phd in quantum computing

Top 20 Quantum Computing Masters & Ph.D. Degree Programs in 2024

Kenna hughes-castleberry.

• June 6, 2022

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Because quantum computing requires a background in research, it’s important for those entering the quantum workforce to go through one of the many rigorous quantum computing Ph.D. or master’s programs.

There are many universities around the world offering quantum computing as a graduate program. Many of them have also spawned some of the biggest names in quantum computing, allowing a bridge to form between research and industry. This is especially beneficial for students looking to transition from academia into a quantum computing job .

While the choices of quantum computing degree programs seem nearly endless, we at Quantum Insider want to offer a summarized list of what we believe are a few of the top ones to get a Ph.D. or master’s in quantum computing. This is not at all exhausting as many universities continue to advance their quantum computing programs or work with companies to help enhance opportunities for their students.

We’ve organized a list of the top 20 quantum computing master’s and Ph.D. programs to get a degree in 2024. Enjoy!

You may also like:

• Top 8 Online Quantum Computing Courses
• Top 18 Institutions Leading Quantum Computing Research
• Top 12 Quantum Computing Universities
• 7 Quantum Computing Books to Read in 2024 [Ranked & Reviewed]

20 Quantum Computing Degree Programs

1. mit’s lincoln laboratory.

It’s no surprise that the top quantum computing graduate programs are hosted by some of the most prestigious schools. MIT is no exception, as its Lincoln Laboratory studies integrated nano-systems and quantum information. MIT’s masters in quantum computing focus on trapped-ion qubits as well as designing integrated quantum circuits. The laboratory offers several different projects to work on, all with real-world applications.

2. University of California Berkeley

UC Berkeley is one of the many universities in California looking into quantum computing , mimicking the hub of activity by quantum companies in that area. The Berkeley Lab works on harnessing quantum computing to help solve real-world issues. With research topics ranging from quantum materials to even training the quantum workforce, UC Berkeley’s quantum computing masters program offers a multi-disciplinary approach.

3. University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is one of the top quantum computing universities as it is home to the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE). The CQE connects other universities in the Midwest, as well as companies and other organizations to discuss developments in quantum technology. Because of the CQE, their quantum computing graduate students get exclusive networking opportunities and the ability to work on cutting-edge research.

4. University of Maryland’s Joint Quantum Institute (JQI)

The University of Maryland’s JQI offers a unique experience for students, as it includes quantum scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Maryland, and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS). With this diversity in researchers, students have a wide range of quantum degree programs to choose from, including theoretical and experimental quantum physics.

5. University of Southern California’s Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology (CQIST)

Like UC Berkeley, USC’S CQIST focuses on quantum information science. However, its main focuses are on quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum information theory. To research these subjects in their master’s and Ph.D. programs, CQIST brings in experts from both the school of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, giving all students an interdisciplinary focus on quantum computing technology.

6. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Studying quantum computing at Caltech, students become part of the university’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter ( IQIM ). This institute is a National Science Foundation Physics Frontier Center , one of many government centers that encourage global collaboration and offer unique opportunities to quantum computing masters and Ph.D. students. These centers also work to give extra activities to enhance student education.

7. Stanford University

Stanford University has multiple researchers studying quantum computing, including the Q-Farm , an acronym standing for Quantum Fundamentals, Architectures, and Machine learning initiative. Q-Farm collaborates with Stanford’s National Acceleration Laboratory ( SLAC ) to develop answers to some of the biggest challenges for quantum computing.

8. Harvard University

Harvard University hosts the Harvard Quantum Initiative , which recently released a new quantum computing Ph.D. program in quantum science and engineering. The Harvard Quantum Initiative has a bustling hub of researchers focusing on properly training the next quantum workforce, while also working with industry partners to advance this technology. They offer a prize for Ph.D. researchers in quantum engineering as well as several summer research programs.

9. Carnegie Mellon University

The Pittsburgh Quantum Institute ( PQI ) at Carnegie Mellon University hosts over 100 members and workers to create a multidisciplinary quantum computing graduate program that involves engineering, business, philosophy of science, and other fields. PQI offers many opportunities to its quantum engineering students, including travel awards, poster sessions, public lectures, and outreach activities. The PQI also works closely with other centers, like the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, to work on this next-generation quantum technology.

10. University of Colorado Boulder

Within the University of Colorado Boulder lies JILA , a leading quantum physics degree institute created by a partnership between the University and NIST. JILA hosts its own NSF Physics Frontier Center, as well as several other centers focused on quantum computing and laser systems. Several of the scientists within JILA work closely with quantum computing companies, allowing their master’s and Ph.D. students better networking opportunities within Colorado, a growing hub of quantum activity.

11. The University of Waterloo

Canada’s University of Waterloo is one of the best well-known universities for quantum computing due to its Institute for Quantum Computing . With over 29 faculty members and 300 researchers, their quantum computing Ph.D. program works to train the next generation of the quantum workforce through global collaborations involving other universities, organizations, and quantum companies.

12. The University of Bristol

Both the Bristol Quantum Information Institute and its Quantum Engineering Technology labs help make the university one of the top places to get a Ph.D. or master’s in quantum computing. The Quantum Engineering Technology Labs develop prototypes for quantum applications, from computing to sensing to simulations. With a group of mentors and advisors, students of this quantum computing degree program will learn more about the career paths within this field and be assisted in their journey.

13. The University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge has bolstered its reputation in quantum computing due to the company spin-offs from the university. Within the university are many research groups that study quantum devices and nano-systems. Because of its reputation, the University of Cambridge brings opportunities for network connections within the UK’s quantum hub.

14. Oxford University

Perhaps the largest center for quantum research in the UK, Oxford University ‘s quantum computing graduate program hosts 38 different research teams and over 200 researchers. As their focus is to harness the power of quantum computing, students get hands-on experience developing next-level quantum technology, while being in the center of the UK’s quantum network.

15. Ecole Polytechnique

The Institut Polytechnique de Paris is one of France’s most prestigious universities, as it hosts the Center for Theoretical Physics ( CPHT ). Their quantum physics degree programs offer students a wide range of physics topics, from condensed matter to particle physics.

16. Delft University of Technology

Located in the Netherlands, Delft University’s Department of Quantum and Computer Engineering ( QCE ) combines computer science with quantum computing. In their quantum engineering degree program, students research quantum architecture and circuitry, combining it with computer design.

17. Austrian Academy of Sciences

The Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information ( IQOQI ) lies within the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Their quantum computing degree programs range from quantum optics to superconducting quantum circuits to quantum nanophysics. With a large staff of researchers and scientists, this quantum computing university sits right in the middle of the quantum hub in Europe.

18. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

The USTC’s Division of Quantum Physics and Quantum Information is a world leader in quantum computing research. Scientists and students at this center focus on fiber-based quantum communication, free-space quantum communication, quantum memory, superconducting quantum computing, quantum simulation, and many other fields. With an electronics shop and over 37 faculty members, the USTC will no doubt continue to be one of the leading quantum computing degree programs.

19. The National University of Singapore (NUS)

The NUS’s Center for Quantum Technologies ( CQT ) focuses on bringing quantum computing students and scientists from around the world together to develop quantum devices. The CQT focuses on quantum research and education as well as quantum technology. Every year, the CQT runs a short-film competition about quantum technology called Quantum Shorts .

20. The University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a growing location for quantum computing research, partially due to Australia’s first quantum computing conference last year. Research at the University of Sydney ranges from theoretical to experimental, offering a wide range of quantum computing masters and Ph.D. programs for graduate students. The University also works with many different organizations, including the Sydney Quantum Academy.

If you found this article to be informative, make sure to explore more of the current quantum technology news  here . If you would like to explore enterprise end users of quantum in more detail, you should check out our dedicated  market intelligence platform .

If you found this article to be informative, you can explore more current quantum news here , exclusives, interviews, and podcasts.

Quantum Machine Learning Is The Next Big Thing

12 Top Quantum Computing Universities in 2024

Sifting through the Clouds: Polish Researchers Will Test the Utility of Quantum Algorithms for Satellite Imagery

Keep track of everything going on in the Quantum Technology Market.

In one place.

Related Articles

Balanced Communication, Better Collaborations Needed to Ethically Navigate Quantum’s Transformative Potential

Matt swayne, june 1, 2024.

Chinese Scientists Trap 512 Ions in 2D Quantum Simulator

Winners of Quantum City Challenge Unveil Solutions For Key Energy Questions

May 31, 2024.

Government of Canada Supports Growth And Innovation in British Columbia’s Quantum Technology Industry

Improved Performance of Superconducting Qubits Makes Investigation of Sapphire Substrates Compelling as an Alternative to Silicon

December 14, 2023.

Quantum Computing’s Transformative Potential Highlighted at Qatar Economic Forum 2024

James dargan, may 27, 2024.

Cleveland Clinic And IBM Researchers Apply Quantum Computing Methods to Protein Structure Prediction

May 30, 2024.

OVHcloud Adds Qiskit To Market Leading Quantum Notebooks Portfolio

French National Quantum Update — May 2024

One of our team will be in touch to learn more about your requirements, and provide pricing and access options.

Welcome to our weekly QC newsletter. Yes, we know we are The Quantum Insider but we also appreciate that you probably don’t want us in your inbox every day. Here is what we have been working on this week.

You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy.

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Join Our Newsletter

Harvard Launches PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering

Drawing on world-class research community, program will prepare leaders of the ‘quantum revolution’.

Harvard University today announced one of the world’s first PhD programs in Quantum Science and Engineering, a new intellectual discipline at the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science and electrical engineering with the promise to profoundly transform the way we acquire, process and communicate information and interact with the world around us.

The University is already home to a robust quantum science and engineering research community, organized under the Harvard Quantum Initiative . With the launch of the PhD program, Harvard is making the next needed commitment to provide the foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will push the boundaries of knowledge and transform quantum science and engineering into useful systems, devices and applications. 

“The new PhD program is designed to equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering,” said faculty co-director Evelyn Hu , Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and of Electrical at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The core curriculum dramatically reduces the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers and educators in quantum science and engineering.”

“Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right,” said faculty co-director John Doyle , Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics. “A Ph.D. program is necessary and foundational to the development of this new discipline.”

Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right.

“America’s continued success leading the quantum revolution depends on accelerating the next generation of talent,” said Dr. Charles Tahan, Assistant Director for Quantum Information Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Director of the National Quantum Coordination Office. “It’s nice to see that a key component of Harvard’s education strategy is optimizing how core quantum-relevant concepts are taught.”

The University is also finalizing plans for the comprehensive renovation of a campus building into a new state-of-the-art quantum hub – a shared resource for the quantum community with instructional and research labs, spaces for seminars and workshops, and places for students, faculty, and visiting researchers and collaborators to meet and convene. Harvard’s quantum headquarters will integrate the educational, research, and translational aspects of the diverse field of quantum science and engineering in an architecturally cohesive way. This critical element of Harvard’s quantum strategy was made possible by generous gifts from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ‘93 and several other alumni .

“Existing technologies are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors and the life sciences,” said David Goel, co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, Mass.-based Matrix Capital Management Company, LP and one of Harvard’s most ardent supporters. “Quantum is an enabler, providing a multiplier effect on a logarithmic scale. It is a catalyst that drives scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.”

“Harvard is making significant institutional investments in its quantum enterprise and in the creation of a new field,” said Science Division Dean Christopher Stubbs , Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy. Stubbs added that several active searches are underway to broaden Harvard’s faculty strength in this domain, and current faculty are building innovative partnerships around quantum research with industry.

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity,” said SEAS Dean Frank Doyle , John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity.

To enable opportunities to move from basic to applied research to translating ideas into products, Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs to learn about the cutting-edge applications, as well as help translate basic research into useful tools for society.”

Harvard will admit the first cohort of PhD candidates in Fall 2022 and anticipates enrolling 35 to 40 students in the program. Participating faculty are drawn from physics and chemistry in Harvard’s Division of Science and applied physics, electrical engineering, and computer science in SEAS.

Candidates interested in Harvard’s PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering can learn more about the program philosophy, curriculum, and requirements here .

