Foreword

Preface

Origins and Early Years

Concentration Requirements

Social Studies 10
Social Studies 98
Thematic Courses
Social Studies 99
Economics
Statistics & Quantitative Reasoning
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Related Courses
Senior Oral Examinations

Courses that Automatically Count in Social Studies

Admissions

FAQ

Plans of Study

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who will be my academic advisor in Social Studies?

First-semester sophomores will be advised in their houses, but are also encouraged to consult their sophomore tutor or members of our freshmen-sophomore advising team:  Dr. Thomas Ponniah, the Assistant Director of Studies for Freshmen and Sophomores, and Sarah Champlin-Scharff, the Undergraduate Program Administrator.

As soon as a student is admitted to Social Studies, he or she will be assigned an academic advisor.  In the sophomore year, the academic advisor is the student’s sophomore tutor.  At the end of the sophomore year, students can keep their current advisor or may ask for a new academic advisor.

What is a Focus Field?  What is a Plan of Study?

A focus field is an interdisciplinary area of study chosen in the junior year and refined in the senior year; it should be associated with the student’s senior thesis topic.  Students will be asked to submit an advisor-approved description of their focus field and their plan of study to the Social Studies Board of Instruction by October 1st of their junior year. The plan of study should include a minimum of four half-courses, normally drawn from at least two social science departments, and including at least one half-course on an historical topic.  Members of the Board of Instruction will review this plan and may request revisions; students must have an approved plan on file by November 15th of their junior year. 

Students will be allowed to make changes to their plans of study and will be asked to file their updated plan of study by October 1st of their senior year; the updated plan must be approved by November 15th.  The senior plan of study must include the student’s senior thesis topic.

Students applying to Social Studies will be asked to describe a potential interdisciplinary focus field on their application, but will not be held to this focus field. 

What happens if I change thesis topics between junior and senior year?  Will I have to create a new plan of study?

Yes.  If you change thesis topics, and your new topic does not follow from your original focus-field courses, you will need develop a new plan of study and, if necessary, take courses during your senior year to complete it.

Which courses automatically count in Social Studies?

Social Studies will count all courses in Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, and Sociology, as well as courses in the core areas Foreign Cultures, Historical Studies A and B, Moral Reasoning, and Social Analysis and the General Education areas Ethical Reasoning, Societies of the World, and the United States and the World, whether or not they are part of a student’s focus field in Social Studies.

Students who choose focus fields in social theory or intellectual history should expect that Social Studies will automatically count all courses in continental philosophy as well.

Please note that for purposes of calculating honors we will include the grades in all courses you have taken that are acceptable for concentration credit, not just the four or more listed in your plan of study.

What if I want to include a course that is not in a social science department in my focus field?

You should petition the Board of Instruction to count this course when you submit your plan of study. Typically, courses that have substantial social science, historical, or social theoretical content (e.g., more than half of the topics covered) can be counted, as can courses taught by faculty members with Ph.D.s in the social sciences, history, or continental philosophy.

Can I take a secondary field in a social science or history department and still concentrate in Social Studies?

Yes, as long as the secondary field is substantially different from your focus field in Social Studies.  Harvard College allows only one course to overlap between the primary and secondary fields, and Social Studies counts all social science and history courses for concentration credit.  But students can petition to “unconc” (not count) courses in one of these departments at the beginning of their senior year, as long as they are submitting a plan of study that does not overlap with these courses, and as long as the discipline or disciplines they are covering in their thesis does not overlap with the courses they seek to
“unconc.”

For example, a student who is writing on the political economy of Latin America, but has done significant coursework in history, can petition Social Studies to “unconc” a set of history courses, with the exception of one or more courses in Latin American history, which will count towards the focus field.  But that student will not be allowed to “unconc” courses in economics or government, because the student’s thesis is drawing on those disciplines.

A student who is studying social theory and wants to take a secondary field in economics can petition Social Studies to “unconc” a set of economics courses, except for the one that will count towards the economics requirement in Social Studies. 

How many and which courses may I take Pass/Fail?

None of your Social Studies requirements may be fulfilled pass/fail except freshman seminars, by petition only.

Can I count a freshman seminar towards requirements in Social Studies?

No, because Freshmen Seminars are taken pass/fail.

Can I fulfill the statistics requirement by taking a course in summer school or at another college?

Yes, you can fulfill the Social Studies statistics requirement by taking an introductory statistics class at summer course at Harvard summer school or through a summer school at another accredited 4-year college or university.  Please note, however, that if you take the course at a summer school other than Harvard, you will fulfill the Social Studies statistics requirement but, most likely, you will not receive Harvard credit for this course.  A summer statistics course must be the equivalent of a semester-long course.

Can courses “double count” to meet Core, General Education, and Social Studies requirements?

Yes.

How can I arrange an independent study within Social Studies?

There are two sorts of independently arranged courses for credit at Harvard: an independent study course, graded Pass/Fail; and a reading and research course, known as a 91r, which is letter-graded.

