Visiting College Students - Harvard Summer School (2024)

The summer can be an excellent time to earn credit. You can reduce your mental load throughout the year or allow yourself to focus on a course requirement without other school-year distractions. You could also take a course that could help you figure out a career path or prepare for the job market.

Simply Enroll in a Course — No Application Required

Harvard Summer School offers hundreds of courses — all you have to do is register. Explore our diverse course catalog to find unique titles that meet your learning goals.

Ready to Register?

View steps to register for Harvard Summer School courses, as well as requirements and deadlines.

Meet our Faculty

At Harvard Summer School, we bring together expert faculty and motivated learners from high school to adulthood during the summer months.

Instructing hundreds of courses in over 60 subjects, our faculty inspire students to choose their college major, find new direction in their careers, earn credit for their degree program, or find their confidence in higher education.

Our faculty are educators, practitioners, and scholars. Although their professional experiences differ, faculty share a passion for educating Harvard Summer School students of all ages to help them achieve their academic goals.

Live on Campus or Study Online

If you register for an on-campus course and want to live in Harvard’s dorms, we offer housing for visiting college students.

Connect with Fellow Students

Both virtual and in-person activities are offered to Harvard Summer School students to meet other students and get the most out of their summer.

Courses Offered

You can choose between 400+ courses at Harvard Summer School. We have undergraduate and graduate courses offered for-credit or non-credit. If you plan to transfer credit to another institution, please talk with your home institution to understand if/how your course will transfer.

These courses are some of the most popular with college students:

• CHEM: Intensive Organic Chemistry
• CHEM: Principles of Organic Chemistry
• CSCI: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
• CSCI: Intensive Introduction to Computer Science
• CSCI: Introduction to Computer Science with Python
• ECON: Economics of Innovation
• ECON: The Economics of Emerging Markets: Asia and Eastern Europe
• ECON: Financial Accounting
• ECON: Personal Finance and Financial Well-Being
• ECON: Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics
• ECON: Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
• GOVT: The Political Economy of Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities
• MATH: Calculus II
• MATH: Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
• MGMT: Global M&A Design: Digital Business Model Innovation and Cross-Border Deals
• MGMT: HBS CORe: Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting
• MGMT: Leadership
• MGMT: Project Management
• MGMT: Strategic Management
• PYSC: The Psychology of Close Relationships

Explore Career Paths

Harvard Summer School offers specially designed courses where you can study a subject of interest while gaining insight from industry professionals on what a career might be like. These Career Pathway courses are small, for-credit classes designed to help you get a fresh perspective on a field you may want to pursue. In each course, you will explore an academic topic in depth while working on projects that are mirrored in the real world.

Components include:

• In-class guests who will advise students and provide insights on their own career paths.
• Self-reflection exercises on skills, interests, and future goals they’ve identified.

At the end of a course, students will come away energized about potential career paths, and will have built valuable team-building and leadership skills.

Career Pathways Courses

• Basic Journalism in the Digital Age
• Becoming a Brain Scientist: Neuroscience and Psychology Research
• Beginning Screenwriting
• Entrepreneurship from the Perspective of Business and IP Law
• Introduction to Immunology with Laboratory Techniques
• Problem Solving and Project Design

Summer Seminars at Harvard Summer School

Summer Seminars at Harvard Summer School give undergraduate students and advanced high school students unique opportunities and personal faculty instruction that’s hard to find on a large campus.

Inspired by Harvard’s renowned freshman seminars that get students acclimated and engaged in campus life, 7-week Summer Seminars give both Harvard and visiting students the unique chance to study with us in a small-group format.

The benefits you’ll enjoy during Summer Seminars include:

Small Class Sizes

Summer Seminars are limited to 15 students each to keep class sizes small and maximize your learning experience. This small class size promotes open and dynamic discussion, peer study groups, in-class presentations, and equal opportunity participation in the classroom.

Close Faculty Interaction

Each Summer Seminar is taught by a Harvard affiliate and offers excellent opportunities for personal guidance and advising. Throughout the seminar, students can consult with and learn from Harvard instructors in a small-group or one-to-one format that lets them dig deep into a subject and build valuable expertise.

Independent Research Opportunities

Learn the researching and writing skills that will let you rise to the top of your undergraduate class or prepare you for graduate school. Your Summer Seminar instructor will give you the frameworks and advice needed to complete a final research project in your area of study.
Summer Seminars are available for undergraduate credits only.

Summer 2024 Seminars