Graduate Program

A collection of headshots in a grid

Science in the 21st century is rich with opportunity and challenge. Our pillars for success in this complex world are all tied to interactions—between people and between disciplines. By building both strong interpersonal connections between our students and faculty, and effective bridges between disciplines, entering graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology can thrive at the frontiers of research in the chemical and life sciences.

Our graduate programs prioritize research and exploration. With many opportunities to interact with departments, research centers, and institutions across the Boston area, our students benefit from an interdisciplinary environment that encourages curiosity and innovation. Students can choose from one of our following two graduate degree programs:

Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Our program in Chemistry offers research and training opportunities in many subdisciplines of chemistry, including chemical biology, inorganic, organic, physical, and theoretical.

Chemical Physics

Our interdepartmental Chemical Physics program is designed for students who wish to prepare themselves for the study of chemical problems by the methods and theories of modern physics.

 

 

News about our graduate students

CCB Hosts G35 Alumni

CCB hosted the G35 cohort - PhD alums who entered Harvard CCB in 1991 - on October 3, 2026. This particular cohort has a reunion every 5 years and tries to stay in touch with CCB leadership and current graduate students. During their visit, they got to...
G35 Alumni Event

New research: How to build an evolutionary trap for viruses

When a virus mutates, the world usually finds out the hard way. Variants of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can slip past vaccines and antibody drugs before scientists fully understand what has changed. A new study from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical...
Eugene Shakhnovich and Vaibhav Mohanty

Profile: First rule of a disease fighter: Be curious

It was DNA replication that first captured Isaac Witte’s scientific imagination as a high school student in Overland Park, Kansas. “It’s this orchestration of so many different proteins and molecules that come together to do this core element of life,” he...
Isaac Witte