Focus Field Guidelines

What is a Focus Field? 

A Focus Field is a collection of four to six courses that gives shape to your work in Social Studies. The courses are usually taken in at least two of Social Studies’ “constituent” departments (History, Economics, Government, Anthropology, and Sociology) or allied thematic/regional programs (e.g., AAAS, EAS, EMR, GHHP, WGS).  

The courses should be grouped around a shared theme, common region, defined period, and set of questions. Through these courses, you deepen your understanding of social problems and issues in preparation for writing your thesis. It is important that the courses form a coherent, if broad, whole. For example: “Migration and Transnationalism in 20th-Century Asian America,” “Technology and the Future of Work,” “State Violence and Identity in Modern Latin America,” and “Race and Criminalization in Contemporary American Education.” More examples can be found on the Focus Field page on our website. 

 

Focus Field Timeline: 

(See Juniors Canvas site for specific deadlines; dates differ for off-cycle students) 

  • Junior Fall (October): Preliminary Focus Field form due 
  • Junior Spring (March/April): Revised Focus Field form due 
  • Senior Fall add/drop (Aug/Sept): Urgent Petitions due (if necessary) 
  • Senior Spring add/drop (January): final chance for Urgent Petitions (if necessary) 
     

What courses go in a Focus Field? 

The Focus Field must include at least four letter-graded courses but can include up to six. These can include past courses, current courses, and courses you plan to take in future semesters (except for your final senior semester). 

One Focus Field course must be a historical course. This can include courses taken in (or cross-listed with) the Department of History (HIST). Alternatively, you may include HIST-SCI courses taken in the past. Starting in Spring 2027, we will provide lists of the Hist-Sci and Hist-Lit courses that may be used to fulfill the historical requirement (not all of them do). The general Focus Field guidelines still apply here: the course must be related to your chosen Focus Field theme, must not be introductory, and must be taken for a letter grade. 

Courses taken at professional schools (e.g., HKS, GSD) can only count as fifth and/or sixth optional Focus Field courses and must be taken for a letter grade, though they will not be reflected in your concentration or college GPA. Focus Fields should include no more than one GenEd course (and ideally none). 

No course in your Focus Field can count for another Social Studies requirement (e.g., the economics requirement).  
  

What courses do not go in a Focus Field? 

Although students often take junior tutorials (Social Studies 98) that are closely aligned with their interests, the two required junior tutorials do not count for Focus Field credit. If you take a third junior tutorial, then one of your three junior tutorials may count in your Focus Field.  

Methods courses (e.g., Social Studies 50 and 60), introductory courses (e.g., Phil 10), ungraded courses (e.g., HLS courses, first-year seminars), and language-instruction courses (e.g., Arabic AA) cannot be counted in Focus Fields. Courses whose substantial assignments are not based on scholarly research will often not count (this is common in departments with clinical, lab-based, and practice-driven curricula, such as architecture, educational psychology, etc.). 

 

What about courses outside of Social Studies’ constituent departments and allied programs? 

Often, students will wish to count courses taken in other social science or humanities departments. For instance, there are many courses in the Department of Philosophy or in History and Literature that could be part of a Focus Field. Work with your advisor to determine whether or not such courses should be included in the Focus Field, and if they are sufficiently (50% or greater) based on social science or social theory. It is often necessary to include a syllabus with your Focus Field form to determine if such a course will count. But you do not need to submit a syllabus for any course taught in our five constituent disciplines (anthropology, economics, government, history, or sociology). 
 

How does a Focus Field relate to the thesis? 

The relation between a Focus Field and the thesis takes the shape of a funnel: the Focus Field is the wide part of the funnel while the thesis is the narrow part. In other words, the thesis represents a deeper dive into one aspect of the Focus Field.  
 

What if I study abroad? 

Great! You can count up to two courses taken abroad towards your Focus Field. When meeting with the ADUS to discuss study abroad, you should discuss what courses you hope to count for Focus Field credit. You may need to include syllabi for courses taken abroad that are not in social science departments.  
 

What if my interests change over time? 

This is perfectly normal—and it is why we ask students to submit a revised Focus Field form in the junior spring. Whether your interests change in small or big ways between junior and senior year, you can update your Focus Field title, description paragraph, and course list up until winter of your senior year. When revising your Focus Field, keep the relation between it and your thesis in mind.