“This cross disciplinary PhD program will prepare our students to become the leaders and innovators in the emerging field of quantum science and engineering” said Emma Dench, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “Harvard’s interdisciplinary strength and intellectual resources make it the perfect place for them to develop their ideas, grow as scholars, and make discoveries that will change the world.”

Harvard has a long history of leadership in quantum science and engineering. Theoretical physicist and 2005 Nobel laureate Roy Glauber is widely considered the founding father of quantum optics, and 1989 Nobel laureate Norman Ramsey pioneered much of the experimental foundation of quantum science.

Today, Harvard experimental research groups are among the leaders worldwide in areas such as quantum simulations, metrology, quantum communications and computation, and are complemented by strong theoretical groups in computer science, physics, and chemistry.

Topics: Quantum Engineering

Cutting-edge science delivered direct to your inbox.

Join the Harvard SEAS mailing list.

Press Contact

Paul Karoff

Related News

Three SEAS ventures take top prizes at President’s Innovation Challenge

Start-ups in emergency medicine, older adult care and quantum sensing all take home $75,000

Applied Physics , Awards , Computer Science , Entrepreneurship , Health / Medicine , Industry , Master of Design Engineering , Materials Science & Mechanical Engineering , MS/MBA , Quantum Engineering

Two SEAS students awarded 2024 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships

Award will support graduate studies

Applied Physics , Awards , Quantum Engineering

A new phase for Harvard Quantum Computing Club

SEAS students place second at MIT quantum hackathon

Computer Science , Quantum Engineering , Undergraduate Student Profile

Harvard Launches PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering

Program will prepare leaders of the ‘quantum revolution’

Share this page

CAMBRIDGE, MA (Monday, April 26, 2021) – Harvard University today announced one of the world’s first PhD programs in Quantum Science and Engineering , a new intellectual discipline at the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science, and electrical engineering with the promise to profoundly transform the way we acquire, process and communicate information and interact with the world around us.

“This cross-disciplinary PhD program will prepare our students to become the leaders and innovators in the emerging field of quantum science and engineering,” said Emma Dench, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics. “Harvard’s interdisciplinary strength and intellectual resources make it the perfect place for them to develop their ideas, grow as scholars, and make discoveries that will change the world.”

The University is already home to a robust quantum science and engineering research community, organized under the Harvard Quantum Initiative . With the launch of the PhD program, Harvard is making the next needed commitment to provide foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will push the boundaries of knowledge and transform quantum science and engineering into useful systems, devices, and applications. 

“The new PhD program is designed to equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering,” said faculty co-director Evelyn Hu , Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and of Electrical Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The core curriculum dramatically reduces the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers, and educators in quantum science and engineering.”

“Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right,” said faculty co-director John Doyle , Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics. “A PhD program is necessary and foundational to the development of this new discipline.”

“America’s continued success leading the quantum revolution depends on accelerating the next generation of talent,” said Dr. Charles Tahan, assistant director for quantum information science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and director of the National Quantum Coordination Office. “It’s nice to see that a key component of Harvard’s education strategy is optimizing how core quantum-relevant concepts are taught.”

The University is also finalizing plans for the comprehensive renovation of a campus building into a new state-of-the-art quantum hub—a shared resource for the quantum community with instructional and research labs, spaces for seminars and workshops, and places for students, faculty, and visiting researchers and collaborators to meet and convene. Harvard’s quantum headquarters will integrate the educational, research, and translational aspects of the diverse field of quantum science and engineering in an architecturally cohesive way. This critical element of Harvard’s quantum strategy was made possible by generous gifts from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ‘93 and several other alumni.

“Existing technologies are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors and the life sciences,” said Goel, co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Matrix Capital Management Company, LP, and one of Harvard’s most ardent supporters. “Quantum is an enabler, providing a multiplier effect on a logarithmic scale. It is a catalyst that drives scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.”

“Harvard is making significant institutional investments in its quantum enterprise and in the creation of a new field,” said Science Division Dean Christopher Stubbs , Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy. Stubbs added that several active searches are underway to broaden Harvard’s faculty strength in this domain, and current faculty are building innovative partnerships with industry around quantum research.

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity,” said SEAS Dean Frank Doyle , John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

To enable opportunities to move from basic to applied research to translating ideas into products, Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs to learn about the cutting-edge applications and to help translate basic research into useful tools for society.”

