Fields of Concentration

There are many curricular paths to the Harvard degree. Harvard offers nearly 3,900 courses and more than 40 undergraduate fields of study, which are called "concentrations" rather than majors, and many of which are interdisciplinary. Secondary fields also provide an opportunity for focused study outside the primary area of concentration. Each student’s program is individualized. There is no freshman program; students make their own decisions about the level and pace at which to start their undergraduate study.

Concentration courses offer many opportunities for close contact with faculty. Many departmental seminars enroll 10 or fewer students. Tutorials, which are taught in small groups or individually by instructors in the student's field of concentration, are a central part of many students' plans of study, often in each of the last three years of the undergraduate program. Tutorials also encourage students to develop more scholarly approaches to their academic disciplines. About half of all Harvard students choose an honors track within their concentrations, and most of them will write senior theses or complete research projects under the one-on-one supervision of professors and departmental tutors.