top of page

Media Resources

  • Writer: Human Flourishing Program Team
    Human Flourishing Program Team
  • Jun 5
  • 4 min read

Due to the high volume of requests, our team may not be able to reply to every inquiry. For media requests, please contact isaiahbaldissera@fas.harvard.edu.



About the Human Flourishing Program


The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University studies and promotes human flourishing, and develops systematic approaches to the synthesis of knowledge across disciplines.


Founded in 2016 by Professor Tyler J. VanderWeele, the Program is based at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. Its work brings together empirical research from the social and biomedical sciences with insights from philosophy, theology, and the humanities to better understand what helps individuals and communities flourish.


The Program’s research and impact work addresses topics including happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, family, work, education, communities, forgiveness, love, hope, gratitude, and public health.



Approved Name


The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University

After first reference, “the Human Flourishing Program” or “the Program” may be used.



Mission


The Human Flourishing Program’s mission is to study and promote human flourishing, and to develop systematic approaches to the synthesis of knowledge across disciplines.



Short Description


The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University brings science and the humanities together to understand and promote human flourishing globally.



Extended Description


The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, founded in 2016 by Professor Tyler J. VanderWeele, is an interdisciplinary research initiative based at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science. The Program studies and promotes human flourishing by integrating insights from the social and biomedical sciences with those from philosophy, theology, and the humanities.


In addition to foundational research, the Program leads and supports impact initiatives that apply scientific and humanistic insights to real-world contexts, including education, workplaces, families, communities, health, and public policy.



Definition of Human Flourishing


The Human Flourishing Program defines flourishing as “the relative attainment of a state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good, including the contexts in which that person lives.”


A shorter definition is: “a state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good.”

References: VanderWeele, 2017; VanderWeele and Lomas, 2023.



Key Research Areas


The Program’s work includes research on:


  • Happiness and life satisfaction

  • Physical and mental health

  • Meaning and purpose

  • Character and virtue

  • Close social relationships

  • Financial and material stability

  • Family and friendship

  • Work and well-being

  • Education and student flourishing

  • Religious communities

  • Forgiveness, love, hope, and gratitude

  • Public health, medicine, and human flourishing

  • Measurement and assessment of flourishing



Major Research and Public Resources



Global Flourishing Study


The Global Flourishing Study is a major international longitudinal study of human flourishing, conducted in collaboration with Baylor University, Gallup, and the Center for Open Science. The study follows more than 200,000 participants across 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries.



Flourishing Measure


The Human Flourishing Program has developed a widely used flourishing measure based on core domains including happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability.


Impact Initiatives


The Program supports impact initiatives applying research on flourishing in education, workplaces, religious communities, health, public policy, and other settings.



Tyler J. VanderWeele Bio


<150 characters

Tyler J. VanderWeele is a Loeb Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University.


<300 characters

Tyler J. VanderWeele, Ph.D., is the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Director of the Human Flourishing Program and Co-Director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at Harvard University.


<1200 characters

Tyler J. VanderWeele, Ph.D., is the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Director of the Human Flourishing Program and Co-Director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at Harvard University. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University in mathematics, philosophy, theology, finance, and biostatistics. His methodological research is focused on theory and methods for distinguishing between association and causation in the biomedical and social sciences and, more recently, on psychosocial measurement theory. His empirical research spans psychiatric and social epidemiology; the science of happiness and flourishing; and the study of religion and health. He is the recipient of the 2017 Presidents’ Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS). Dr. VanderWeele has published over 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals; is author of the books Explanation in Causal Inference (2015), Modern Epidemiology (2021), Measuring Well-Being (2021), Handbook of Religion and Health (2023), and A Theology of Health (2024); and writes a monthly blog posting on topics related to human flourishing for Psychology Today.



Program Logos




Images of Tyler VanderWeele


 
 
bottom of page