This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
About the Program
Student Profile
- Total students: 600 degree candidates
- Age range: 17–86 (average: 35)
- Full-time students: two-thirds part time; one-third full time
- Average transfer credits: 42
- Degree completion: 2 to 5 years on average (there is no required deadline)
- Retention: 90 percent; one of the highest in the nation
Our History
The Extension School was founded in 1909 by Harvard President A. Lawrence Lowell, during a period of democratic education and community responsibility that swept the nation at the turn of the last century. Universities from Wisconsin to Boston were extending their intellectual capital to local community members. The Extension School was established to serve the members of the community who need to complete an education amid the demands of full-time work.
Educational Mission
The Extension School is one of 12 degree-granting schools at Harvard University, 10 of which are graduate schools. Probably the most well known school is Harvard College, the preeminent, full-time, residential liberal arts program for traditional-age college students who earn the Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree (artium baccalaureus).
In contrast, Harvard Extension School is a national leader in continuing education and offers the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (ALB) degree (artium liberalium baccalaureus) to nontraditional students who bring a diversity of life and work experience to the classroom and whose average age is 35.
Our Graduates’ Success
Our 2007 graduates are pursuing master’s degrees at schools such as Boston University, Simmons College, the New School for Social Research, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Georgetown University. They are in doctoral programs at Tufts Dental School and Dartmouth Medical School, and beginning careers in journalism, software engineering, finance, public relations, healthcare administration, political organizing, education, publishing, environmental science, and biotechnology.
The following lists can give you a sense of more possibilities:
