Non-Resident Student Policies

Residency Requirement

Students are required to be in residence (living in the Boston area) during the program of study. Under exceptional circumstances, a student may need to be away from the Boston metropolitan area during the post-coursework period of their program. In this case, students must request and receive approval for non-resident status at the beginning of the term.

Joint program doctoral students should consult the GSAS Handbook for non-resident policies. Joint program students must adhere to the same guidelines detailed on this page, however they must submit their application through GSAS.

Traveling Scholar

Students who will be living away from the Boston area and engaged primarily in their degree work must register as a non-resident student. Any student wishing to obtain traveling scholar status should first secure the support for these plans from one's advisor then complete and submit to the Doctoral Programs Office the Traveling Scholar Request Form. Students will need to submit the form to their primary advisor, the Faculty Chair/Coordinator, and the Doctoral Programs Office along with a research proposal, that includes their research goals for the term, a plan for continued engagement in the intellectual community of HBS, and a communication plan for contacting advisors and co-authors during their time away from campus.

Under certain circumstances the Faculty and Doctoral Programs Office will consider approving a traveling scholar status for non-research reasons (e.g. family circumstances). In order to make a request for non-research reasons, students must submit to their primary advisor and the Doctoral Programs Office the above form and a proposal that includes their research goals for the term, a plan for visiting campus frequently (at least every 6 weeks), and a communication plan for contacting advisors and co-authors while away.

Students must request Traveling Scholar status on a term-to-term basis. Students, who wish to extend their traveling scholar status beyond one term, may be asked to submit a written progress report to their advisor so that their progress towards the degree may be assessed. Additionally, students may be a Traveling Scholar for a maximum of one year while enrolled in an HBS doctoral program. Traveling Scholar status may be taken in non-consecutive terms. Students wishing to be away from the HBS campus for periods longer than one year should consider taking a Leave of Absence. 

Students may not be required to register as a Traveling Scholar, if they are spending more than half of their time in the Boston area and fulfilling basic expectations such as attending unit seminars and meeting frequently with faculty and other students. In these scenarios, students should still alert the Doctoral Programs Office of their secondary address. 

Studying at Another Harvard School

Leave of Absence

If you are taking a leave or considering the possibility of a leave, the following information should prove helpful. HBS has several classifications for leaves of absence that are either “voluntary” or “involuntary” as detailed below. If you are preparing for a leave, you should consider this information carefully and review the process for returning to campus, financial responsibilities, and other details specific to their individual circumstances related to the leave. Transcripts ordinarily do not distinguish between voluntary and involuntary leaves of absence, but a notation that you have withdrawn will be included to indicate a leave was taken.