Special Students & Visiting Fellows
Special Students
Courses offered by the SEAS and departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are open to students who hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, who are able to present evidence of fitness for admission at the graduate level, but who are registered as Special Students and are advised by the director of Special Students:
GSAS, Holyoke Center
350
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-5392
Special Students are not degree candidates. Credit for a limited number of acceptable half-courses can, however, be transferred into a degree program if the student is later admitted to graduate study.
Special Student status ordinarily is limited to a maximum of two terms, with extension possible only by reapplication.
Visiting Fellows
Scholars intending to do research who hold a doctorate, or have equivalent professional experience, or are advanced doctoral candidates who have completed all required coursework, may apply for Visiting Fellow status within Harvard University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
Although Visiting Fellows are sometimes invited by departments or research centers to participate in seminars or other organized activities, they are expected for the most part to pursue their research independently.
A Visiting Fellow, therefore, is an independent researcher who occasionally audits a course or two. Visiting Fellows are normally admitted under the auspices of an academic department within GSAS.
Visiting Fellows are registered as full-time research students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and have access to most university facilities. They are also eligible to apply for membership in the Harvard Faculty Club.
