Abundant Research Opportunities

A research scientist displays a collection of specimens in the Harvard University Herbaria.

Funding for a range of research opportunities at Harvard College is abundant and broadly based. Each year students receive over $7 million in research support designed to provide financial assistance to conduct research. Students customize their individual research programs, choosing from over sixty funding sources based on a particular area of academic interest and research topic. Students work in close collaboration with faculty members and, in some cases, graduate students, in a variety of academic disciplines.

Both the Student Employment Office and the Office for Undergraduate Research Initiatives advise on identifying research and opportunities for funding. These two offices work collaboratively with funding sources across the University to assist students in conducting research throughout their four years as undergraduates.

Academic Year Funding: during the academic year, there are at least three ways a student can receive funding to support research endeavors:

• The Harvard College Research Program (HCRP) provides term-time and summer grants for students to receive funding for independent research in collaboration with a faculty member.
• The Faculty Aide Program (FAP) provides a subsidy to a faculty member working with an undergraduate research assistant.
• Many faculty members in a range of academic departments hire students directly to serve as research assistants.

Summer Funding: during the summer term, awards are available to enable students to have research experiences. Funding is provided to support students conducting independent research with faculty members around the country, in Cambridge and around the world:

• Over 20 different international centers support students conducting research in area studies throughout the world.
• A small number of Cambridge-based research opportunities allow students to conduct research in close collaboration with faculty mentors while benefiting from the experience of being part of a residential community of scholars.
• A variety of science funding programs support students working in labs in and around Cambridge.
• The HCRP provides financial support to students conducting independent research around the world.