I am not planning to accept new graduate students until the fall of 2027 at the earliest. Please check this page for updates as to when we will accept new applications from graduate students.
To join our lab as a graduate student, you should plan to submit your application to relevant PhD programs (see below) one year in advance.
Our work is multidisciplinary and can combine molecular biology, biochemistry, classical genetics, experimental embryology, and advanced live imaging – you should be prepared to become a multidisciplinary scientist! A typical PhD student in my lab successfully completes and publishes two or more independent projects. At least one of your projects must have a direct relationship to recent or ongoing work in the lab. All of your projects should be at least somewhat related to our primary research foci (see Research). You will be encouraged and expected to contribute to project development as your interests evolve.
Students can join the lab as Ph.D. candidates through any one of a variety of graduate programs. No matter which program Ph.D. students in our lab are enrolled in, the majority of the Ph.D. experience will consist of full time research in the Extavour lab with Cassandra Extavour as your primary thesis research advisor.
All of these Ph.D. programs include advanced coursework and teaching opportunities, and benefit from the stimulating academic environment provided by close ties with neighboring labs in several departments. All programs provide stipend, full tuition, and benefits. The differences between the programs lie primarily in the required coursework, teaching requirements, expectations of involvement from other faculty in the form of advisory committees, and the format of their qualifying/candidacy exams.
Because the OEB department only accepts candidates whose interests can be matched with a faculty member, interested applicants should email Cassandra Extavour directly before applying to the OEB graduate program.
The non-OEB programs require students to rotate through at least two labs before finally joining one. Students interested in working in the Extavour lab as a member of these programs are encouraged to contact Dr. Extavour before applying and/or upon acceptance to these programs.
The deadline for applications is generally in the middle of December of each year, for entry in the following academic year. See the links above for information on how to apply to each program. You can apply to more than one program, but pay careful attention to the requirements for each program, as they are not all the same.
The links below provide general information about graduate study at Harvard, and Life Science graduate work at Harvard.
