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Student Qualifications

To qualify for admission, applicants must demonstrate strong enthusiasm and ability for the vigorous pursuit of scientific knowledge. Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in the sciences. Strong consideration is given to letters of recommendation, particularly to comments from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of the applicant’s research experience.

Program Selection

Students apply to a program and once admitted, perform lab rotations during their first year in order to select a dissertation advisor. Student do not need to secure a dissertation advisor prior to applying

Most applicants apply to one program, and we strongly recommend this targeted approach. While prospective students are encouraged to carefully choose the program that best fits their academic goals, interested applicants may apply to up to three HILS programs and pay only one application fee. If you elect to apply to three programs, only two may be programs in the Department of Medical Sciences. Each application must be unique, containing a tailored statement of purpose and separate recommendations. 

To apply to the Immunology PhD Program, you should select "Division of Medical Sciences" as your program of choice from the pull down menu at the "Select degree program" box on the Degree Programs page. Then using the pull down menu at the "Select area of study" box right below this, you can select "Immunology".

How to Apply

For detailed information about the application, please visit the GSAS Admissions website and click on "Required Application Materials" and "Completing Your Online Application" half-way down the page.

A complete application consists of:

  • Online application form
  • Application fee payment ($105)
  • Transcripts uploaded to the application
  • Letters of recommendation
  • Statement of purpose
  • Demonstration of English proficiency, where required

Application Fees & Deadline

The cost to apply online is $105.00 U.S. (subject to change) The online application fee must be paid by credit card, no other form of payment is accepted. Your application will not be processed unless payment is submitted and received.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Immunology will not consider GRE scores if submitted.

Demonstrate English Proficiency, Where Required

Adequate command of spoken and written English is essential to success in graduate study at Harvard. Applicants who are non-native English speakers and who received their undergraduate degree from an academic institution where English is not the primary language of instruction must prove their English proficiency by earning either a minimum score of 100 on the Internet based test (iBT) of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a minimum score of 7.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test. Applicants who took tests more than two years ago (i.e., before September 1, 2018, for fall 2020 admission) must retake them. No test other than the iBT TOEFL or the IELTS Academic will be accepted as proof of English proficiency; a master’s degree is not accepted as proof of English proficiency.

For those students planning to submit TOEFL scores, please arrange to have an official score report sent to the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences using code 3451. If you have a copy of your Score Confirmation Report, you can upload it to your online application for consideration by the admissions committee. However, you will still need to ensure that Educational Testing Service sends an official score report.

For those students planning to submit IELTS scores, please note that we will only accept official IELTS Academic scores submitted electronically by the IELTS test center via the E-Delivery service. Scores from the IELTS General Training module are not accepted. At the time of test-taking, please specify Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as a score recipient. We do not accept IELTS paper Test Report Forms, nor do we verify Test Report Forms (TRFs).

Applicants unable to take the TOEFL IBT, IELTS or IELTS indicator exams may apply without these scores, and if programs recommend these applicants for admission, their admission will be provisional until they provide scores from one of the accepted tests that demonstrate the required level of English proficiency.

Financial Aid 

Applicants to the Division of Medical Sciences should NOT­ complete the Statement of Financial Resources for Graduate Study. DMS students receive full tuition and stipend support while they are enrolled.

Letters of Recommendation 

We do not accept any paper letters of recommendation. Be sure to register your recommenders’ information in your application, as all recommendation letters must be submitted online.  Paper letters of recommendation will NOT be included as part of your application.

Fee Waiver

We are committed to ensuring that our application fee does not create a financial obstacle for prospective applicants. Application fee waivers are available to those for whom payment of the application fee would be financially challenging. A fee waiver can be requested in the "Applicant Fee" section of the application.