Program in General Education
The Program in General Education is the cornerstone of the Harvard College curriculum.
Background photo of a student speaking into a microphone during Gen Ed 1131: Loss.
Explore new ideas. Expand your horizons. Engage with the world.
Focusing on urgent problems and enduring questions, Gen Ed courses are unusually explicit in connecting the subjects you study to the people you will become and the world beyond the classroom.
Transcending disciplinary divisions, they demonstrate the value of embedding what you will learn in your concentrations within the broader context of the liberal arts. In Gen Ed courses, you engage in activities that have the potential to shape the world around you.
Learn more about the General Education requirements and find answers to frequently asked questions.
Explore the courses being offered for the 2024-2025 academic year in each of the four Gen Ed categories.
Find resources specific to teaching in the Program in General Education, from course proposal to reapproval.
News
- The Harvard Gazette on Gen Ed 1200: Justice
This fall marks the return of Gen Ed 1200: Justice: Ethical Reasoning in Polarized Times. Taught by Professor Michael Sandel, this popular course features guided student debate of some of society’s most contested issues, informed by study… - Fall Gen Ed Advising Office Hours
Do you have questions about the Gen Ed requirement or fall Gen Ed course selection? The Program in General Education will be offering drop-in advising hours for fall registration at the following three times: Friday, August 16: 10:00-11:30am… - From the Harvard Gazette: This course changed how I see the world
In her piece in the Harvard Gazette, Dylan Goodman ’25 shares how her Gen Ed course, Vision and Justice: The Art of Race and American Citizenship, fundamentally altered her worldview and her perspective as a photographer. A…