Research

Students reading and working in a reading area.

Research at the Harvard Graduate School of Design is grounded in the belief that many of the key challenges and opportunities of our era require cooperation among the arts, humanities, and sciences and among the academy, industry, civil society, and the public sector.   

Unprecedented demands are affecting our cities and infrastructure, the environment, and our society as a whole. Today’s complex issues require an unconventional but cooperative approach that can transcend disciplines and produce change at all levels—not only for the spaces in which we live, but also for our approach to art, technology, business, education, and more. Our innovations are producing practical solutions to quandaries in urbanization, environment and technology—from geographic information systems to designing the future of cities. We hope you will visit the individual pages of our research units to learn about the ambitious and rapidly expanding research agenda of the GSD and its transformative power. 

GSD research

  • Centers

    Centers

    Our research centers foster interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, students, and industry experts to tackle complex global challenges across architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and design studies.

  • Initiatives

    Initiatives

    Research initiatives at the Harvard Graduate School of Design serve as dynamic platforms for exploring pressing global issues through the lens of design.

  • Groups and Labs

    Groups and Labs

    Our groups and labs synthesize theoretical and applied knowledge to produce innovative and speculative research that enables design to be an agent of change in society.

  • Projects

    Projects

    Our projects are creating a critical mass of inquiry and research. Unique in their focus, each builds ties with experts in their fields, with implications for policy, practice, and society at large. 

Funding Opportunities

  • Loeb Fellowship

    Loeb Fellowship

    The Loeb Fellowship offers a transformative year of study and engagement at the GSD, and a powerful worldwide network of over 450 colleagues. Loeb Fellows are exceptional practitioners whose work is advancing positive social outcomes through the shaping of the built and natural environment in the US and around the world.  

  • Wheelwright Prize

    Wheelwright Prize

    The Wheelwright Prize is an international competition for early-career architects. Winners receive a $100,000 (USD) fellowship to foster intensive, innovative architectural research that is informed by cross-cultural engagement and can make a significant impact on architectural discourse. 

  • Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design

    Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design

    The Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design is the foremost award recognizing exemplary urban design projects. Projects from around the world are evaluated in terms of their contributions to the public realm and quality of urban life, and must demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments.