Government PhD

Harvard University Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences · Cambridge, MA

Field: Political Science & International Relations
Degrees: PhD
Application fee: $105
GRE: Required
Letters: 3 (recommendations)

Deadlines

PhD application, fall 2027: Dec. 1, 2026

Essays

Statement of purpose (1,000 words unless the program states otherwise)

Your statement should be focused, informative, and convey your research interests and qualifications. You should describe your reasons and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree in your chosen degree program, noting the experiences that shaped your research ambitions, indicating briefly your career objectives, and concisely stating your past work in your intended field of study and in related fields.

Personal statement (500 words)

Please describe the personal experiences that led you to pursue graduate education and explain how these experiences will contribute to the academic environment and/or community in your program or Harvard Griffin GSAS.

Writing sample (Any length)

A recent scholarly or critical paper.

Editor's notes

Harvard Government has no stand-alone master's, so you apply directly to the PhD, and the GRE is required. You write two different essays: a 1,000-word statement of purpose about your research interests and past work, and a 500-word personal statement about experiences that led you to graduate study, which GSAS says should complement rather than duplicate the statement of purpose. The writing sample has no length cap, so choose your strongest recent scholarly paper rather than the longest one. The December 1 deadline is earlier than at many peer programs, and GRE and TOEFL/IELTS scores must arrive by then.