This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
ALB Requirements
The Extension School offers a chance to view the world through diverse lenses: scientific, political, and historical. It provides a rare opportunity to gain understanding as well as knowledge.
Also see Requirements Summary.
To earn the bachelor’s degree, complete 128 credits and maintain good academic standing (2.0 GPA). At least 64 credits must be completed at Harvard University (Extension School, Summer School, or the Faculty of Arts and Sciences). At least 32 must be completed at the Extension School. You also need to meet the residency requirement described in Undergraduate Distance Education.
Specific degree requirements are as follows.
Finding courses that meet requirements. You can use the degree course search to find course offerings that meet the requirements below.
Area of Concentration
All candidates select an area of concentration: in either the humanities, sciences, or social sciences. You must pass 40 credits with a C– in your chosen area. At least 32 concentration credits must be completed at Harvard. You can search courses by area.
Optional Field of Study
You may also pursue a focused field of study (similar to a major) in your area of concentration. To choose this option, file a field of study form (download* form) with the Undergraduate Office, earn a B– or higher in 32 Harvard credits in one field, and maintain a B average in the field. You may select a faculty advisor to help with course selection and future plans. In addition, you can search for field-of-study courses using the degree course search. The following fields are available:
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Optional Liberal Arts Citation
You may complement your field of study with a liberal arts citation (similar to a minor). For example, a student pursuing a field of study in economics could earn a citation in government, Chinese language, or mathematics. To choose this option file a citation form and earn at least a B− in 16 Harvard credits in the citation subject.
Distribution
Pass at least 8 credits with C– or higher grades in each of three areas—humanities, sciences, and social sciences—plus another 8 credits with C– or higher grades outside your chosen area of concentration.
Expository Writing
In these courses, you learn the demands and conventions of academic reading and writing. To meet the requirement, pass 8 credits of expository writing courses with C– or higher grades. Four of the 8 credits must be completed at Harvard. You cannot repeat the same writing course for degree credit. This requirement should be completed during your first 32 credits at the Extension School.
See the degree course search.
Writing-Intensive Courses
Pass 12 credits of writing-intensive courses with C– or higher grades at the Extension School. Instructors in these courses assign short writing exercises or drafts, emphasize revision, and teach the core skills of academic writing in their disciplines, including analysis, argument, and the proper use of sources. In writing-intensive courses, you complete multiple writing assignments of varying lengths, at least two of which must be revised; produce a minimum of 10 to 12 pages of writing, exclusive of the required revisions, during the term; meet at least once with the instructor or teaching assistant (in person, by phone, or electronically) to discuss writing in progress; and receive detailed feedback on drafts and revisions, on both content and expression.
See the degree course search.
Moral Reasoning
The common aim of these courses is to discuss significant and recurrent questions of choice and value that arise in human experience. To meet the requirement, earn a C– or higher grade in a designated moral reasoning course at Harvard.
See the degree course search.
Quantitative Reasoning
In these courses you are introduced to mathematical and quantitative modes of thoughts, such as statistical reasoning and deductive logic. To meet the requirement, earn a D– or higher grade in a quantitative reasoning (QR) course or pass the quantitative reasoning waiver exam. When choosing a QR course note any prerequisites and placement test requirements. QR courses do not count toward the distribution or area of concentration requirement unless you have already fulfilled the QR requirement.
Waiver exam. If you have prior coursework in statistics, you may arrange to take the waiver exam in the Undergraduate Office. If you do not pass, you may repeat it once. You must enroll in a QR course if you fail a second time. If interested in the exam contact Mark Ouchida, assistant director. This requirement should be completed as part of your first 32 credits.
See the degree course search.
Foreign Language
The cornerstone of the liberal arts degree, the foreign language requirement introduces you to the grammatical structure and pronunciation of another language but also offers an opportunity to gain cross-cultural insight. To meet the requirement, pass 8 Harvard credits in an elementary-level foreign language with D– or higher grades. You can use transfer credit for the requirement if you passed 8 credits with C– or higher grades. Four credits in one intermediate-level foreign language also fulfill this requirement. If you take the Extension School reading courses in French and Spanish (E-1x and E-1y) you must complete both terms in sequence to satisfy the requirement.
This requirement should be completed during your first 64 credits. It is waived for students who take the TOEFL for admission.
See the degree course search.
Upper-Level Courses
In these courses you build on introductory knowledge and look at subject matter in greater depth. To meet the requirement, pass at least 60 credits in upper-level courses.
See the degree course search.
Harvard Instructors
The ALB is a Harvard University degree; therefore, you must pass at least 52 credits in courses taught by instructors who have a teaching appointment at Harvard University. The undergraduate program defines a Harvard instructor as a teaching member (for example, professor, assistant professor, lecturer) at one of the following schools:
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Harvard Divinity School
- Harvard Graduate School of Design
- Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Harvard Law School
- Harvard Medical School
- Harvard School of Public Health
- John F. Kennedy School of Government
Students should note that this definition differs from the one used by the professional graduate degree and certificate programs. Courses that are marked HI in the degree course search fulfill this requirement.
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