Harvard Kennedy School 10-Year Plan Eyes Increasing Online Programs

[Jonathan Whatley]

The Harvard Kennedy School [the graduate school of government of Harvard University] on Wednesday unveiled a 10-year strategic plan […]

Among the plan’s most concrete commitments, HKS said it would substantially increase financial aid through new merit- and need-based scholarships, and explore part-time, non-residential, and online degree and certificate options aimed at reaching public servants who may never come to Cambridge. […]

The vision arrives at a fraught moment for the school, as the narrowing of the federal hiring pipeline has pushed many students toward state, local, and private sector roles, and as Harvard remains under pressure from the Trump administration.

HKS currently reaches roughly 1,000 degree students and 5,000 executive education participants each year — a fraction, [Dean Jeremy M.] Weinstein argued, of those it could serve.

“Together, we will bring meaning to this vision, fleshing out additional initiatives and programs that deliver on the aspirations I heard loudly and clearly from people across the School,” he said Wednesday.

Harvard Kennedy School Unveils 10-Year Plan to Expand Financial Aid, Technology Training (Sophia E. Alcacer and Jen L. Phan, The Harvard Crimson, June 3, 2026)