Graduate Student Associates

Program Overview

Graduate Student Associate (GSA) positions are designed to facilitate and supplement a student’s independent research toward the PhD on topics related to Latin America.

The GSA Program, which is residential*, will provide access to a shared office and assigned desk, a photocopier, scanner, postage, and business cards. Graduate Student Associates are encouraged to participate in DRCLAS conferences, workshops, and seminars, and join part of an interdisciplinary community of scholars focused on the region. One of the Center’s objectives in forming this program is to create an opportunity for Harvard graduate students to share their work with a broader audience, and with each other across disciplines.

*Students are permitted to leave campus and make brief trips to the region for field work, conferences, etc.

Eligibility

Graduate students in doctoral programs from all Harvard academic departments and professional schools may apply. Applicants from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences who have completed their General Examinations and begun research on their dissertation by the application deadline are given preference, although the review committee will consider all applicants who submit a compelling application. Applicants from the professional schools should be working on a significant research project related to Latin America and the Caribbean. Students with office space at any other department or professional school at Harvard will not be eligible.

Application

All candidates must submit a complete CARAT Application by May 5, 2027 @ 11:59PM including the following:

Updated resume
Brief (1-2 page) description of the thesis or research project, indicating current stage of research
Short statement (~1 page) indicating how the DRCLAS affiliation would be helpful to advance research and career goals
Harvard University transcript
Letter of recommendation from a Harvard faculty member familiar with the work

Note: Applications will open on CARAT on January 1, 2027

Contact

Please email DRCLAS_Students@fas.harvard.edu for any application or eligibility-related questions.

Meet Our Current GSAs

Darien Dey

Darien Dey is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research explores the history of Black education in the British West Indies, particularly in Guyana, where she grew up. She examines how African-Guyanese educational...

Gustavo Freire Martins

Gustavo Freire Martins is a doctoral student at Harvard University in the Department of African and African American Studies with a primary field in History. He also worked as a history teacher for teenagers and adults. His research interests lie at the...

Félix Joaquín Galván-Díaz

Félix Joaquín Galván-Díaz is a doctoral candidate in Romance Languages and Literatures. His research focuses on critical theory and Latin American literature through the lenses of Cultural Memory Studies, Gender Studies, Migration and Border Studies, and...

Ben Gregson

Ben Gregson is a fifth year PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature. With a background in Classics and English, he now mostly focuses on the literatures and cultures of the English-, French-, and Creole-speaking Caribbean and its diaspora. His doctoral...

Tomás Mantilla Lozano

Tomás Mantilla Lozano is a candidate in the History Department at Harvard University. His research interests comprise vernacular understandings of race, everyday processes of knowledge transmission, and popular articulations of post-racial politics. His...

Aaron Watanabe

Aaron Watanabe is a PhD candidate in the Department of Government. His research examines democratic backsliding, political elites, and the comparative politics of Latin America with a focus on Brazil and Peru. His dissertation examines why democracies...