Affiliated Offices

The OUE supports a number of offices and programs across Harvard College that are dedicated to undergraduate education. Click on the links below to read about these offices and find links to their websites.

Academic Resource Center

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) at Harvard University exists to support the academic mission of Harvard College and the GSAS by ensuring every student has full access to the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education. The ARC supports Harvard’s students in developing reading strategies, time management skills, and metacognitive approaches to learning.

Students have access to

  • peer tutoring 
  • workshops 
  • academic coaching 
  • skills-based resources 

The staff at the ARC collaborate closely with each student’s advising network. At the ARC, you can find workshops to help you develop time management skills, plan your semester, enhance your reading and retention, and approach your problem sets.

Advising Programs Office

The goal of academic advising at Harvard is to help students transition to college academics, prepare to declare a concentration, and delve deeply into their chosen field of study. Starting in freshman year, advisers help students immerse themselves in the intellectual life of the university, develop plans of study that best cohere with their evolving interests, and take full advantage of the many intellectual enrichment opportunities that Harvard offers. Academic advisers are an essential part of students’ advising networks in the College. The Advising Programs Office supports students and their advisers in forming lasting and effective mentoring relationships.

First-Year Seminar Program

The First-Year Seminar Program was established in 1959 to provide small-group instruction to freshmen in the College, and thus to encourage close and early contact between undergraduates and members of the faculty.

Harvard College Writing Program

The Harvard College Writing Program is the oldest writing program in the United States. Since 1872, when the program was founded, a course in expository writing has been the one academic experience required of every Harvard student.

Lemann Program on Creativity and Entrepreneurship

The Lemann Program on Creativity and Entrepreneurship  (LPCE) prepares Harvard students to solve global challenges by fostering entrepreneurial thinking within a liberal arts education. Students in this program are able to address various problems, such as global health and social injustice, by participating in studio labs, developing entrepreneurial skills, making industry connections, and seeking funding opportunities. 

Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship

The Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship (MPES) supports innovations in teaching and learning through civically engaged experiential learning in or with community beyond the Harvard context. MPES hosts courses, research, and internship opportunities to engage students with communities and social issues through academics. Through hands-on experience, students will learn how to respond to opportunities and face challenges as engaged citizens and future civic leaders. MPES also offers resources to teaching staff, course fellows, and students to support the pursuit of engaged coursework and research. 

Mignone Center for Career Success

The Mignone Center for Career Success, for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, serves students and alumni of Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Harvard Extension School degree and certificate programs.

Office of International Education

The Office of International Education (OIE) facilitates academic year, semester, and summer study abroad experiences for College students. The OIE also supports international students during their 4-years as Harvard College students by providing resources to help them transition to the College and the US, as well as academic, social, and co-curricular programming and supports.

Program in General Education

Harvard has long required that students take a set of courses outside of their concentration in order to ensure that their undergraduate education encompasses a broad range of topics and approaches. The Program in General Education seeks to prepare students for a life of civic and ethical engagement with a changing world. The material taught in general education courses is continuous with the material taught in the rest of the curriculum, but the approach is different. These courses aim not to draw students into a discipline, but to bring the disciplines into students' lives. The Program in General Education introduces students to subject matter and skills from across the University, and does so in ways that link the arts and sciences with the 21st century world that students will face and the lives they will lead after college.

Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships helps students navigate the many research opportunities available here on campus, in the Cambridge area, and around the world. URAF helps students find projects and make connections among stakeholders in the academic research landscape.