Financial Aid

Basis of Financial Aid Awards

All incoming HBS doctoral students are awarded a fellowship that includes tuition, single-person health fees, and a living stipend. This year's stipend is $57,054. The monthly stipend rate is $4,754, a dental stipend of $222 paid on September 1st, and two transit stipends of $409 paid on September 1st and February 1st. The fellowship is renewable for up to five years. All fellowship awards are contingent upon a student's satisfactory academic progress and are subject to the Outside Fellowships Policy. Students may seek out additional means of supplementing their income, such as tutoring or teaching, in accordance with the Outside Activities Policy.

Academic progress is reviewed by the Doctoral Programs Office every term. During the coursework stage (normally the first two years), students are required to maintain a B average each term. Students must pass all exams and milestones on time. They must also demonstrate satisfactory progress on their dissertation. This includes an approved dissertation proposal by the end of the third year. By the end of the fourth year, the Policy and Admissions Committee (PAC) will review the student’s progress towards successful completion of the dissertation. Students will submit a document describing the status of dissertation research, a CV, and letters from two members of the dissertation committee. Lack of satisfactory progress at any stage or failure to adhere to School policies can result in the termination of the fellowship. Incoming students receive a merit-based award regardless of need, including a fellowship for tuition and health fees and a stipend for living expenses.

The basic financial aid award for living expenses is based on a single student budget for twelve months.

Although awards are determined primarily by the policies outlined in this statement, we consider each student's individual situation before aid is awarded. HBS reserves the right to change and/or amend the financial aid policies during the academic year.

HBS Funding Policy

All incoming HBS doctoral students are awarded a fellowship that includes tuition, single-person health fees, and a living stipend. The fellowship is renewable for up to five years. All fellowship awards are contingent upon a student's satisfactory academic progress and are subject to the Outside Fellowships Policy. Students may seek additional ways to supplement the income provided by the HBS financial aid package. Some options include serving as a teaching fellow, grading for an MBA class, research assistant work or tutoring, provided that the student follows the Outside Activities Policy.

Funding Beyond 5^th Year

HBS is committed to a five-year doctoral program. However, there are certain circumstances in which a sixth year of study is required for a student to complete a dissertation. The Doctoral Programs Office and PACs will review petitions for limited 6^th year funding (which may include tuition, health fees, and a reduced stipend). Petitions will only be approved when:

A student is making satisfactory progress on his or her dissertation and is likely to graduate at the end of six years;
A student is producing doctoral-level research that is likely to be published in a scholarly journal;
A student is engaging fully in the Harvard scholarly community, including meeting the in residence policy.

Students are expected to apply for external funding, including fellowships that cover research and/or living expenses. They should be prepared to demonstrate that they have attempted to secure external funding prior to submitting a petition to the Doctoral Programs Office.

Petitions for sixth year funding will be accepted in February of the student’s fifth year. Petitions must include a CV, a draft of the job market paper, a statement of purpose describing why a 6^th year of study is required, an outline of the specific goals for the upcoming year, and a detailed timeline for completing both the job market paper and a dissertation.

Further consideration will be given to students who have had or adopted one or more children in the program or who have experienced significant personal or family medical issues. There will be no consideration for funding beyond a student’s sixth year.

Tuition, Fees & Stipend

All incoming doctoral students, regardless of need, are awarded a fellowship for tuition and health fees and a stipend for their living expenses for up to five years, provided they maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Outlined below are the schedules used to calculate the fellowship awards for the 2026-2027 academic year for students in their first or second year of their program.

HBS DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP, 2026

Full Tuition: $59,048
Health Fees: $6,898
Living Expenses: $57,054
Total: $119,285

Students in their third and fourth years are charged Reduced Tuition and full Health Fees. For 2026-2027, Reduced Tuition is $15,352. Students in their third or fourth years will receive a total fellowship award (tuition, health fees, and stipend) of $80,344.

Beyond the fourth year, students are charged the Facilities Fee of $3,9061. This fee gives a student access to University facilities (e.g., libraries) and requires the accompanying payment of full health fees. Students in their fifth year will receive a total fellowship award (facilities fee, health fees, and stipend) of $64,143. In the event that the student's degree work takes them away from the Cambridge area, this fee may be replaced with the Active File Fee ($150), which does not permit access to University facilities and requires student payment of only the Harvard-sponsored Blue Cross Blue Shield health fee.

Eligibility for Educational Loans

Additional aid may be available based on a student’s individual circumstances. Ph.D. students should contact the GSAS financial aid office, located in Smith Center 350, at 617-495-5396 for information regarding educational loans.