STUDENT GROUPS

"By balancing personal/professional development and networking events with social gatherings and outreach efforts, MBSH provides a welcoming and enriching environment to a diverse population of students."

- Carmen Sivakumaren (BBS)

Minority Biomedical Students at Harvard (MBSH) is a student group dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the life sciences community at Harvard.

Underrepresented Students of Neuroscience.  USN seeks to provide community support for students who are underrepresented minorities or who come from underrepresented/non-academic backgrounds. 

W. E. B. Du Bois Graduate Society is an organization of Harvard Griffin GSAS students and others devoted to addressing minority issues.

• Disability Alliance: Creating a community for disabled students at Harvard.
• Deaf Awareness Club: Advocating for understanding of Deaf Culture at Harvard through educational events and working with the local Deaf Community.
• RSI Action: Providing preventative education, advocacy, and support for students experiencing repetitive strain injury. 

Harvard Native American Program brings together Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students and interested individuals from the Harvard community for the purpose of advancing the well-being of indigenous peoples through self-determination, academic achievement, and community service.

LGBTQ@GSAS provides a community and safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer graduate students.

Harvard Griffin GSAS Latinx Student Association is an interdisciplinary organization committed to building community and providing intellectual and social support among students currently enrolled in graduate programs at Harvard University.

The Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (HGWISE) is committed to enhancing the personal, academic, and professional development of women in science, social science, and engineering at Harvard University.

Additional Student Groups are listed on the Harvard Griffin GSAS Diversity Student Groups page.

CAMPUS RESOURCES

Harvard Griffin GSAS Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB). The mission of the Office of Diversity and Minority Affairs is to recruit and mentor a community of scholars that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of our society and to this end, our office serves the needs of the community through social, professional development and academic activities, and advising. We’re also committed to expanding the pool of talented students who apply to graduate school through the development of programs for future applicants.

• Harvard Griffin GSAS Diversity and Inclusion Fellows. Harvard Griffin GSAS created two positions for graduate students as Diversity and Inclusion Fellows. The Fellows have the opportunity to make significant contributions to supporting underrepresented students at Harvard, and to participating in recruiting and outreach to underrepresented undergraduates.  The program has been so successful that GAS is adding a third Fellow to represent students in the LGBTQ community.

HMS Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership. The mission of the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (DICP) is to advance diversity inclusion in health, biomedical, behavioral, and STEM fields that builds individual and institutional capacity to achieve excellence, foster innovation, and ensure equity in health locally, nationally, and globally.

Office for Gender Equity. The OGE (formerly known as the Title IX Office) is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment that is free from sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct. Our office supports the entire Harvard community in a neutral role, meaning that all members of the University community can access our resources.

University Disability Services (UDS) welcomes students, faculty, staff, and visitors with disabilities. UDS provides leadership to University efforts to ensure an accessible, welcoming working and learning environment for individuals with disabilities while ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations.

Disability Access Office. The Disability Access Office (DAO) partners with Harvard Griffin GSAS students with visible and invisible disabilities to identify barriers and implement plans for access. Through collaboration with the campus community, we foster an environment of equity and inclusion.

NEW STUDENT RESOURCES

Summer Institute
The Summer Institute is an optional program offered to students from underrepresented groups across Harvard. Activities include panel discussions by senior graduate students about topics such as transition to graduate school, navigating Harvard, being a 1^st generation student, managing familial pressures, being the outsider in your home community, and the imposter syndrome. Participating students engage in a paper reading boot camp that exposes them to the type of discussion classes they will see in their first year. Additional workshops cover topics such as mentoring up, choosing rotations, and experimental design.  The Summer Institute also leverages existing programs such as the MATLAB boot camp to bring students from multiple programs together to help them learn statistics and programming. 

Culture and Community Workshop
All first-year students participate in a 2.5 hour Culture and Community Workshop during the DMS Orientation in late August. The goal of the DMS Culture and Community Workshop - organized by the Harvard Griffin GSAS Diversity and Inclusion Fellows and facilitated by DMS graduate students - is to equip incoming DMS students with the tools to establish and sustain an inclusive culture and community across DMS and in their individual programs through dynamic and in-depth discussions and activities.