Classroom Experience
Classroom Experience
In the classroom you will learn about yourself and others–and about the power of a vibrant exchange of ideas.
You will encounter new people, ideas, and ways of thinking and be encouraged to engage deeply with your own perspectives alongside the experiences of others.
Intellectual Life and Constructive Disagreement
This module will help you develop strategies for approaching others with openness and curiosity–even during disagreement, engaging with opposing viewpoints, and navigating conflict constructively.
- This course will take approximately 75-90 minutes to complete.
Coursework
A typical course load includes four courses per semester, with 12-16 hours spent in class each week, but much of your work happens outside of it.
Reading, writing, problem sets (p-sets), and preparing for discussion are a full-time commitment. Time invested in your coursework is not just about completing assignments, but about engaging deeply with ideas, revisiting material, making connections, and coming to class ready to participate.
4
classes per semester
12-16
hours in class
40-50
hours of total coursework per week
Classroom Social Compact
A Harvard College education is defined by the pursuit of knowledge. The classroom forms the center of a Harvard College education, and students are expected to prioritize their coursework.
Academic excellence requires students to participate in a thoughtful, candid, and free exchange of ideas. A successful classroom depends on student attendance, attentiveness, and active intellectual engagement.
Students should approach learning with curiosity, intellectual openness, respect for new ideas and for other people’s perspectives. Students should expect regularly to encounter evidence, analysis, interpretations, and opinions that challenge their point of view. Student speech, assignments, and exams can be evaluated by instructors as factually incorrect or poorly argued, for example—but a student’s status in a course, including their grades, will not be affected by their political or ethical point of view.
Connecting with Faculty
In class, you’ll engage with your professors through discussion, questions, and shared exploration of ideas.
Outside of class, faculty office hours offer a dedicated space to continue those conversations. Office hours are an opportunity to ask questions, test your thinking, engage more deeply with the material, and get help.