Teaching & Learning | Freshman Year

Each student's plan of study is individualized, guided in the first year by a freshman adviser. There is no "freshman program"; students make their own decisions about the level and pace at which to start their undergraduate study. The faculty has determined that an undergraduate education requires the refinement of writing skills (through a single, one-semester course) and proficiency in a foreign language, two requirements all students address in their first year at Harvard.

One of the most popular curricular experiences is the Freshman Seminar Program. This program brings together faculty and 12 or fewer first year students to work closely on a variety of selected topics in a variety of ways. The operating premise of each seminar is that a member of the faculty will address a particular subject with which he or she is personally involved and will involve the members of the seminar in its investigation. The Program attemps to free both the seminar leader and the students from the usual constraints associated with a regular course offering: the seminars are not letter-graded and they do not have formal examinations. Seminars are taken pass/fail.

Students Speak: Listen to students talk about their Freshman Seminars.

For more information visit the Freshman Dean's Office.