Independent study, graded Pass/Fail, must be supervised by a voting member of the faculty (i.e., someone with an appointment of assistant professor or higher).  If you wish to take an independent study with a teaching fellow or lecturer, the Chair of the Department must co-sign your petition.  Pass/Fail independent studies, however, do not count towards Social Studies requirements.

A 91r can be arranged through many departments and, on occasion, through Social Studies.  If you are interested in pursuing a reading and research course on a topic not covered by any other course at Harvard, you need to find a faculty member willing to teach the course.  Please note that Social Studies cannot compensate faculty members or lecturers for directing a 91r.  However, we will count Social Studies 91r or a 91r in a social science or history department for concentration credit.  If you have any questions about Social Studies 91r, please contact the Director of Studies.
As a transfer student from another college, will I receive any credit toward degree requirements in Social Studies for previous course work?

You will receive credit toward fulfillment of requirements for courses that are (1) approved for Harvard credit by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and then (2) approved for Social Studies credit by the Director of Studies. (Grades received for courses taken elsewhere are not considered when calculating a student's Social Studies grade average).  Transfer courses may be included in a plan of study by petition to the Social Studies Board of Instruction.

If I transfer into Social Studies from another Harvard concentration as a junior, can I get credit for a sophomore tutorial taken in another department?

If you are transferring from history or a social science department, then Social Studies will count the tutorial for Social Studies credit, just as we count all courses taken in those departments. No other sophomore tutorial, however, will exempt a student from taking Social Studies 10.

What should I do if I am interested in having a joint concentration, combining Social Studies with another concentration?

Social Studies discourages most joint concentrations, as our program is already interdisciplinary, and students seeking to gain expertise in another discipline can usually do a secondary field in that discipline.  However, petitions will be considered in unusual cases. Students petitioning to do a joint concentration must submit a written petition to the Board of Instruction along with two plans of study:  one with the joint concentration, and one without.   

Can Social Studies students study abroad?

Yes, Social Studies strongly encourages study abroad.  Many Social Studies juniors use a term abroad to find a thesis topic and even to conduct preliminary research.  However, Social Studies concentrators can generally only study abroad for one term during their junior year, as they will need their other term to prepare for their senior thesis while in residence at Harvard.  Social Studies students cannot go abroad during their sophomore year (when they are taking Social Studies 10) or during their senior year (when they need to be in residence, writing their thesis).

Social Studies will also waive one junior tutorial for students who go abroad, provided that they write a research paper at least twenty pages in length either while they are abroad or in a non-Social Studies course at Harvard.  This paper must be approved by the Director of Studies to obtain junior tutorial credit.

If you plan to study abroad, please make an appointment to see the Director of Studies at least two weeks before the Office of International Programs deadline of October 15th for spring study abroad and March 15th for fall study abroad. 
If I decide that I do not want to write a senior thesis, what are my options?

To receive a degree recommendation from Social Studies, a student must write an acceptable senior thesis (one that receives a passing grade as the average of its two evaluations) and take the oral thesis defense and general examinations that follow.

If you have any doubts about your desire or ability to write a senior thesis, please speak to your advisor and the Director of Studies.  If you decide not to write a thesis, you must transfer to another concentration and fulfill its requirements in order to graduate.

What kind of support does Social Studies provide for its thesis writers?

The Committee on Degrees in Social Studies offers a thesis writer’s seminar to all seniors who wish to take it. Thesis writer’s seminars meet in small groups (8-9 students) every other week from October to March.  They are led by an experienced thesis supervisor, who guides students in discussions about the research process, organization, and writing, and provides students with an opportunity to exchange drafts of one another’s work.  The seminar is intended to supplement individual thesis advising.  In 2009-10, the Thesis Writer’s Tutorial will be organized by Dr. Nicole Newendorp, the Assistant Director of Studies for Juniors and Seniors.

How will Social Studies calculate and decide upon my honors recommendation?

A student’s class rank is based on a calculation weighted as follows: the grade average in all concentration courses (all Social Studies requirements, all courses in the social sciences or history, and all courses in the student’s plan of study) x 55; the senior thesis x 40; the oral defense of the senior thesis x 5; and the oral general examination x 10.  The total is then divided by 110 to determine the final average.  When the senior thesis evaluations average summa or summa minus, the thesis receives the greater weighing of 50, and the total is then divided by 120.

Honors recommendations are voted by the Social Studies Faculty. They are based on an individual consideration of the student’s rank within the class and a comparison with the recommendations given in past years.  The committee looks for consistency in three areas (courses, thesis grades, and oral exams) in determining honors recommendations.

Is Social Studies able to count final term grades in the calculation of honors?

Final term course grades are not available in time to be considered by Social Studies in honors calculations.  The Committee votes on a recommendation for each student based on seven semesters of grades and then forwards its recommendation to the College.  By the time that the College votes on these recommendations, the final term course grades are available.

Will my honors recommendation from Social Studies be accepted by Harvard College?