Harvard Summer School

  United States

Cambridge

Term: Summer 
Dates: June 22-August 7

Description: A rewarding Ivy League experience awaits students at Harvard Summer School. With nearly 300 day and evening courses, the Summer School offers numerous avenues for study and growth at America's oldest and most prestigious university.

Courses.
Courses run in a traditional eight-week session, and there are several online options. Many courses, such as foreign languages and Summer Seminars, are modeled after the traditional Harvard College curriculum and taught by distinguished Harvard faculty.

Secondary School Program.
This selective college-level program is for high school seniors, juniors, and sophomores.

Study Abroad Programs.
Choose from over 20 international programs, including ones in China, England, Italy, Argentina, and Brazil.

Institute for English Language Programs.
The institute offers English language instruction for non-native speakers.

Our Students.
People of all ages, from around the United States and more than 90 countries, live and learn together as they satisfy their intellectual curiosities, earn college credit, and explore Harvard University.

Highlights: The Harvard University campus is located on the Charles River in historic Cambridge, Massachusetts. The area surrounding campus, Harvard Square, is the ultimate college setting, with bookstores and coffeehouses, restaurants and street performers, historic landmarks, and music and clothing stores. Downtown Boston, just four subway stops from campus, has many more restaurants, museums, theaters, and dance clubs. Students who wish to venture farther from campus can explore New England's historic villages, beautiful mountains, lakes, and beaches by signing up for day trips scheduled by the Activities Office.

The green lawns and towering trees of Harvard Yard provide the ideal setting for study and reflection. Summer School courses meet in or near historic Harvard Yard, and the University's libraries, museums, and athletic facilities are within easy walking distance of residences and classrooms.

Harvard Summer School offers a rich array of free films, concerts, plays, dances, social gatherings, and lectures, as well as an extensive athletics program. Some activities for this year are described below.

In Boston
The city of Boston, across the Charles River, has many cultural, historic, and scientific institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Science, Boston Public Library, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Afro-American History, New England Aquarium, Freedom Trail, and Fenway Park. Dance, music, and theater also flourish there. The Boston Pops Orchestra gives free concerts each summer on the Esplanade along the Charles River.

Around Boston
The Summer School also sponsors trips to Cape Cod, Newport (Rhode Island) mansions, Maine beaches and shopping centers, and Tanglewood in western Massachusetts (the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra). Information and schedules for these trips are available at the Activities Fair, held on Sunday, June 24. Students may sign up for these activities at the fair or in the Activities Office weekdays throughout the summer session.

Athletics
Summer School students can participate in an extensive athletics program that includes intramural soccer, basketball, and volleyball, as well as a tennis tournament and swim meet. They also have free use of many University facilities, including swimming pools, basketball and volleyball courts, weight rooms, and playing fields for soccer, softball, and touch football. Students who are interested in sculling and have passed a 100-yard swimming test may use the facilities of Weld Boathouse, located on the Charles River. For a fee, students may arrange group and private lessons in swimming, sailing, rowing, and tennis.

Music and Theater
Students can enjoy a number of concerts and plays throughout the summer, including performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Industrial Theatre Shakespeare Troupe. Students may also participate in musical opportunities on campus as described below.

- The Harvard Summer School Chorus, under the direction of Jameson Marvin, director of choral activities at Harvard, is open to all Greater Boston community singers and Harvard Summer School students. The chorus performs choral masterworks.

- The Harvard Summer Pops Band, led by Harvard University Band Director Thomas G. Everett, is open without audition to wind and percussion players from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area.

- The Harvard Summer School Orchestra, under the direction of Judith Zuckerman, is open to musicians from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area. The orchestra is composed of approximately 60 players and performs works from the classical repertoire.

Students can enjoy other concerts and plays throughout the summer, including performances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Industrial Theatre Shakespeare Troupe.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

- Tuition (credit or noncredit):
4-credit course - $2,475
8-credit course - $4,950

- Health insurance: $165

- On-campus housing (room and board): $4,250

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to United States Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Harvard Summer School Study Abroad Programs's Mission Statement: The Harvard Summer School makes Harvards academic resourcesa distinguished faculty, well-equipped laboratories, fine museums, and a world-class university library available to men and women of many ages, backgrounds, and nationalities through an intensive summer session of liberal arts courses in Cambridge and overseas. Our international student body includes Harvard undergraduate and graduate students, visitors from other colleges and universities, highly qualified secondary school students, adult learners, and nonnative English speakers seeking to refine their language skills. Students take courses to challenge themselves academically, meet degree requirements, prepare for graduate school, gain college experience, advance their careers, and pursue personal enrichment. Students who study at Harvard Summer School may reside in a supportive residential environment, commute to campus, complete courses via distance education, or participate in one of the faculty-led programs based abroad. Many come to experience the extraordinary environment of Harvard College academics, resources, and residential life. Harvard Summer School serves the University community by providing faculty with teaching opportunities that allow them to experiment with new materials and teaching methods. Students from many Harvard schools take advantage of the breadth of summer course offerings to meet requirements for concentrations and degree programs, and to create more flexibility within their term-time academic program. Harvard graduate students from abroad can work on refining their English language skills, and Harvard College students take advantage of the summer session to expand their cultural, social, and intellectual horizons by studying abroad.