The Harvard College Curriculum & Graduation Requirements
Source: https://advising.college.harvard.edu/academic-planning-for-students/curriculum-and-requirements/
All Harvard College students complete the College Curriculum Requirements (General Education, Divisional Distribution, Language, Expository Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning with Data), declare, and then complete a concentration to receive a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.
- Students take 128 credits, or 32 4-credit courses to complete their degree
- Students complete their degrees in 8 semesters
- All students typically take 16 credits each term (four courses, four credits per course). Students wishing to take more than 20 credits (or more than 16 credits for first-term first-years) in a term must obtain the approval of their Resident Dean.
- In the fall term, first-year students ordinarily take exactly 16 credits (four courses, four credits per course). Exceptions are rare and must be approved by the Resident Dean of First-Year Students.
- Students may not enroll in more than 24 credits (six courses, four credits per course) in one term without Administrative Board approval.
- First-year students are discouraged from cross-registering for courses at other Harvard schools in the first term so that they may fully engage with the curriculum in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. First-year students interested in cross-registration are required to send a statement of interest to their Resident Dean that outlines the student’s reason for interest, how the course fits into their curricular plans, and why no other courses in the FAS will meet those needs.
Harvard College Student Handbook
The Student Handbook is the primary source for all campus policies and regulations, including academic requirements for graduation. If you have any outstanding questions after reviewing this webpage, we recommend referring to the Student Handbook for more information.
The College Curriculum
Harvard’s Program in General Education provides a broad foundation that enables students to make meaningful connections across disciplines. Students are required to take one course in each of four perspectives: Aesthetics & Culture; Ethics & Civics; Histories, Societies, Individuals; as well as Science & Technology in Society.
The distribution requirement exposes students to the diversity of scholarly disciplines at Harvard. Students graduating in May 2020 or later must complete one departmental (non-Gen Ed) course in each of the three main divisions of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS): Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science and Engineering and Applied Science. Please note that courses counted towards the Divisional Distribution cannot also be counted toward the QRD requirement.
Quantitative Reasoning with Data (QRD)
The QRD requirement introduces students to mathematical, statistical, and computational methods that will enable students to think critically about data as it is employed in fields of inquiry across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Please note that courses counted towards the QRD cannot also be counted toward the Divisional Distribution requirement.
The writing requirement is a one-semester course offered by the Harvard College Writing Program that focuses on analytic composition and revision. Expos courses are taken as first-year students and are taught in small seminars focusing on writing proficiency in scholarly writing.
Degree candidates must meet a language requirement in a language other than English that is taught at Harvard or for which an appropriate examination can be given. Details regarding the language requirement can be found on the Office of Undergraduate Education’s website. If after the second term of study a student has not met the language requirement, an advising hold will be placed on their record in my.harvard during each registration period until the language requirement has been met. Students will be expected to have a conversation with their academic advisor to plan how they will fulfill the requirement before graduation.
Concentrations
To explore potential concentrations and fields of study you are encouraged to use the following resources:
- The Harvard College Handbook for Students – Fields of Concentration
- Concentrations and Secondary Fields
Many concentrations offer different tracks within the concentration to allow students to specialize within a field of study. Many also offer an honors track for students who wish to write a thesis.
Students may consider completing a joint concentration- a joining of two overlapping concentrations in which students complete requirements from both concentrations and ordinarily complete an interdisciplinary thesis.
Students may also consider completing a double concentration- allowing students to study two completely unrelated concentrations in depth, with no more than 8 credits of overlap.
Students must declare a concentration in their third term at Harvard. That said, students are able to declare a different concentration later in their time at Harvard if their academic interests and goals change.
The Harvard College Curriculum lays out the requirements that you need to fulfill in order to complete your program of study. Declaring a concentration is required while secondary fields are optional to study. For official information about concentration and secondary field requirements, visit the Harvard College Handbook for Students – Fields of Concentration.
The Exploring Fields of Study program takes place every Spring semester and provides first-year students with the opportunity to explore concentrations and secondaries through events hosted by concentrations and secondaries. At these events, you can hear from and speak with faculty, advisors, and peers about the nuances of the concentrations and expand on your knowledge of academic fields that might be of interest to you.
Electives
These are three formal programs students can pursue in their Electives are the following (detailed in the Harvard College Handbook for Students):
- Secondary Fields (Minors): In addition to a concentration, students may complete one of the 49 secondary fields of study. While many fields have an associated secondary field, some secondary fields are multi-disciplinary and are thus not directly affiliated with a concentration.
- Language Citations: Study of a foreign language to an advanced level at Harvard may be acknowledged by a language citation. The awarding of a citation is noted on the student’s transcript and a printed version is issued along with the diploma at Commencement.
- Concurrent Master’s Degrees: Students can apply to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for a master’s degree pursued concurrently with the bachelor’s degree.
Course Grading
Of the 128 credits required to graduate, 84 must be taken for a letter-grade. Students enrolling in courses without letter grades are reminded of the following requirements:
- Each term students must take, for credit, at least one letter-graded course offered by the FAS.
- Of the 128 credits, students must pass (with a letter graded C- or higher) at least 84 credits (96 credits for a degree with honors) to receive the degree awarded by the FAS. The only non-letter grade that may be counted toward the requirement of 84 satisfactory letter-graded credits is Satisfactory (SAT).
- Beginning with the Class of 2029, all four General Education courses (Aesthetics & Culture; Ethics & Civics; Histories, Societies, Individuals; and Science & Technology in Society) must be letter-graded. Students through the Class of 2028, with permission of the instructor, may take one course pass/fail.
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Writing, foreign language, and certain concentration requirements can only be satisfied by letter-graded courses.
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Ordinarily, no first-year student or sophomore may take fewer than three letter-graded courses (4 credits per course) in any term.
For more details about course grading policies, please see the Harvard College Student Handbook.
Academic Planning Resources
Academic planning also involves introspection, goal-setting, and the careful selection of courses, activities, and co-curricular opportunities. To inform your own academic planning, we encourage you to learn more about these academic requirements and opportunities by reviewing the pages below.
College Curriculum & Graduation Requirements
Course Selection and Registration
Exploring Fields of Study (EFoS)
Concentrations and Secondary Fields
Academic and Co-Curricular Opportunities
Book a Drop in Advising Appointment Today!
Speak to an advisor in the APO! Advisors on our staff are happy to connect with you via drop-in advising. We are available to chat about anything – course selection and registration, concentration exploration, curricular requirements, academic policy and more! Harvard College undergraduates may sign up for an advising appointment via our Crimson Scheduler.