Resources for Current Scholars & Fellows

Every affiliate is assigned an individual, unique Harvard Identification (ID) Number and provided with an official Harvard ID Card featuring their picture and their ID Number.

Visiting Scholars: Before going to pick up your ID, please confirm with Francesca that your ID number has been activated.

Please pick up your ID from the Campus Service Center/ID Office. In-person service hours are 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday (excluding University Holidays). The address is:

Campus Service Center/ID Office
Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center Room 807
1350 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge (Tel: 617-496-7827)

Harvard Key is your password which connects you electronically to resources at Harvard including full access to the Harvard University Library System and its collections. Obtain your Harvard Key at https://key.harvard.edu/.

Visiting Scholars: If you would like to have an “@fas.harvard.edu” email address, please email ithelp@harvard.edu and tell them you are a Harvard-Yenching Institute Visiting Scholar, provide them with your HUID number, and explain that you would like to open a FAS account.

Visiting Fellows: You will automatically receive a “g.harvard.edu” email address after registering your HUID.

OR: The Harvard Key process should direct you to the website you need to access the activation of a Harvard e-mail account for you. If you are not presented with this option right away when you sign up for your Harvard Key, you should be able to select an option on the https://key.harvard.edu page that allows you to activate your Harvard e-mail account.

You are in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) division at Harvard.
Your email extension will read @fas.harvarad.edu
You may also set up a Harvard gmail account with extension @g.harvard.edu

Set up a device that you have access to remotely for two-step verification. Search for “backup devices for two-step verification” on https://harvard.service-now.com/ithelp.

Activate two-step verification

• HYI – Harvard-Yenching Institute
• HIO – Harvard International Office
• HUID – Harvard University ID
• HUIT – Harvard University Information Technology
• FAS – Faculty of Arts and Sciences
• RSEA – Regional Studies – East Asia
• HUHS – Harvard University Health Services (or just UHS)
• CGIS – Center for Government and International Studies
• EAS – East Asian Studies
• EALC – East Asian Languages & Civilizations
• GSAS – Graduate School or Arts and Sciences
• RSVP – “répondez s’il vous plaît” (French for “please respond” – in context, this is a request to confirm if you plan to attend an event or not.)
• ASAP – as soon as possible

If you need help, contact the HUIT (Harvard University Information Technology) Service Desk or visit the IT Help Portal:

HUIT Service Desk (617.495.7777 or ithelp@harvard.edu

Hours (EST): Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m; Sunday: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m

Tools and resources for remote work

Local IT Help Desks (select FAS)

IT Help Portal

If you are a Visiting Scholar you must apply for a social security number (SSN). (For instructions for Visiting Fellows, please see below.)

Newly arrived scholars need to send a completed HIO registration form to HIO: internationaloffice@harvard.edu

 Then bring your passport and DS-2019 to HIO to get your travel signature. You may do so: 

Monday through Friday (Except holidays), 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Smith Campus Center in Harvard Square, 8th Floor. HIO Office (Room 864)

Once you have your travel signature, you may go to the Social Security Office to submit your applications or you can submit your application form online: https://secure.ssa.gov/ossnap/public/landingOSsnap and then submit the required documents in person at the Cambridge Social Security office located at: 

10 Fawcett St
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

You can confirm their office hours here:  https://ssofficelocation.com/offices/massachusetts/cambridge/cambridge-social-security-office-02138/ 

You should follow the instructions on the HIO website to prepare for all required documents. Once you have submitted your application in the government office, please mark your mailbox with your name to make sure the card will be delivered to you.

If you had a social security card from your previous stay in the US, please bring the original card with you. If you no longer have the original card, you will need to apply for a duplicate. Even if you know your number, you must have an original card to present to Harvard’s Tax Office. 

Within thirty days of your appointment start date, you should receive an email from the Harvard Tax Office (support@online-tax.net) requesting that you complete a tax classification survey. You will need to complete this survey and then submit to the Harvard University Tax Office your I-94, DS-2019, passport and social security card (not a photocopy.) If you haven’t received this email, please inform Susan. 

Visiting Fellows should begin taking steps to receive a Social Security Number or an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). This is necessary for United States tax purposes because you will be receiving financial support from the Harvard-Yenching Institute while you are in the United States. 

The Harvard International Office is a valuable resource for questions related to acquiring a Social Security Number or ITIN. We encourage you to explore their website to learn more about this process. Because you will be an F-1 visa holder and not planning to work on campus, you might need to apply for an ITIN instead. To learn more about the ITIN application process you should visit the following page on the HIO website (https://hio.harvard.edu/individual-tax-payer-identification-number-itin). 

Any questions you have related to the above materials may be directed to the HIO. 

 

You may sit in classes as an auditor with the course instructor’s permission. If there is a specific course that you are very interested in auditing, please directly get in contact with the course instructor/faculty. It is advisable to get in touch with the instructor one week to 10 days prior to the first meeting of the class, and ask them for permission. It will be very helpful to send a brief message to the instructor to introduce yourself and share your research interests and the reasons why you would like to take the course.

A publicly accessible Harvard course catalog is available.

After you have received your Harvard Key, you can visit my.harvard.edu to view the catalog.

Please see the other question for information about auditing (sitting in on) classes.

A printer, scanner, and photocopy machine are available at HYI’s Vanserg Office during regular office hours, Monday – Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Please ask a staff member for help finding the room.

Access to Vanserg Hall: Vanserg Hall offices are accessible using your Harvard ID card. The building/outside doors are usually open from 7:30 am to 10 pm. However, if the outer doors are locked, you may use your Harvard ID to enter the building

Access to 2 Divinity Avenue: Those with offices in 2 Divinity Avenue will be granted card access to the building. The exterior doors of 2 Divinity Avenue are unlocked during the Harvard-Yenching Library’s open hours. As their schedule varies during the semester, visit: https://library.harvard.edu/libraries?active_filter=1&library=yenching&weeks=1 to view the building’s hours.