Course Preview Period

There are many tools and resources to assist you in determining whether a course will be a best fit for you this academic term.

• Individual course syllabi: A course’s syllabus often provides the most detailed description and overview of the course. Access course syllabi through individual course Canvas websites or on Syllabus Explorer.
• Canvas: Canvas is the platform for FAS course websites. You may view syllabi, assignments, announcements, and messages for courses. Access to course Canvas sites is available through the course descriptions on my.harvard. Additionally, when you place courses in your Crimson Cart on my.harvard, you will receive announcements posted via Canvas sites.
• my.harvard Course Search: Use my.harvard to browse courses, create a Favorites list, and enroll in courses, including those that are available for cross-registration at other Harvard schools and MIT. Discover FAS courses on innovative or timely topics through the “Have you Considered?” section, or access the PDF version of the FAS course offerings (both available on my.harvard. Visit the IT Help Center to learn more about how to use the course search and tips for narrowing your course search on my.harvard.
• Academic Advising Report (AAR): The Academic Advising Report is a tool that aggregates all the Harvard College requirements in one place to facilitate transparency in advising, course selection, and report on individual student progress towards degree. The AAR is accessible through my.harvard.
• Q Evaluations and Q Guide: The Q guide provides important student feedback about courses and faculty, and can be used as a helpful resource when selecting courses. The Q guide aggregates student-collected data such as average hours of workload per week, student comments about the course, and evaluations of the teaching staff. Use the Course Selection Tool to browse past course evaluations and view individual Q scores for classes you are interested in. Course descriptions on my.harvard also link to past Q evaluations.
• Curricle, developed by the metaLAB (at) Harvard, enables users to explore the Harvard curriculum through engaging visualizations and plan a tentative schedule before completing registration through my.harvard.
• Syllabus Explorer: Syllabus Explorer is a dynamic web application that gives students at participating Harvard Schools the ability to search for, explore, and download syllabi.
• Your Personal Advising Network (instructors, advisers, Advising Programs Office, Peer Advising Fellows, Tutors, and Faculty or Resident Deans): There are many individuals and advisers who are ready and willing to support you in the process of finding and enrolling in courses. We encourage you to reach out to these individuals as needed to find answers to your questions or concerns.

For additional resources and more information about the tools above, visit the Registrar’s Office page on Course Registration and Preview Period or the Choosing Courses page on the Advising Programs Office website.

Departments and individual courses may have synchronous events in addition to all of the resources on Canvas pages and departmental websites. Courses may advertise Preview Period events through their Canvas sites, department websites, and course descriptions on my.harvard.

You can also contact the course instructor or department website for questions about individual courses or any Course Preview offerings.
 

We encourage you to take advantage of the Course Preview Period to review Canvas sites and syllabi, speak with your academic adviser, and attend events. Plan your Course Preview Period so that you can not only explore the courses you are interested in, but also be prepared to enroll in courses by the course registration deadline.

Note that not all courses will host synchronous preview events. Many courses may provide asynchronous information like recorded events or course materials. You may find that some synchronous course events occur at the same time, or within the same day. If you are finding it difficult to attend a course meeting or have a conflict, you may reach out to individual course instructors, who will likely have ideas for how you can learn more about their courses.

There are many considerations when creating a course schedule, such as concentration, General Education, or divisional requirements, options to take courses such as Freshman Seminars, and balancing academic workload and different types of assignments. We encourage students to use the Harvard College Student Handbook when determining course schedules and planning the fulfillment of academic requirements. The Office of Undergraduate Education’s web page provides a great visual on the Harvard College Curriculum.

As part of your planning, consider that many courses will require lab or discussion sections in addition to scheduled course meeting times. To ensure you can meet all requirements for a course and attend all necessary components, consider how you might schedule labs or discussion sections, and how many courses with labs or discussion sections it may be reasonable to take during one term.

onsider how much time will be required for homework outside of each course, the types of assignments for a course, and a course’s in-class hours, including lab sections or discussions. Connect with your first-year, sophomore, or concentration adviser in order to determine a class schedule that is manageable in terms of workload and balances both time, necessary assignments, and academic intensity. Plan to spread out your requirements over your remaining academic terms at Harvard College in order to balance your workload. Academic Coaches and workshops offered at the Academic Resource Center can help with time management, organization, managing academic anxiety, and more.

For additional questions to consider when choosing courses, visit Advising Programs Office (APO), or watch the APO webinar on Building Your Advising Network and Choosing Courses. For more information about requirements and the Harvard College Curriculum, visit:

• Office of Undergraduate Education
• Harvard College website
• Harvard College Student Handbook
• Harvard College Curriculum (PDF)