Requirements Explained

Social Studies 10a & 10b

Introduction to Social Studies. All students must complete both halves of the yearlong introduction to the classics of social theory. 

Social Studies 98 (2)

The purpose of junior tutorials in Social Studies is to help prepare students for their thesis research. Junior tutorials immerse students in a detailed and focused study of social and theoretical questions centered around a particular topical focus. They also have a methodological focus and provide students with instruction on research techniques in order for students to practice working with primary source data and learn the steps involved with completing a major research project. 

Each student must take two Social Studies junior tutorials (Social Studies 98s). However, joint concentrators in Social Studies have the option of taking two Social Studies 98s or one Social Studies 98 and a 98 in their allied concentration. 

Students who study abroad must take at least one Social Studies junior tutorial. They may have their second junior tutorial waived by the DUS with a second major research paper that is roughly equivalent to a junior tutorial paper (that is, 20-25 pages long and involving primary source material). This research paper can either be written abroad or in a social science or history course taken at Harvard that is not a Social Studies 98. 

Junior tutorials are selected through a lottery process during the course registration period. 

Social Studies 99

Seniors take two terms of Social Studies 99, the senior thesis course, and work one-on-one with a thesis supervisor as they research and write their thesis. 

Focus Field Courses (4-6)

The focus field must include a minimum of four, and a maximum of six courses, normally drawn from at least two social science departments and including at least one course on an historical topic. Students may petition the Board of Instruction to include social science courses given in non-social science departments. At least two courses must be taken in FAS.

Economics Requirement:

  • Economics 10a,10b, or both
  • Economics 50*
  • Any Economics course for which Economics 10a or 10b is recommended preparation

Statistics Requirement

  • 5 on the AP Statistics Exam
  • Economics 50*, 1123*, 1126
  • Government 50-51, 2001
  • Psychology 1900
  • Statistics 100, 104, 110
  • Sociology 1156

Methodology Requirement

All students in the concentration must complete a methods course aimed at providing substantial knowledge about how to develop and execute an original research project. We strongly encourage students to take either Social Studies 50, “Foundations of Social Science Research,” or Social Studies 60, “Making Sense of Methods for Theoretical and Historical Research,” depending on their academic interests. These courses have been designed to provide Social Studies concentrators with the knowledge and skills they will need to write their senior theses.

However, students who want to develop specialized knowledge in particular disciplinary methodologies can take the following courses, which teach the practice of research. Approved courses are:

  • Anthropology 1610
  • Economics 1123*
  • Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights 133
  • Government 62, 1010, 1011, 1022
  • Sociology 1128

Students may also petition to take another methods course that better fits with their particular intellectual interests and goals for their thesis work. Examples of such courses include:

  • Government 63, 94SAF
  • History 1975
  • Sociology 1107
  • Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1210FT

 

*These courses are current from the 2023-24 course catalog. Courses that previously fulfilled the economics, statistics, or methods requirements but are no longer in the catalog still count.

NOTES: (1) Economics 50 can count for the economics or statistics requirement, but not both.(2) Economics 1123 can count for the statistics or methods requirement, but not both (3) All of the above courses will count towards a student’s concentration GPA (e.g., if a student takes Psych 1900 and Stat 104, both will count towards the concentration GPA).