Course load
Each student takes four courses in both the autumn and spring semesters for a total of 32 courses over the four years. Harvard students spend, on average, 12 hours per week in class and enjoy wide latitude in setting priorities for study and free time. Course choices are made in close consultation with an academic adviser over a week-long “shopping period” at the start of each semester in which students enjoy a “taster” of many courses to help them choose the four they will settle on for that semester. Over the four-year undergraduate program, each student will fulfil the requirements of a field of concentration (on average, half of a student’s total coursework) and the General Education Curriculum (about one-quarter of the plan of study). The remaining quarter of a student’s coursework (electives) is chosen freely from courses offered throughout the University.
The single course required of all students is a writing course taken in the first year called Expository Writing, chosen from a variety of topics taught by experts in the craft of writing. Knowledge of one foreign language is required: some students take a language while at Harvard while others with prior language study have the requirement waived by taking a test.
Courses
Harvard offers nearly 3,700 courses and more than 49 undergraduate fields of study called ‘concentrations’, many of which are interdisciplinary. There is no first-year programme as such: students make their own decisions about the level and pace at which to start their undergraduate study.
While there are hundreds of possible choices and combinations shaped by each student’s interests and background, here is one possible first year programme for a student who is thinking about concentrating in Government.
Example of a Possible First-Year Fall Semester:
- Freshman Seminar on Terrorism
- General Education: Justice
- Second Year German
- Ethnomusicology
Example of a Possible First-Year Spring Semester:
- Expository Writing
- Intro to Political Thought
- Second Year German
- General Education: Understanding Darwinism
With the help of advisers, this student would later choose 24 more courses over the remaining three years which would include 12 more in the field of government, 6 more across the General Education fields, and 6 more electives – any course at all that is of interest!
Class Size
Class size varies tremendously and all students can expect to be part of both large lecture classes and small seminars. Nearly half of the almost 1,300 courses offered each semester enrol 10 or fewer students, and there are only 8 courses enrolling more than 300 students. Most departments feature tutorials that are taught one-on-one or in small groups.
Advanced standing
Entering students with outstanding records on foreign examinations such as British A-levels, French Baccalaureate or the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma may qualify for Advanced Standing, allowing them to graduate in three rather than the standard four years. The rules for Advanced Standing are reviewed annually, so please consult Pursuing Advanced Standing on the Harvard website for the current details. While many admitted students qualify for Advanced Standing, few ultimately decide to graduate in fewer than four years – once they arrive on campus, few students want to leave so quickly! Rather, students who have completed advanced work in a field can be placed into higher level classes.
