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Tuition and Financial Aid

This site provides details on tuition and fees, applying for financial aid, types of funding, billing policies, and more. Please review all the information carefully and contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have any questions.

Student Gateway

Types of Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid is committed to assisting students to meet the cost of a Harvard Chan School education. However, the School has limited grant/scholarships and cannot fully meet each student’s financial need.

We encourage eligible master’s and DrPH students to apply for Harvard Chan scholarships, regardless of financial need. These grants are funded in part by gifts from generous donors.

Harvard Scholarships and Grants

We encourage all applicants (domestic, international, and undocumented) in eligible degree programs to complete our grant/scholarship application regardless of their level of financial need. Harvard employees eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) are ineligible for additional grants/scholarships.

Master of Science-42.5 credits (SM-42.5)	Master of Public Health-45 credits (MPH-45) Residential
Master of Science-60 credits (SM-60)	Master of Public Health-65 credits (MPH-65)
Master of Science-80 credits (SM-80)	Master of Public Health-Generalist (MPH-GEN)
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)	Master of Public Health in Epidemiology On-line/On-campus (MPH-EPI)

Students in these programs are not eligible to apply for grant/scholarships. Private student loans are a financing option for these students.

Master of Science (SM42.5)-Summer-Only	Master in Health Care Management (MHCM)
Master of Public Health (MPH45)-Summer-Focused	Non-degree

Most awards are decided on a combination of these factors:

Merit: academic potential and excellence, including work experience, prior degrees, grades, personal statement, recommendation letters, etc.
Need: income, assets, prior loan debt, family contributions, etc.
Background: socioeconomic status, first-generation college graduate, immigration status, disadvantaged backgrounds, students from developing countries, etc.

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

Here’s how school-wide scholarships are distributed in a typical year:

Degree Program	Funding
Master of Public Health (MPH) 45 Residential Program and 65 credit program	About 30% of our students receive school grants. Most cover quarter to a half of tuition costs.
Master of Public Health (MPH) 45 Generalist (on-line program)	About 50% of our MPH-Generalist students receive school grants. Most cover a quarter of tuition costs.
Master of Public Health – Epidemiology (online/on-campus)	50% of students receive support; Awards range from $5,000-$20,000
Master of Science (SM) 42.5, 60, & 60 credit program	About 40% of our SM students receive school grants. Most cover a quarter to a half of tuition costs.
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)	Students with demonstrated financial need are eligible to receive grants covering 50% of tuition for the first two years of the program. There is no merit aid for this program.

Presidential Scholars Program

Students apply for the Presidential Scholarship program by completing the Harvard Chan Grant/Scholarship Application.

The Harvard President’s Office funds this program for talented graduate students with financial need and a strong interest in public-service careers.

At Harvard Chan School, the Presidential Scholars program funds outstanding master’s students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Each year, approximately 10 students from across the MPH-45 and MPH-65 programs and seven students from across our SM programs receive grants covering their full tuition through this program.

Training/Research Grants and Other Department/Program Funding

In addition to the school-wide scholarships, individual academic departments administer training and research grants. The departments use information from the central Harvard Chan Grant/Scholarship Application to determine these awards.

Committee on General Scholarships

The Harvard University Committee on General Scholarships (CGS) manages several grant programs with highly specific eligibility criteria, which are known as “restricted scholarships.”

For instance, there are scholarships for residents of certain cities, states, or countries, and for alumni of certain high schools or universities. Typically, only full-time, residential students are eligible. International students from specific countries may be eligible.

You cannot apply directly to CGS for these restricted scholarships. We will automatically consider you for any relevant opportunities after you complete our Harvard Chan Grant/Scholarship Application.

CGS also manages several funding opportunities that you can apply to directly:

The Zuckerman Fellows Program is open to U.S. citizens who have earned or are pursuing a law, business, or medical degree while also pursuing a degree at Harvard Chan School. The fellowship provides both a scholarship and stipend. Please visit the Zuckerman Fellowship site for details and deadlines. Direct any questions to zfellows@fas.harvard.edu.

Harvard Chan international students from specific countries may be eligible to apply. The CGS website will note if you need to complete a separate application. If no separate application is required by CGS, schools will nominate based on citizenship.

CGS’s traveling fellowships support a full year of study or research abroad. Please consult the CGS website for details on eligibility, the application process, and deadlines.

The Teresa Pinsón Scholarship for Public Health offers a $50,000 grant to one student a year. Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of Mexico, with demonstrated financial need, who have been accepted into Harvard Chan School for a full-time master’s degree program.

Please note that the student who receives this grant is required by contract to return to Mexico upon graduation. (If they move directly into “practical training” in their field, they can delay up to two years.) If they fail to return to Mexico, they forfeit the funding.

To apply for the grant and for more information, please contact Executive Director Patricial Villarreal (pvillarreal@fundacionharvard.org or Administrative Director Ana Patricia Sanchez (psanchez@fundacionharvard.org ).