Harvard University courses

This course focuses on transmission and molecular genetics. Topics include chromosome structure and replication, genetic linkage and mapping, regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, epigenetics, genetic mutation, genetics of cancer, and…

This course is an integrated introduction to the structure of macromolecules and a biochemical approach to protein function. The organization of macromolecules is addressed through a discussion of their hierarchical structure and a study of their assembly…

This course aims to introduce students to a practical, hands-on approach to effective public speaking. Our focus is on developing a personal style of speaking that is confident, spontaneous, energetic, and vocally and physically expressive. Through exercises,…

This course examines the role of corporate responsibility as a strategy to improve products, profits, and brand equity. The idea of corporations as simply wealth-creating organizations with no obligations to the environment is no longer acceptable.…

Today's global economic landscape is fraught with shifting international geo-economic realms. The potentials of booming economies, fast-developing consumer markets, and the rising middle class represent the characteristics of many emerging market economies.…

Today's leaders must convey their messages concisely, confidently, and memorably. This course is for students who want to strengthen their public speaking and writing skills, and develop their authentic voices as professionals. We explore speechwriting,…

The course asks how literature, theater, and film have captured the spirit of capitalism—fueling its fantasies, contemplating its effects, and chronicling its crises. More than just an economic system, capitalism created new habits of life and mind; it also…

This course focuses on digital technologies as tools for achieving business goals. A digital enterprise is defined as an organization whose business model and operating platform are driven by information technology (IT). Through readings and case studies, we…

The ability of the film editor to shape a story is one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of the filmmaking process. This course serves as an introduction to the art of video post-production. We explore the theory and practice of various editing styles…

This course develops the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully market sustainable products and services. At the end of the course students are able to understand the key elements of developing a successful marketing strategy and branding approach for…

This course examines both the policy decisions and social justice issues that drive human actions and responses to environmental challenges. We begin by exploring three foundational topics: environmental governance, the global commons, and natural resource…

Museums have managed large amounts of data for over forty years, often relying on disparate systems within siloed departments. This fragmentation makes it challenging to identify the natural connections that exist in managing data about people, objects, and…

In this course, students learn why governments step in when markets fall short and how those choices affect our everyday lives. We dive into the details of taxes, spending, and the major programs that shape the US economy, from Social Security to health care.…

This beginning French course provides an introduction to French with emphasis on interpersonal communication and the interpretation and production of language in written and oral forms. Students engage in interactive communicative activities that provide rich…

Even as new resistance has emerged to the internationalist agenda, globalization and the flattening of the world mean that countries and individuals are intertwined like never before in history. Against this backdrop, standards of living in many countries…

This course is a one-semester (4-credit) introduction to organic chemistry, with an emphasis on structure and bonding, reaction mechanisms, and chemical reactivity. It covers all of the important functional groups and reactivity needed for applications in…

This course is an introduction to the study of psychopathology. It focuses on theoretical models of abnormal behavior as they relate to the definition, etiology, and treatment of mental disorders. Diagnostic classification, and behavioral and biological…

How do you become a leader? How do you maintain a successful claim to leadership? This course aims to answer these questions with lessons drawn from history, literature, politics, and business. The course is highly interactive, and students are expected to…

In this proseminar, students develop the skills necessary to produce graduate-level research on a topic relevant to a humanities-related field. The course is thematically grounded in environmental literature and invites students to examine how literary,…

To succeed in the future, managers must develop the resources and capabilities needed to gain and sustain advantage in competitive markets—traditional and emerging. The way in which organizations attempt to develop such competitive advantage constitutes the…

In this course we make audio and video art that examines the interplay between music and technology since the dawn of sound reproduction and especially in the digital age. Embracing sonic technologies ourselves, we use the Ableton Live (or other digital audio…

This course leverages problem-solving skills to explore the central principles of molecular and cellular biology, with a focus on structure function relationships, energy, metabolism, and genetics. The emphasis is on cells as systems for the capture and…

This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, and international relations. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, and organizing and…

This course helps students develop critical thinking, scholarly writing skills, and research abilities while developing their individual thesis proposals. Class meetings feature lectures and discussions on different scientific approaches, group discussions,…

This course is designed to introduce students to basic concepts of epidemiology and biostatistics. Selected sections from textbooks and recent primary literature are used. Students learn how to critically read published epidemiological studies and understand…

