Frequently Asked Questions

    What financial support can I expect?

    All Ph.D. students admitted to SEAS or EPS are guaranteed tuition and stipend, i.e., a graduate fellowship, for the normal duration of their time at Harvard. During the first academic year the funding comes from Harvard, after that it comes from our research grants. Students are encouraged once at Harvard to apply for external fellowships, because they give the student flexibility and helps bolster the laboratory research program. 

    Here are links to two applicable external fellowships:

    • ...
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    Can I switch research advisers or work with more than one adviser during my PhD?

    EPS and SEAS students can switch research advisors and can also work with more than one advisor. When a student is admitted, they are assigned a first year advisor. Unless students have an outside fellowship, the first year of funding derives from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). This system is set up so the student can explore the scientific possibilities within the department before deciding upon a dissertation topic and PhD advisor. Toward this aim, first-year students attend weekly tutorials during fall term given by Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) faculty to learn...

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    Is there a qualifying exam on the road to the Ph.D.? When can I expect to graduate?

    All candidates for the PhD degree are expected to take the oral examination by the end of their
    fourth term in the program. The purpose of the oral examination is to determine a student’s depth
    and breadth of scholarship and readiness for research in a chosen area of specialization. The exam will assess the student’s originality, capacity for synthesis and critical examination, intensity of intellectual curiosity, and clarity of communication. Students typically graduate in 5 to 6 years, but some students graduate in 4 years and others may take longer than 6.

    Are there opportunities or requirements to teach?

    All PhD students are required to serve as teaching fellows during their time at Harvard, at least two sections in EPS and one in SEAS. This requirement ensures that all students have at least some exposure to classroom or laboratory interactions with undergraduates, as teaching will likely be an important aspect of any future career.

    What background and experience are most helpful?

    Students in our group come from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Our work is interdisciplinary, and graduate students find courses and practical experiences during their training to fill in the gaps

    What has the career path been for former students?

    The range of careers for students after graduation is very diverse. Many students have gone into academia or government research laboratories, a notable fraction have pursued careers in education and pedagogy, and others are in finance, consulting, and industry. Please see the listing of former group members for a more complete listing and contact information on past students and post-docs.

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    When I leave Harvard, what may happen to the content in my ArcGIS Online account?

    When your Harvard ID expires, you won't be able to access your AGOL account anymore, but your content will remain. You can do the following:

    1. Transfer ownership of your content to your Harvard teammates before your Harvard ID expires (recommended, you can do it any time)
    2. Ask CGA staff to change content ownership for you after your Harvard ID expired (fill out the form on https://gis.harvard.edu/contactus)
    3. If you need to transfer ownership of your content to...
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    I repeatedly run out of credits on my ArcGIS Online account. Can you add more credits for me?

    Every ArcGIS Online user receives a default 4000 credits in their Harvard account (was 2000 prior to Oct.11,2023). We can allocate more credits to support your work if needed. When you run out of the initial default number of credits in your account, we add 5000 more for you without you asking. However, if you run out of that again, you will need to tell us how many more credits you still need to complete your work, before we can add more for you. The market value is 10c per credit. Fortunately, Harvard's site license with Esri allows us to pool our credits together for all users in the... Read more about I repeatedly run out of credits on my ArcGIS Online account. Can you add more credits for me?

    I’d like access to SharePoint Documents "Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University"

    The SharePoint Documents in 'Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University' contain three types of files:

    1. Public files, which anyone may access without restriction.
    2. Organizational files, which Harvard people may access by login with your Harvard ID and Key.
    3. Restricted files, which only CGA staff may access through named accounts.

    If you encounter a problem when trying to access any organizational file, please first check to make sure that you have logged in to your Harvard Microsoft 365 account....

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    How do I copy files between the RCE and FASSE?

    We recommend using rsync to copy files between RCE and FASSE, although ssh, scp, and sftp will also work.

    Examples:

    Via rsync:

    Note: You can add the -v flag to rsync to receive a list of every file transferred.

    Note: If you have ssh keys for the RCE set up on your computer, you may not be prompted for your password when logging in to the RCE.

    1. SSH into FASSE. 
    ssh jharvard@fasselogin.rc.fas.harvard.edu
Password:
Verification code:

2.  Copy an individual file from...
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