Social Studies is an interdisciplinary concentration in the social sciences at Harvard College. For more than five decades it has brought together outstanding teachers and intellectually engaged students who share not only a fascination with social science research and theory but also concerns about pressing social, political, and economic problems facing contemporary societies. Members of the Committee are united in their belief that rigorous social science inquiry must cross disciplinary boundaries and that it should be based on an understanding of classic and contemporary social theory and on an intimate knowledge of the history and culture of the places we study.
Students in Social Studies start by taking Social Studies 10, a year-long course in social theory that serves as our sophomore tutorial. Students are also required to develop background in economics, statistics, and the philosophy and methods of the social sciences. Working with their academic adviser, students then create an individualized focus field addressing a topic of interest (“inequality in the United States;” “development in Africa;” “modern social theory”), drawing on courses in the social sciences, history, and continental philosophy. A student's focus field work culminates in a senior thesis.