This course reviews basic arithmetical procedures and their use in everyday mathematics. It also includes an introduction to basic statistics covering such topics as the interpretation of numerical data, graph reading, hypothesis testing, and simple linear…

This course is designed for students seeking preparation for EXPO E-25 , which is a course required for admission to the undergraduate program at the Harvard Extension School . Students review such basics of academic argument as thesis, claims, evidence, and…

This course introduces the important aspects of managing a business in a global environment. It addresses decision-making in connection with communications, marketing, human relations, managing people, corporate social responsibility, and managerial ethics,…

This course examines emerging countries in the global economy. Globalization offers these countries the opportunity for economic development. By participating in the international marketplace, emerging countries increase their chances of raising wages and…

This course helps students develop an academically strong capstone proposal. It is mandatory for candidates in the Harvard Extension School Master of Liberal Arts, data science , who wish to register for CSCI E-599a in the upcoming fall term. It prepares…

The study of decision-making has a long tradition, particularly in economics, where the choices of economic agents have been analyzed with the aid of a number of methodologies and theoretical models. Many academic researchers and much empirical evidence show…

Do you write poems? Do you read them? Do you want to do those things? If so, this course is for you. In this course, students write, with help, and we read, together, as a workshop, the poems students want to write: they can try out very old forms (sonnets…

This course is a hands-on introduction to rapid prototyping, integrating physics, engineering, design, computer science, and art. Students learn to safely use software and hardware to fabricate programmable projects in a collaborative environment. Tools and…

This course is an introduction to computer science for students without prior programming experience. We explore problem-solving methods and algorithm development using the high-level programming language Python after a brief introduction to computational…

The scientific study of sleep is an area of research that is both highly diverse and among the most interdisciplinary and unifying of topics in psychology and neuroscience. In the past several decades, exciting new discoveries on the neurobiology of sleep…

Astrobiology is a new discipline born out of the convergence of all scientific inquiry currently under way on the question of the origin and development of life here on Earth, and potentially elsewhere in the universe. Recent advances in planetary…

This course explores the field of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, autonomous vehicles, and drones. We are at the forefront of a revolution that can fundamentally change a multitude of industries and transform our society, such as self-driving cars,…

This course helps business professionals improve their writing so they are better equipped to accomplish their educational and professional goals. Students consider how essential forms of business writing—memos, cover letters, proposals, presentations, and…

This is a practical design course on perspectives, tools, and methods for going from an idea for a product or service powered by a mobile and/or web application to an interactive design prototype ready for handoff to a development team. We begin with creating…

What is a just society? What do we owe one another as citizens? What is a good life? These questions, long debated by philosophers, arise with special urgency at a time of pandemic and racial reckoning. The course explores these questions by considering how…

This course looks at a variety of intersections between psychology and the American criminal legal system, with a particular eye on issues related to power and privilege. Students are introduced to the stages and processes of the criminal legal system and…

This course is designed for students who wish to build upon the skills developed in EXPO S-25 in order to produce more advanced research and writing in the social sciences. The course is also appropriate for students who wish to review their research and…

This course provides a comprehensive overview of fundamental project management concepts, tools, techniques, and behavioral characteristics necessary for successfully launching, leading, and delivering projects in organizations. Students explore the project…

We are entering a new era in which a fundamental understanding of developmental biology and regeneration plays a critical role. In this course, embryonic and adult stem cells in different organisms are examined in terms of their molecular, cellular, and…

This course introduces students to key concepts, actors, and events in the politics of China. The rise of China is one of the most important realities of the twenty-first century and has changed the world's economic, political, and military realities. Does…

This course examines critical issues in middle and high school mathematics education in the United States from a variety of perspectives. Questions addressed include: what are the goals of mathematics education at the middle and high school level? Why does…

Biochemical engineering harnesses living cells as miniature chemical reactors, enabling the production of designer molecules ranging from pharmaceuticals to plastics to biofuels. Live cells possess unique capabilities to manufacture complex chemical entities,…

Despite globalization, the nation-state is still a major actor in today's world. This course tries to understand why this is so by examining the role that nationalism plays in peoples' identities and the effects of globalization on nations and nation-states.…

Food and eating are not just necessary for life, they are the basis of culture. Through selection, ingestion, and digestion of food, we make the outside world a part of us. It is not surprising then that food and its associated practices have long nourished…

In this course, students work on real-world problems that do not have obvious solutions. As part of a project team, students are matched with a client that has a difficult challenge. The project team analyzes the challenge in the context of broader systems…