ACCESS Program
Harvard's ACCESS Program provides faculty with financial support for child care expenses, helping them balance research, teaching, and family caregiving responsibilities.
Funder: Harvard University
Due Dates (Anticipated): January 2027: Application submission deadline via PeopleSoft (projected) | January 2027: Required supporting documentation upload deadline (11:59PM) (projected)
Funding Amounts: $4,000–$24,000 per award (sliding scale, based on income); average award ~$12,600 in FY24; one-year duration
Summary: Provides financial support to Harvard faculty to help balance family caregiving needs with academic careers.
Key Information: For tenured, tenure-track, and senior non-ladder Harvard faculty with children under 13 and household income under $250,000.
Description
The ACCESS Program is a Harvard University initiative designed to assist tenured, tenure-track, and senior non-ladder faculty in balancing family caregiving responsibilities with their academic careers. The program provides financial awards, determined on a sliding scale based on household income, to eligible faculty who are parents of children under 13. The support can be used for a range of child care expenses, including group-based or in-home care for children aged 0–5 and summer/vacation camps or afterschool programs for children aged 6–12. Awards are portable and not restricted to campus child care centers.
