Special Options

Faculty Aide Program

If you have a 3.5 or higher GPA you may become a research assistant to a faculty member through the Career and Academic Resource Center’s Faculty Aide Program.

Special Student status

Special Student status enables you to enroll in a maximum of two Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) courses. All other coursework for the degree must be completed through the Harvard Extension and Harvard Summer Schools. By the deadline, if you have a 3.7 or higher GPA and have completed 24 credits at the Extension School you may apply for Special Student status with recommendations from Stephen Blinn, associate director of professional programs, and two instructors. This option is only for courses not ordinarily offered at Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School.

Application is in two steps:

• First, submit the Special Student petition (see Forms) and schedule an appointment with Stephen Blinn by September 1 for spring 2013 and February 1 for the 2013–14 academic year.
• Second, after approval by the associate director, submit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Special Student application by October 1 and March 1, respectively. If you don’t meet the deadline or receive approval for the first step, you can’t move on to the second.

Special Student courses must be taken for a letter grade and count toward your cumulative GPA at Harvard. You pay the full GSAS tuition of $4,697 per course.

Harvard Graduate School of Education tuition voucher

The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) provides a limited number of tuition vouchers to Harvard Extension School degree candidates. You can submit an application to receive a voucher for two, 4-credit HGSE courses free of charge. The voucher cannot be applied to Extension School courses. 

You need a GPA of 3.33 or higher to apply.

The deadlines are July 1 for fall and December 1 for spring. See Forms to download the voucher petition.

Teacher’s aide internship

Each fall you can apply for a paid internship ($12 per hour for 100 hours) at St. Peter’s School in Cambridge (K-8), where you can gain classroom experience as a teacher’s aide to support a future career in education. You must be 18 years or older and have completed a minimum of 16 credits at Harvard with 3.33 GPA or higher. To apply, submit a résumé and cover letter to suzanne_spreadbury@harvard.edu by September 1. The cover letter should include:

1. Your interest in the internship
2. Experience working with children
3. Age group(s) most interested in teaching
4. Future plans
5. Day and time availability (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1-3 pm, or Tuesday and Thursday, 8-11 am).

St. Peter’s is open 8 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Most interns work 10 to 15 hours a week over two to three days in the classroom along side the teacher helping an individual child or small groups of children complete lesson plans in a variety of subjects, including literature, social studies, science, mathematics, religion, art, computer science, and music. There is potential to be rehired for the spring semester.