What research opportunities are available for biology majors at Harvard?

Harvard biology majors have a lot of undergraduate research access, and it starts earlier than many students expect. Students can work in labs through course-based research, paid term-time or summer positions, and independent thesis projects. Because Harvard has both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and major affiliated research hospitals nearby, undergrads can find opportunities in molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience, ecology, evolution, bioengineering, and human disease research.

A common path is joining a faculty lab during the academic year or over the summer. Many students find positions by contacting professors directly, and Harvard also supports this through undergraduate research offices and funding programs.

Biology students can also do research through the life sciences departments themselves, including Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology. Depending on the lab, undergraduates might help design experiments, run assays, analyze sequencing data, work with microscopy, conduct fieldwork, or contribute to computational biology projects. In some labs, students begin with basic support tasks and then move into more independent work once they are trained.

Harvard’s location matters a lot here. Undergraduates may work not only in Cambridge labs but also with researchers connected to places like Harvard Medical School and affiliated hospitals in the Boston area, especially if they are interested in biomedical research. Students who want a more intensive academic capstone can pursue a senior thesis, which often grows out of a lab relationship developed over several semesters.

A biology major at Harvard is not limited to one style of research. Someone interested in rainforest ecology, CRISPR, stem cells, brain circuits, or infectious disease can usually find a lab community that matches those interests.