This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
Proseminar and Seminars
Proseminar
The proseminar, a required course designed for prospective ALM candidates, focuses on the range of current research methods and the writing, critical, and analytical skills necessary for graduate study. Students must take the proseminar in the area within which their chosen field of concentration falls: biological sciences (NSCI E-100), social sciences (SSCI E-100a or SSCI E-100b), or humanities (HUMA E-100).
For an interdisciplinary field of concentration, students should take the proseminar in their primary area. Students should not attempt NSCI E-100 if they have not yet completed a basic course in molecular biology. Biology concentrators who intend to undertake a historical, nonexperimental approach to the thesis are required to take an additional proseminar in history (SSCI E-100b) or a history of science course as one of their electives.
When to Take the Proseminar
The proseminar is designed to benefit students in all their graduate courses; therefore, students should not delay enrolling in the proseminar for any reason. Students who earn a grade below B in a proseminar are allowed to enroll in it only once again for ALM admission and should enroll in a section taught by a different instructor. Students are denied admission to the ALM Program if they fail to earn a grade of B after twice enrolling in the course. Students who are unable to pass the proseminar after two attempts may not then attempt the proseminar in another area or degree program.
Those who remain in the course after the half-tuition-refund period ends must count that as one of their attempts to pass the proseminar. Students who have not yet been awarded a bachelor’s degree must petition the instructor to enroll in the proseminar. If students delay their application to the program more than two years after completing the proseminar, they are required to retake the course.
Seminars
ALM candidates must complete at least one seminar in their chosen field of concentration. To find seminars offered this year, see the degree course search. Because seminars in some fields are offered only occasionally, students are urged not to delay fulfilling their seminar requirement when such courses are offered. Seminars are typically not offered in Harvard Summer School. For students in literature and creative writing, the seminar must be in English literature or any foreign literature.
