About
Details at a Glance
School Type
PrivateApplication Fee
$90Financial Aid Available
Yes
Degrees Offered
Our Program
The GSD offers a dynamic setting for the exchange of ideas across the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, real estate, design studies, and design engineering—united in the pursuit of a more just, coherent, and beautiful world. Working in collaboration with colleagues in other schools at Harvard and beyond the University, our programs have a social dimension aimed at the construction of alternative and sustainable futures, engaging in the ethical and political realm through such topics as rapid urbanization, resource scarcity, and the after-effects of disasters. By recalibrating the relationship between tradition and innovation, knowledge and imagination, the Harvard Graduate School of Design is poised to lead design’s global cause.
Admissions
Application Fee
$90
Requirements
- GRE
- TOEFL
- Certified Academic Transcripts
- Personal Statement
- 3 Letters of Recommendation
- Portfolio (Optional for Master in Urban Planning and not Required for Master in Real Estate)
- Resume
- For more application information, see https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/apply
- UPDATE: For the 2023 admissions cycle, the GRE will be either ‘optional‘ or ‘not required or accepted’ for our degree programs for the fall 2023 application. The requirement will be re-evaluated for subsequent years. See more information: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/apply
- Letters of Recommendations: 3
Application Deadline
Jan 4, 2023 MArch, MLA, MUP, MAUD, MLAUD, DDes
Jan 9, 2023 MDes
Jan 12, 2023 MDE
Student Body
Total Students
901 StudentsFemale
59% FemaleMale
40% Male
Inclusion
- Dedicated Diversity Office
- Asst. Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/2019/05/you-belong-here-naisha-bradleys-vision-for-community-building-at-the-gsd/
Clubs & Associations
Please visit the Student Group Directory for detailed information on existing GSD student organizations and clubs. The current list reflects the 2021-2022 academic year, and will be updated for 2022-2023 after the group registration period in September.
What Our Students Say
I knew going into the program that our cohort would be made up of deeply talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and I anticipated that we would all have different skillsets and knowledge bases. What I did not anticipate was that our interests and ways of working would be so closely aligned: across the board, there's a desire to think systematically, understand details, and make a positive contribution to society.
Brian Ho, MDE ‘18I was very interested in the design component of planning. I also like the possibility of the joint degree program at the Kennedy School. At the GSD open house, I noticed that there was a range of perspectives, and there was an emphasis on the “big picture,” which was important to me.
Stephanie Brown, MUP ‘13The GSD is such an experimental environment that really pushes you to go beyond your own limits and think about reality, but also think about what the future of that reality should be.
Jose Luis Garcia del Castillo y López, MDes '13, DDes ‘19
I knew going into the program that our cohort would be made up of deeply talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and I anticipated that we would all have different skillsets and knowledge bases. What I did not anticipate was that our interests and ways of working would be so closely aligned: across the board, there's a desire to think systematically, understand details, and make a positive contribution to society.
I was very interested in the design component of planning. I also like the possibility of the joint degree program at the Kennedy School. At the GSD open house, I noticed that there was a range of perspectives, and there was an emphasis on the “big picture,” which was important to me.
The GSD is such an experimental environment that really pushes you to go beyond your own limits and think about reality, but also think about what the future of that reality should be.
Tuition & Financial Aid
Additional Information
- Work-study Programs Available
- Financial Aid Available
- Financial Aid Timeline-- https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/resources/aid-application-for-prospective-students/
- Tuition information: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/paying-for-your-program/tuition/
- Student Employment: https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/paying-for-your-program/work-opportunities-for-students/