choice – not simply partial information they may receive while the application cycle is still in progress.

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Harvard is one of the world’s leading centers for training and mentoring the next generation of sociologists. The Department of Sociology offers several programs of graduate study leading to the Ph.D. in Sociology , the Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy , and the Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior .

The aim of the Graduate Program in Sociology is to prepare students for scholarly and applied research and for teaching in sociology. The program combines an emphasis on competence in social theory and research methods with opportunities for the development of each student's own interest.

Doctoral candidates are expected to achieve a solid proficiency in fundamentals that will enable them to teach basic and advanced sociology courses and engage in both quantitative and qualitative research. Students are trained in several sub fields of sociology in which the faculty has concentrations of expertise. Among these are social stratification and inequality (including race and ethnic relations), the study of complex organizations, economic sociology, political sociology, comparative/historical sociology, health and social policy, cultural analysis, urban sociology, criminology, and life course. The program includes a sequence of required courses on theory and theory construction, designed to acquaint every student with skills necessary for developing social explanations, and required courses in both qualitative methods and advanced statistics to familiarize students with techniques for collecting and analyzing data.

Sociology Faculty and Student Involvement in University Initiatives

For further information on the research topics that Harvard students have explored and the careers of some recent graduates, see Graduate Degrees Awarded .

Harvard Griffin GSAS does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

Graduate Office

660 William James Hall

Office Hours (Fall 2024) Monday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (remote) Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (on campus) Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (remote) Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (on campus) Friday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (on campus)

Email [email protected]

Phone 617.495.3813

Director David Pedulla

Program Coordinator Jessica Matteson