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The Harvard College Curriculum
Approximately a third of courses toward a student’s degree fulfill Harvard College requirements. This includes classes in the areas of General Education, Divisional Distribution, Quantitative Reasoning with Data, Expository Writing, and Language.
Jump to Requirements
For detailed explanations of academic requirements, consult the Handbook for Students.
Expository Writing
The writing requirement is a one-semester course offered by the Harvard College Writing Program that focuses on analytic composition and revision.
Expository writing courses are taken as first-year students.
Expos courses are taught in small seminars focusing on writing proficiency in scholarly writing. Students meet one-on-one with instructors (called preceptors) regularly to refine writing skills. Depending on the result of the summer writing placement exam, some students take a full year of Expos.
Consult the Harvard College Writing Program website for more information.
General Education
Harvard’s Program in General Education provides a broad foundation that enables students to make meaningful connections across disciplines.
To fulfill the General Education requirement, students must complete one course in each of four perspectives:
Aesthetics & Culture
Ethics & Civics
Histories, Societies, Individuals
Science & Technology in Society
Consult the Program in General Education website for more information, including a comprehensive list of courses offered by the program.
Divisional Distribution
The distribution requirement exposes students to the diversity of scholarly disciplines at Harvard.
Starting in Fall 2019, students graduating in May 2020 can fulfill the Divisional Distribution requirement by completing 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
- Science and Engineering and Applied Science
While there is no required timeline for completing the three divisional distribution requirements, it is recommended that students complete at least two divisional distribution requirements by the end of their sixth term of study.
Divisional Distribution requirement details
Courses used to fulfill the distribution requirement may be taken pass/fail, with the permission of the instructor. However, when the same courses are being used to fulfill a concentration or secondary field requirement, there may be limitations on pass/fail options. Students should check with their advisers.
All 4-credit courses in every division will count toward the distribution requirement except elementary and intermediate-level languages, some graduate courses, courses in Expository Writing, music performance courses graded SAT/UNSAT, First-Year Seminars, and House Seminars.
A course taken to fulfill a Divisional Distribution requirement cannot be counted towards the College’s Quantitative Reasoning with Data requirement.
Transfer students may fulfill the distribution requirement with courses taken at their previous undergraduate institution. Courses taken during term time or summer study abroad, and courses taken at Harvard Summer School may also count for the distribution requirement.
Finding courses that fulfill the Divisional Distribution requirement
Courses that fulfill the distribution requirement are identified as such in my.harvard. The bottom left of my.harvard course descriptions indicate whether or not courses fulfill the distribution requirement and, if they do, which requirement they satisfy. To browse in my.harvard for courses that fulfill a particular distribution requirement, scroll down on the Course Search page and click on Faculty of Arts & Sciences under Browse Courses, then select below that the distribution requirement you wish to search.
Summer courses that fulfill the Divisional Distribution requirement
Students can consult this list of the 2024 Harvard Summer School courses that are approved for the Divisional Distribution requirement. Additional courses may be added. The list was last updated on August 29, 2024.
Students may check their Advising Report in my.harvard to learn which distribution requirements they have fulfilled.
Questions about the distribution requirement may be sent to divdist@fas.harvard.edu.
Quantitative Reasoning with Data
The Quantitative Reasoning with Data (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.
To fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning with Data requirement, students must complete a course approved for QRD.
There are no constraints regarding the timing of this requirement, as long as it is completed by graduation.
Consult the QRD website for more information, including a comprehensive list of QRD courses.
Language
The College affirms that the learning of a language other than English is an essential component of a liberal art and sciences education and that this learning should allow a student to develop first-hand understanding of linguistic and cultural variety.
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. The language requirement demands rigorous study but does not require a particular format of study or examination. Students should be taught in all forms of a language that are customary in the practice of that language.
