Field of Study and my Reading and Research Project
I’m thrilled.
My Field of Study application has been approved which means that when I am awarded the ALB, I’ll have a Computer Science “field of study” noted on my transcripts. Yay! Also, one of my previous professors has agreed to provide support to my effort to complete a Bachelor’s thesis (called a Reading and Research project). This is all good news.
One of the weird things about HES (and Harvard in general) is that undergraduate degrees don’t have majors per se, but concentrations. Harvard College has a long list of undergraduate concentrations:
- African and African American Studies
- Anthropology
- Applied Mathematics
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Biochemical Sciences
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Chemistry and Physics
- The Classics
- Computer Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- East Asian Studies
- Economics
- Engineering Sciences
- English and American Literature and Language
- Environmental Science and Public Policy
- Folklore and Mythology
- Germanic Languages and Literatures
- Government
- History
- History and Literature
- History and Science
- History of Art and Architecture
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Music
- Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Psychology
- The Comparative Study of Religion
- Romance Languages and Literatures
- Sanskrit and Indian Studies
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Social Studies
- Sociology
- Special Concentrations
- Statistics
- Visual and Environmental Studies
- Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
The Harvard Extension School has only three:
- Natural Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
This makes is a bit weird for those of us who really want to focus on Computer Science but can’t earn a degree with that exact title. This problem is solved a little bit by the availability of the Field of Study which permits you to get an additional notation that DOES indicate a particular set of courses in a concentrated area. It’s not the same thing, but it’s a reasonable facsimile and probably good enough for my purposes.
Another bit of good news is that it looks like I will actually get some help in completing a Reading and Research project. Such a project is a way of really shining to graduate schools. Most undergraduate programs don’t require completion of a thesis to award a degree; doing so shows that you can do sustained independent work. Such an indication is a big plus in graduate school admissions (along with GPA and GRE scores). My hope is that this will really help me get into Columbia or another excellent program.
10 comments
Richard,
This is very good news. Congrats. Writing a Senior Thesis will certainly help you get into Columbia for Grad School.
In the graduate ALM program, we have concentrations, some of which are very focused and others which are very broad. For instance, there is a “Middle Eastern Studies” concentration, but no corresponding concentration in East Asian studies. This is unfortunate for those who take a lot of topic-specific coursework and perform a thesis in that area, but end up getting lumped in a very general ALM category.
Ian,
It IS a bit of a bummer, no? I feel like there are some really obvious areas in which HES could distinguish itself in the sciences (particularly computer science) but it focuses on the humanities too greatly. I’m glad that there is a mix of programs available but the lack of a specific CS concentration is a bit puzzling. It seems like a natural given the number and character of distance classes offered via HES.
Correction:
I certainly hope that I could use the “Field of Study” option for Sociology through Special Student Status program. The Field of Study option requires the completion of 32 credits(8 Classes) in a single academic area. The academic area that I want to do is Sociology. And since HES doesn’t offer this subject area, I have to do it through SSS program with the Sociology Dept. The 4 academic terms(excluding the Summer Term) would allow me to complete the 8 classes needed to earn this distinction.
Although, I’ll have to renew my SSS application for a second year, depending on my academic proformance with my Sociology classes. This is one of the few departments at HES that doesn’t have any restrictions placed on their classes to non-Harvard College students. In addition, the program is quite small, as far as the amount of students who are majors in the Department. It would certainly be a good fit for me.
But for now, I won’t worry about SSS until I’ve completed the required class work of more than 32 credits with a B+ or better.
Carlos,
There is a new field of study option on the HES degree course search page. If sociology is listed, then a list of courses that would apply to that category should be presented.
Carlos,
I just checked and there doesn’t seem to be a Sociology Field of Study.
Richard,
That is why I could do Sociology through Special Student Status. They might have a Sociology Field of Study later on down the road. But I don’t think that Sociology is popular enough for HES to include it as an option. It might be if enough students ask for it, which is not a whole lot. But I feel that I could work something out with my portential advisors when I get around to it.
Carlos,
You can take Sociology CLASSES via Special Student status but it doesn’t appear that you can do a Sociology FIELD OF STUDY via HES. You might want to inquire about your plans with their office directly.
Richard,
You might be right about that. I would have to speak to the director of the Sociology Department to see if I could do the concentation through some sort of an arrangement with HES. However, I won’t contact the department until I have completed the first 32 credits with a B+. If I am able to meet the requirements in the first year, I speak to them in my second year.
So, for now, I am just looking at the classes that HES has to offer. If I do very well ( at least, that is what I’m hoping for), I sould have completed a total of 14 classes by the end of my second year. I want to make sure that these classes are top priority because they will serves as the foundation towards obtaining Special Student Status with the Sociology Department.
Thus, everthing will come down to how well I will do with my Expository Writing class at the Harvard Summer School. If I can’t pass the class with a “B” or better, I can say goodbye to HES as a ALB candidate.
Correction:
Richard,
You might be right about that. I would have to speak to the director of the Sociology Department to see if I could do the concentraction through some sort of an arrangement. However, I won’t contact the department until I have completed the first 32 credits with a B+. If I am able to meet the requirements in the first year, I will then speak to them in my second year.
So, for now, I am just looking at the classes that HES has to offer. If I do very well ( at least, that is what I’m hoping for), I should be able to complete a total of 14 classes by the end of my second year. I want to make sure that these classes serve as the foundation towards obtaining Special Student Status with the Sociology Department.
Thus, everything will come down to how well I will do with my Expository Writing class at the Harvard Summer School. If I can’t pass the class with a “B” or better, I can say goodbye to HES as a ALB candidate.
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