Harvard will admit the first cohort of PhD candidates in fall 2022 and anticipates enrolling 35 to 40 students in the program. Participating faculty are drawn from physics and chemistry in Harvard’s Division of Science and in applied physics, electrical engineering, and computer science at SEAS.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences provides more information on Harvard’s PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering , including the program philosophy, curriculum, and requirements.

Harvard has a long history of leadership in quantum science and engineering. Theoretical physicist and 2005 Nobel laureate Roy Glauber is widely considered the founding father of quantum optics, and 1989 Nobel laureate Norman Ramsey pioneered much of the experimental foundation of quantum science.

Today, Harvard experimental research groups are among the leaders worldwide in areas such as quantum simulations, metrology, and quantum communications and computation, and are complemented by strong theoretical groups in computer science, physics, and chemistry.

Get the Latest Updates

Join our newsletter, subscribe to colloquy podcast, connect with us, related news.

How Flowers Choose a Mate

"Let a thousand flowers bloom," goes the old saying. But how? Grace Burgin, a Harvard Griffin GSAS PhD student in organismic and evolutionary biology, studies the way that flowering plants selectively choose the pollen of mates.

'Barbarians' or Big Thinkers?

The Mongols are often represented as "barbarians" and conquerors. Less well-known is their support for scholars who advanced the study of astronomy, logic, natural philosophy, and other mathematical sciences.

Old Tales, New Stories

Why do novelists seem eager to revisit familiar narratives or plots and rewrite pre-existing works, as they so often were in the 20th century? And why do they like to change or revise them? 

Evaluating Nutrition Policies to Reduce Inequities

Graduating student Matt Lee's research suggests that simply passing a sugar-sweetened beverage tax isn’t enough to dissuade people from buying unhealthy drinks. 

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

‘The scientist is not in the business of following instructions.’

Glimpse of next-generation internet

Science is making anti-aging progress. But do we want to live forever?

New generation of quantum realm explorers.

Inaugural cohort of students set off in interdisciplinary doctoral program

Juan Siliezar

Harvard Staff Writer

Adrian Lopez works with lasers in the lab of Professor Kang-Kuen Ni. Lopez is an inaugural member of Harvard’s new Ph.D. program in quantum science and engineering.

Photos by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Adrian Lopez keeps pretty busy.

He’s taking two highly advanced courses in quantum science and engineering, each of which assigns complex problem sets that take about five hours apiece to complete. In his free time Lopez can usually be found in the lab of Harvard Professor Kang-Kuen Ni , whose chemistry and physics lab designs new experiments to study fundamental chemical reactions and physical dynamics by slowing them down in super-cold environments.

He sits in on three hours of meetings per week at the lab and also works on his own quantum project when time allows. That project is to build a laser that can cool and trap molecules and control their quantum state interactions.  The work involves hours of tinkering with wiring and electronics as well as putting the physical parts together and aligning them all.

All in all, Lopez’s first semester at Harvard has a bit of a hustle, but the first-year graduate student from Santa Barbara, California — who dreams of one day being a professor at a research university — says it’s worth it. He feels fortunate to be getting the kind of unique background he’s getting as an inaugural member of Harvard’s new Ph.D. program in quantum science and engineering .

“The weeks fill up, but I’ve been learning a lot and really enjoying it,” he said. “I can definitely get [where I want to be].”

Launched in spring 2021 , the new quantum program is one of the world’s earliest Ph.D. programs in the subject and is designed to prepare future leaders and innovators in the critical and fast-emerging field.

This semester, 11 students, including Lopez, have been settling in as the first-ever cohort. Since September, they have started making Harvard their home and grappling with their studies in quantum information, systems, materials, and engineering.

The hope is that the extensive research experience they receive — combined with coursework and the mentorship embedded in the program ­­— will help give them a broad and well-rounded education to go on to careers in quantum, whether as an educator in academia, or developing next-level systems and applications as a researcher at a university, a national laboratory, or in industry.

