Amid Freeze, Harvard Will Continue Hiring Undergraduate Course Assistants

Departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are continuing to hire undergraduate course assistants to fill open positions next fall amid a University-wide hiring freeze — marking a notable exception to one strategy for saving money under the looming threat of funding cuts.

The hiring freeze, which was announced in a March 10 email from University President Alan M. Garber ’76, interrupted the hiring of faculty across the University. But professors from two of the few academic departments that depend on course assistants to staff large, introductory courses said they planned to continue with their semesterly hiring process of CAs for the coming fall.

“My understanding is that the freeze mainly applies to external hiring of faculty and staff,” wrote Statistics professor Joseph K. Blitzstein, who serves as co-director of undergraduate studies for the concentration.

“I have not heard any recent guidance about TF/CA hiring, so will assume unless I hear otherwise that this can proceed normally,” he added.

Both the Computer Science and Economics departments have solicited CA positions for fall 2025 courses such as for Economics 10.

“We have been informed that there are no policy changes currently affecting TFs or CAs for next Fall,” wrote Economics professor Elie Tamer, who chairs the Economics department.

Many popular intro-level courses at Harvard — like Computer Science 50 or Statistics 110, which Blitzstein teaches — rely on undergraduate CAs to host office hours, grade work, and host sections for hundreds of students. Those roles are critical for supporting the hundreds of enrolled students, most of whom interact minimally with the main professor.

When Garber announced the freeze, he said it was a temporary measure instituted in response to “substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies.” One week later, the Trump administration announced a review of more than $8 billion in “multi-year grant commitments” to Harvard.

Though the freeze seems to primarily target full-time staff, other non-academic student positions have also been affected by it.

After applying to work as an assistant at the Loeb Music Library, David D. Dickson ’28 was told the freeze would not allow the library to move forward with filling the position.

“They just sent me an email restating that there is a hiring freeze and that they aren’t able to hire anyone for the rest of the semester,” Dickson, a Crimson News editor, said.

Harvard Library spokesperson Kerry Conley declined to say whether undergrad hiring had been frozen for libraries, writing only that “Under the University’s temporary hiring pause there is an exception process to seek approval to hire.”

Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson James M. Chisholm and College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to comment on the nature of the exception process, but wrote that students “continue to be hired on a case-by-case basis.”

Hundreds of undergraduates also work paid positions in College offices, including for the Dean of Students Office, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, and the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relation. It remains unclear whether those positions will take on new students in the fall.

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana declined to comment on whether the freeze will impact interns across College offices in an interview last month.

Most other undergrad positions are hired in the fall, meaning clarity on new library, cafe, and other positions may not come until then. While the hiring freeze was initially limited to the current semester, it could be extended if the University’s financial troubles continue.

The Trump administration has conditioned Harvard’s federal funding on eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programming, banning masks at protests, and fully cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security.

—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.