Curriculum
All of Haverford's departments offer courses of academic rigor as well as opportunities for students to pursue their scholarly interests and passions.
Take A Peek...
Watch and listen to Haverford Students discuss the Biology program's lab research and experience from Sophomore to Senior year.
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An Array of Excellent Options
Astronomy or Japanese?
Classical Archaeology or Physics?
Fine Arts or The Growth and Structure of Cities?
Choosing one of Haverford's 31 departmental majors is a challenging and exciting decision. We also offer 22 areas of concentration—academic programs linked to departmental majors.
Course Requirements
Haverford's unique curricular requirements ensure that our students are well-rounded, expansive thinkers.
- Students take courses in each of three major academic divisions: social sciences, humanities and natural sciences–for a variety of ideas, concepts, and intellectual approaches.
- Of the 32 courses required for graduation, at least 19 must be outside the major, including classes in at least two subjects in each division. One course must be quantitative.
- Students must either show proficiency in a language other than English or complete one year of language study.
All first-year students take a writing seminar, in which they analyze texts and craft arguments; topics reflect the faculty's expertise and passions.
Declaring a Major
Students declare a major by the end of sophomore year, when they begin a deep and detailed inquiry into one discipline that culminates in a comprehensive senior thesis.
Academic Departments
- Anthropology
- Archaeology - Classical & Near Eastern (BMC)
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Classics
- Computer Science
- East Asian Studies (Bi-Co)
- Economics
- English
- Fine Arts
- French
- Geology (BMC)
- German (Bi-Co)
- Growth & Structure of Cities (BMC)
- History
- History of Art (BMC)
- Italian (BMC)
- Linguistics (Tri-Co)
- Mathematics & Statistics
- Music
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Religion
- Russian (BMC)
- Sociology
- Spanish
Programs
- 3/2 Engineering
- 4+1 Engineering
- Africana & African Studies
- Biochemistry & Biophysics
- Chinese (Bi-Co)
- Comparative Literature (Bi-Co)
- Creative Writing
- Dance (BMC)
- Education (Bi-Co)
- Environmental Studies (Tri-Co)
- Gender & Sexuality Studies (Bi-Co)
- Hebrew & Judaic Studies (Bi-Co)
- Hispanic & Hispanic American Studies (BMC)
- Independent College Programs
- Interdisciplinary Science Scholars
- International Economic Relations (BMC)
- Japanese (Bi-Co)
- Latin American & Iberian Studies
- Mathematical Economics
- Middle East & Islamic Studies
- Neuroscience
- Peace, Justice, & Human Rights
- Romance Languages (Bi-Co)
- Scientific Computing
- Theater (Bi-Co)
- Writing Program