Students can satisfy the language requirement in one of the following ways:
- Earn a minimum score of 700 on a College Entrance Examination Board SAT II Test in a language other than English, a score of 5 on a relevant Advanced Placement examination, or a score of 7 on a relevant Higher Level International Baccalaureate examination;
- Earn a passing score as determined by the department on a placement examination administered by certain language departments; (see below for details)
- Pass with a letter grade one appropriate year-long course (8 credits) or two semester-long courses (4 credits each) in one language at Harvard, or the equivalent as determined by the appropriate language department. These courses may not include foreign literature courses conducted in English;
- Pass with a letter grade a language course or courses at the appropriate level taken in Harvard programs abroad, as approved by the appropriate language department. Study completed at other institutions may also fulfill the requirement if approved by the appropriate language department whether through examination or on the basis of achieving a minimum grade;
- A student whose high school education was conducted in a language other than English (and confirmed by the Admissions Office) may satisfy the language requirement;
- A student who claims fluency in a language other than English may satisfy the language requirement through satisfactory completion of an examination in the relevant language, provided that an appropriate examination can be given. If the language is not one that is offered at Harvard, and if a qualified examiner, as determined by the Office of Undergraduate Education, cannot be identified, the student must meet the language requirement with another language;
- No student may take the relevant departmental examination more than once for the purpose of meeting the language requirement.
Any student who has not met the language requirement upon entrance ordinarily is required to enroll in and complete with a passing letter grade an appropriate year-long language course (8 credits) or two semester-long language courses (4 credits each) in a single language. (An appropriate course is one for which a student qualifies by previous instruction or placement test.) Most introductory courses in all languages taught at Harvard may count towards fulfillment of the language requirement; exceptions are noted in the course listings in my.harvard.
Students are encouraged to begin language study in their first year.
If after the second term of study the requirement has not yet been met, a hold will be placed on the student record. To lift the hold, a student must have an advising conversation with their adviser and develop a concrete plan to complete the requirement.
Language Placement Exams
Details about language placement exams, including the process for registering for these exams and FAQs, can be found on the Placement Exams website.
Fulfilling the Requirement through Examination
Placement exams in a range of languages will be available to entering students over the summer at Harvard; students looking to place into courses in these languages, or who plan to satisfy the language requirement in these languages, should take the exam before the start of their first year.
Students may complete a placement exam to determine if their knowledge is sufficient to fulfill the language requirement. They may do so only once for the purpose of fulfilling the language requirement. Language placement exams are available online (French, German, Italian, and Spanish) and through other various departmental administration during the summer and through orientation period.
Those whose course placement from the placement exam in French, German, Italian, or Spanish indicates sufficient mastery of the language to satisfy the requirement will need to take a brief, proctored follow-up Live Verification Exam (LVE) after arriving on campus and before the LVE deadline. A qualifying placement in a language course other than French, German, Italian, or Spanish may also fulfill the language requirement, at a time established by the language department or by arrangement and will not require a follow-up LVE.
Language Verification Exam (LVE)
This LVE will be administered through the Language Center (French and Spanish) or through the language department (German and Italian). Students will be notified by email if they qualify for the LVE. This communication will include who to contact, directions about how to sign up for the assessment, the location of the exam, and what to bring. The LVE must be completed within the same exam period in which a student has taken the original language exam.
Fulfilling the Requirement through a Language Exam not Currently Offered
Students wishing to fulfill the language requirement in a language for which the College does not currently offer a placement exam will need to consult with the Office of Undergraduate Education by contacting placement-help@fas.harvard.edu as soon as possible upon admission to the College. Students may request to take a special examination in any language in which an appropriate examination can be given by a member of the Faculty familiar with the standards of the language requirement or by a qualified examiner identified by the Office of Undergraduate Education. Special language examinations will be scheduled as quickly as possible, but students should plan to take either a placement examination in another language if possible or a first-year course in another language to maximize their options pending the result of the special examination. Students who plan to fulfill the language requirement by special examination should consult with their Resident Dean prior to registering for courses.
Placement Exams for Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors interested in taking a language placement exam should consult the placement exam website for details about registering for these exams. Language placement exams will be given in the fall and spring ahead of the next term’s course registration as well as over the summer months. Students may not take an exam more than once in order to meet the language requirement.
A Shared Commitment to Intellectual Growth
Through intellectual vitality, the Harvard College community seeks to establish a culture in which all members speak, listen, and ask questions of each other – and ourselves – with curiosity and respect. This is critical to achieve the mission of Harvard College and what we as a community believe in.
