HSPH Weighs Changes to Master’s Programs, Research Priorities Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty

Harvard School of Public Health officials are considering changing the school’s master’s programs, expanding online course offerings, and defining a narrower set of research priorities as uncertainty around federal funding grows.

The discussions, presented at a March 31 faculty retreat as part of a broader strategic planning process, included whether the school’s 16 master’s programs still match student demand and whether identifying a smaller set of research strengths more closely tied to the school’s strengths could help attract more outside support, according to four attendees.

Faculty at the retreat also raised additional ideas, including using endowment funds to support faculty facing funding gaps.

The review comes after the Trump administration cut roughly $2.7 billion in federal funding last year, a move that disproportionately affected the School of Public Health, which relies more on sponsored research than any other Harvard school. (In fiscal year 2025, 56 percent of the school’s revenue came from sponsored research funding, the highest share across the University.)

The cuts prompted layoffs at the school and reductions to departmental budgets, though it announced in October that nearly all of the grants had been restored after a judge ruled in Harvard’s favor.

In response, the school launched a strategic planning process in December to reassess its academic and financial priorities. The process is organized around a steering committee and two working groups focused on education and research. The groups are expected to deliver recommendations to HSPH Dean Andrea Baccarelli by May.

Administrators involved in the effort said it is meant to prepare the school for a future in which federal support is less dependable.

“Knowing or planning for less support from the federal sources like NIH is a huge change for us,” said Katrina E. Soriano, executive director of administration in the Department of Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition. “The committee is preparing — how do we prepare for the changes that we see coming and are experiencing now?”

On the education side, the clearest focus has been the school’s master’s programs.

Jorge E. Chavarro, dean of academic affairs, said the education working group has been examining whether the current mix of degrees still makes sense for students entering public health.

“We have a very large offering of master’s degrees,” Chavarro said. “A lot of the conversation was about: is this the right mixture of degrees in public health that are relevant to public health education in the future, and are relevant to the type of education that people who are getting into public health want to get?”

The school does not enroll undergraduates, making master’s programs a significant source of tuition revenue. Chavarro said the review could lead to changes in the number or structure of those programs, though no decisions have been made.

At the retreat, faculty also discussed offering more flexible formats, including additional online or hybrid classes, particularly for mid-career professionals.

Marc G. Weisskopf, a professor of epidemiology who serves on the strategic steering committee, said one possibility under discussion is directing some of the school’s focus away from research and toward teaching.

“Certainly things that are talked about are shifting the balance of research versus teaching to be a little bit more towards the teaching. We’re right now certainly a very heavy research-oriented school,” Weisskopf said. “But how we do that, whether we can do that, whether we’re placed to do that, what kinds of programs that would be, is still unclear.”

On the research side, the working group has been considering whether the school should more clearly define the areas where it has a competitive advantage.

Courtney M. Peterson, an associate professor of nutrition who attended the retreat, said faculty proposed research areas including preventative approaches to healthcare, precision medicine, and artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Soriano said the goal is working to identify priorities that could help shape fundraising and strategy, focusing on “things that will bring in dollars, perhaps things that are attractive for funding, things that are aligned with our mission.”

But that discussion has also drawn concern from some faculty, who warned that defining a narrower set of priorities could come at the expense of the school’s breadth.

“I think a part of the core excellence of our school comes from our faculty and their varied interests and explorations,” Weisskopf said. “Sometimes great innovation and the next great discovery and advancement often comes from places you don’t expect.”

Peterson said many faculty at the retreat shared that concern.

“We all generally feel like so many of us at the school are doing top research in the world, and trying to coalesce around an area that’s not naturally in someone’s domain may not necessarily be the best thing to prioritize,” Peterson said. “We already got great people. Let's support them to do great work.”

Other ideas surfaced at the retreat as well. Peterson said one proposal called for using endowment funds to provide bridge support for junior faculty if outside funding becomes harder to secure.

“There’s less funding for public health to protect what we think of as the junior or tenure track, but not yet tenured professors,” Peterson said. “And one of the suggestions that was made is, once they’re done their startup period, which is typically three years, to use some of the endowment funds from the Chan School to fill those gaps and provide bridge funds.”

For now, school leaders said the process remains preliminary.

Chavarro said the retreat was intended to gather faculty feedback, not to present final decisions.

“We didn’t want the process to come into a conclusion before there was an opportunity to hear from as many key constituencies as possible,” he said.

—Staff writer Riya S. Shah can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at riyas.23. Follow her on X @RiyaShah233.

—Staff writer Juliana L. Yao can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at jly.87. Follow her on X @JulianaYao298.