Overview

Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University. Harvard University is a private Ivy League institution offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. Students choose majors (concentrations in Harvard parlance) at the end of their third term. All students must complete a Program in General Education, which has recently changed. Beginning in the Fall of 2019, new undergraduates will need to complete one course each in: aesthetics and culture; histories, societies, and individuals; science, technology and society; and ethics and civics. Students will also have to complete: a quantitative reasoning course; a writing course; and one course in each of the divisions of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences: science and engineering, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Location: Cambridge, MA

Number of 1^st years: 1687

Undergraduates: 6,645

Graduates: 13,269

Faculty: 2,459

For more demographic data, see here.

First-Year Programs of Note

The following are noteworthy programs that differ from MIT practices. Unless otherwise stated, assumptions should not be made about the effectiveness of these programs.

Advising

First-year students are paired with an academic advisor who may be a faculty member, a staff member, or a doctoral student. First-year students meet with their academic advisor at key points during each term such as course selection week, during mid-terms and prior to final exams. Advisors can view advisee records, approve course selections, and document advising conversations in an online system.

First-year students are assigned a Peer Advising Fellow, an upperclass student advisor. Peer Advising Fellows receive a $1000 stipend.

Advising Fortnight – Taking place during the spring semester of the first-year, Advising Fortnight is a two-week event during which concentrations (majors) host multiple advising events to help student learn more and prepare for the selection of a concentration. These events range from open houses, to faculty and student panels, to ice cream socials. During the Advising Fortnight, students are required to document at least one conversation they had with an advisor from a concentration of interest.

Housing

The Freshman Dean’s Office assigns first-year students to one of the first-year dorms. Within the dorm, students are grouped into “entryways”. Entryways are groups of 20-40 students. Proctors live in the dorm and organize activities for their entryway to build community. Proctors are typically graduate students or administrators. Proctors are considered to be a part of a student’s advising network. They are available to answer academic questions and offer emotional support to students. All first-year students eat in the same dining hall.

On Housing Day in the spring, first-year students find out which upperclass “house” they will live in for their subsequent years at Harvard. Housing Day is a festive event with a lot of tradition. While students can request to be placed in the same house as a small group of friends, they cannot request to live in specific houses.

Freshman Intramural Program

Beginning with a field-day competition during orientation where students play games like tug-of-war, relay races, and balloon stomping; the Freshman Intramural Program helps first-years bond with their dorm-mates and destress through friendly competitions amongst the first-year dorms. Intramural competitions take place throughout the year. Some of the activities are traditional sports such as soccer, flag football, basketball and volleyball. Other intramural activities are non-traditional, such as a spelling bee and a board game competition.

Shopping Week

The first week of each term is considered the “shopping” period. Students can visit any class without formally enrolling in it in order to decide which courses they will enroll in for the semester.

Other Programs

Bridge Programs

Harvard does not currently offer a bridge program, but bridge programs have been under discussion. A new pre-orientation program (that does not seem to have a name) will be offered this fall and may be similar to a bridge program when implemented. The program aims to foster a sense of belonging and help students learn how to interact with faculty, make the most of their advising network, gain the confidence to attend office hours, and ease the transition to college life. First-generation students and members of underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply.

Diversity & Global Learning

While there are courses within the Program in General Education that do address diversity, Harvard does not have a college-wide diversity component to its curriculum. As of last year, English concentrators (majors) are required to complete a course featuring authors who may have been marginalized for their race, gender, or sexuality in the past.

The Office of International Education helps undergraduate students find and prepare for study abroad and other international experiences.

First-Year Seminars

Harvard’s Freshman Seminar Program has a similar goal as first-year seminar programs at many other institutions – to bring small groups of students (~12) in close contact with faculty to discuss interesting academic topics for 2-3 hours per week. Participation in the Freshman Seminar Program is not required, but highly encouraged. Students receive credit, but do not get a letter grade. Over the course of the 2017-18 fall and spring terms, 138 seminars were offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as well as faculty from the graduate schools of Business, Design, Divinity, Education, Government, Law, Medicine, and Public Health.

Internships

Harvard does not have any specific first-year internship programs, but does have career services, including internship resources, available to all students on campus.

Orientation

First-year students arrive on campus one week before classes begin to participate in Opening Days. Pre-orientation programs are also available.

Service Learning

Harvard College offers a First-Year Urban Program (FUP) as a pre-orientation program, similar to MIT. Students work on construction and renovation projects for non-profit community organizations in Cambridge and Boston. In the evenings, groups come together for reflection, dinner, and other events.

The Phillips Brooks House Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship is the central hub for public service efforts at Harvard College.

Undergraduate Research

Harvard offers traditional undergraduate research opportunities to its students and does not have any programs specifically targeting first-year students.

Writing-Intensive Courses

First-year students are required to take Expos 20, a one-semester writing course offered by the Harvard College Writing Program. Students needing extra preparation for college writing can enroll in Expos Studio 10 prior to completing Expos 20.