Prepare for your Harvard faculty interview

Scholarly leadership, teaching excellence, and institutional commitment calibrated to Harvard's academic prestige and impact mission.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Harvard is looking for

Research Excellence Interview

Scholarly Contributions & Vision

01Research Rigor & Innovation

02Field Leadership

03Scholarly Impact

04Long-Term Vision

Teaching & Mentorship Interview

Education Philosophy & Student Development

01Teaching Excellence

02PhD Mentorship

03Curriculum Innovation

04Student Development

Service & Leadership Interview

Institutional Contribution

01Department Engagement

02Leadership Vision

03Academic Community Building

04Broader Impact

Scholarly excellence and leadership//Teaching innovation culture//Prestige-driven institutional commitment

Practice Library

Harvard exercises

Ready to ace your Harvard faculty interview?

Prepare for your Harvard faculty interview

Scholarly leadership, teaching excellence, and institutional commitment calibrated to Harvard's academic prestige and impact mission.

Socratify AI

The Interview

What Harvard is looking for

Research Excellence Interview

Scholarly Contributions & Vision

01Research Rigor & Innovation

02Field Leadership

03Scholarly Impact

04Long-Term Vision

Teaching & Mentorship Interview

Education Philosophy & Student Development

01Teaching Excellence

02PhD Mentorship

03Curriculum Innovation

04Student Development

Service & Leadership Interview

Institutional Contribution

01Department Engagement

02Leadership Vision

03Academic Community Building

04Broader Impact

Scholarly excellence and leadership//Teaching innovation culture//Prestige-driven institutional commitment

How It Works

Master Harvard Faculty Interviews

Research excellence and teaching philosophy discussions evaluated on Harvard's scholarly leadership and mentorship standards. · Click to expand

1Your Faculty Goals

Research Strategy

Practitioner

Teaching Philosophy

Practitioner

2Faculty Case Prep

Articulate your scholarly trajectory and contribution to your field. What is your vision...

LEARNMedium

Harvard

3Frameworks

Framework

Can I build a distinctive, fundable research program here?

Does the institution support my research area?

Departmental research expenditure: $8M/year (peer avg: $12M)

3 faculty active in my research area (vs peer avg: 7)

What is the typical grant portfolio trajectory?

Startup package: $400K (peer avg: $550K for my area)

70% of tenure-track faculty have NSF/NIH funding within 3 years

Will my teaching load enable research and student mentorship?

What is the actual teaching workload?

Stated course load: 2/2 (1 new prep + 1 repeat)

Avg class size: 32 (lecture) / 8 (seminar)

How many PhD students and postdocs can I supervise?

Typical cohort: 3-4 PhD students per advisor

Postdoc funding from startup: ~$80K/year

Is the departmental culture collaborative and supportive?

What is the realistic tenure bar?

85% tenure success rate over past 10 years

Avg publications at tenure: 18 peer-reviewed articles

Do faculty stay long-term and grow here?

Full professors in department: 40% from original cohorts

Faculty departures for industry/other universities: 8% annually

4Feedback

Research Vision

Distinctive

Research Independence

Strong

Student Mentorship

Meeting Bar

Institutional Fit

Strong

Repeat

Practice Library

Harvard exercises

Describe your trajectory as a scholar and how your research contributes to your field's...

LEARNMedium

Academia · Scholarly LeadershipHarvard

How would you transform undergraduate and graduate education in your field at Harvard?

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Academia · Teaching TransformationHarvard

Tell us how you would mentor PhD students to become leaders in their respective fields.

LEARNMedium

Academia · PhD Mentorship PhilosophyHarvard

Describe a time you provided scholarly leadership or helped advance your academic...

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · Academic LeadershipHarvard

How do you envision contributing to Harvard's mission and departmental culture?

BEHAVIORALHard

Behavioral · Institutional Fit & VisionHarvard