Starting in your First Year, you'll work closely with a team of dedicated advisors who will assist you in transitioning to college life and navigating Harvard’s academic curriculum. The team is comprised of:
- Proctors
- First-Year Advisors
- Peer-Advising Fellows
Advisors in academic departments can also provide subject specific tutoring and guidance as you choose your concentration, which you'll declare in the fall of sophomore year.
The Proctor is a Harvard administrator or graduate student who lives in your Harvard Yard Entryway and acts as your personal resource for both academic and personal support.
Your First-Year Advisor will assist you with many aspects of your academic experience, such as choosing courses, meeting your degree requirements, considering concentration options, or planning for the summer.
The First-Year Advisor works intimately with the Advising Programs Office (APO) to help you select classes and track your progress toward your Concentration selection which takes place the fall of your sophomore year.
Your Peer Advising Fellow (PAF) is a Harvard sophomore, junior, or senior who has been specially trained to offer assistance throughout your first year. They offer useful guidance on how to balance curricular and extracurricular choices including connection with the Academic Resource Center for tutoring support.
If you prefer a more traditional model of tutoring, the brand new Academic Resource Center is located right in Harvard Square. At the ARC you are able to reserve times for 1-on-1 tutoring or subject specific group tutoring sessions in designated classrooms.
Harvard students move into the House system starting their sophomore year where they are immersed into a residential experience with abundant academic support. Their House support team consists of:
-Resident Tutors
- Academic Coordinator
-Concentration Advisor
- Resident Dean
This comprehensive support system allows you to have intimate academic tutoring and support living within your House for your entire Sophomore-Senior residential experience.
Every upperclassmen House has its own team of academic advisors called Resident Tutors. Resident Tutors are hired for their expertise in certain academic or professional areas, and provide academic advising to students right in their Residential House. They are often PhD Candidates in their specific field of study at Harvard.
Click This Link to check out the multitude of tutors available in Dunster House, an example of just one of our twelve Houses. Regardless of your concentration, there are tutors living in your House to help you.
Each House also has an Academic Coordinator. Your Academic Coordinator assists you with all administrative details related to your academic lives, including course registration, pass/fail forms, independent study, advanced standing, letters of recommendation, Commencement, Ad Board petitions (for extensions, leaves of absence, late add/drop, makeup exams, etc.), and graduate school applications.
Your Academic Coordinator is dedicated to your academic administrative requirements, and is a fantastic resource to help you with the logistics of your academic experience. Click This Link to learn about the Academic Coordinator in Eliot House as an example.
Concentration advisors guide you through your field of study through all three phases of your Concentration: introductory courses, advanced work, and when applicable, a final project or thesis in your senior year.
Every Concentration takes a different approach to assigning advisors. Once you select a Concentration, your department will assign a primary academic advisor according to their approach.
Click This Link to learn about the Psychology Department advisors as an example.
Each House is also equipped with a Resident Dean. Your Resident Dean is the primary academic officer of your House and helps you navigate your path through Harvard. They are entrusted to help you achieve academic success, foster your personal growth and wellbeing, and connect you to important resources on campus. If you have any concerns or questions, personal issues that are impacting your experience, or any house-related issue, this is who you go to.
Click This Link to learn about the Resident Dean of Lowell House as an example.
The Writing Center is a place for Harvard undergraduates to get help with any aspect of their writing, from specific assignments to general writing skills. In addition to editing papers, you can go to the Writing Center with ideas, notes, or a draft and they help you to your finished product.
The Math Question Center (MQC) is a community where students come together to work on their problem sets (or PSets). The center is staffed by undergraduate course assistants (CAs) who are there to help you productively approach your PSets. The goal of the MQC is for you to not only complete your homework correctly, but also synthesize the main ideas from the PSets so you can apply them more broadly.