“When you have a new intellectual area it’s a good idea to train students in it and to come up with a curriculum that’s really tailored to that area — in this case: an understanding of the engineering and the science behind new quantum technologies,” said  John Doyle , Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics and co-director of the Harvard Quantum Initiative, of which the new program is a part. “You develop these new ideas into a real firm bedrock on which students can go on to do whatever they want to do.”

Quantum mechanics and technology cut across disciplines. Advances in the field promise to usher in real-world breakthroughs in health care, quantum computing infrastructure, cyber security, drug development, climate-change prediction, machine learning, communication technologies, and financial services. The backgrounds of students who have been accepted into the program reflect that diversity — they range from physics and computer science to chemistry, electrical engineering, and math.

The well-rounded curriculum on offer was one of the driving factors for many of the students enrolling. In fact Quynh Nguyen, an international student from Vietnam who studied physics and computer science as an undergrad at MIT, said that the interdisciplinary nature of the field is what makes him so passionate about it.

“There are just so many questions to explore,” Nguyen said.

As a part of the program, he hopes to learn more about quantum information and algorithms and explore the capabilities of quantum systems such as the programmable quantum simulator being worked on in the lab of physics professor Mikhail Lukin, work that will eventually lead to a new world of ultra-fast computing.

A major focus of the new program is research experience. Along with rigorous course loads, students begin lab rotations in the first year and continue that through the rest of the program. They are also strongly encouraged to pursue cross-disciplinary research and industry internships. The idea is to give students an understanding of how research is done in different labs.

Some of the students’ research falls on the side of theory, like Nguyen’s work. Other research is more experimental, like Lopez’s work with lasers. Youqi Gang, who’s exploring experimental platforms for quantum simulation and quantum computation, is doing her first rotation in Markus Greiner’s lab studying ultracold quantum gases. Gang is gradually learning to operate the many optics, electronics, and control systems the lab uses to cool and manipulate atoms.

“The equipment is very complicated,” Gang said. “We have many different laser beams and everything needs to be very well aligned … and we have to do some day-to-day alignments and calibrations. People have put in a lot of thought about how to optimize the equipment. It’s a very cool process to be able to kind of get familiar with such a complicated machine and learn how to use it.”

Students in the program will receive their degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The faculty for the Ph.D. program are drawn from the departments of Physics and of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the Division of Science and the Harvard John A. Paulson School for Engineering and Applied Sciences. Students say the different class options offer them the chance to explore quantum science across the disciplines.

Nazli Ugur Koyluoglu, an international student from Istanbul, for example, is taking two very different classes this semester: Physics 271, which covers topics in quantum information, and Physics 295a, which looks at quantum theory applied to solid-state physics.

When not in class or research labs, students often can be found in the designated office space set up for them on the fifth floor of the Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering building. The large area is divided into two shared offices with working stations in each section and a big meeting room.

The meeting space is where students gather for weekly lunches and host weekly journal clubs where they present on different topics in quantum science, whether it’s something in a scientific journal that got their attention, something they themselves are studying, or a theory or experiment someone wants to learn more about.

The efforts have helped them quickly develop into a tight-knit community.

“It’s helped us start creating a culture for the program,” Koyluoglu said. “It’s constantly being up to date about each other’s work, which is really enlightening and helps us find out the different paths and the different questions that people are thinking about.”

HQI administrators for the Ph.D. program anticipate enrolling up to 60 students in the program in the future.

“The first cohort of students in the program are exceptional in their talents, vision, and enthusiasm in embracing a ‘quantum future,’” said Evelyn L. Hu , the Tarr-Coyne Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Science at SEAS and co-director of the Harvard Quantum Initiative. “My hopes are that the program and its students continue to build on this strong platform: diverse and multifaceted in its outlook and opportunities, while maintaining a strong sense of community even as the program expands.”

Share this article

You might like.

George Whitesides became a giant of chemistry by keeping it simple

Physicists demo first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston

Nobel laureate details new book, which surveys research, touches on larger philosophical questions

When should Harvard speak out?

Institutional Voice Working Group provides a roadmap in new report

Had a bad experience meditating? You're not alone.

Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle

Finding right mix on campus speech policies

Legal, political scholars discuss balancing personal safety, constitutional rights, academic freedom amid roiling protests, cultural shifts