Harvard offers a wealth of opportunities for undergraduates who are interested in the life sciences. Five departments – Biological Anthropology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Psychology– collaborate to provide a vast array of courses and research experiences. All students, regardless of their future concentration, are encouraged to take the foundation courses Life Sciences 1a and 1b, which provide an interdisciplinary introduction to the life sciences. This foundation allows students to then pursue their more focused interests in any of eight life sciences concentrations, which span the range from the more physical to the more social ends of the intellectual spectrum.
The life sciences cluster consists of the following concentrations: Chemical and Physical Biology, Chemistry, Human Evolutionary Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Neurobiology, the Biological Anthropology track in Anthropology, and the Social and Cognitive Neurosciences track in Psychology. All of the life sciences concentrations emphasize research and encourage students to participate in original research in faculty laboratories. In addition to faculty mentors, a team of Life Sciences Concentration Advisors are available to assist students with questions about courses and concentration planning.
For more information about undergraduate education in the life sciences, please visit the Undergraduate Education site.