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Seminars with Open Seats
SPRING TERM: you may add, switch, drop Spring Term seminars during
Spring Term Course Registration Period in November and also during Add/Drop Period in January.
Determine below in the catalog if there is an available seat in your preferred seminar and email the instructor. Be sure to include a reason why you with to take the First-Year Seminar. Instructors will look for this and it shows your enthusiasm.
PLEASE CHECK BACK: If you don’t see an opening in the seminar you are interested in, more seminars with open seats will become available as students alter their courses in the Crimson Carts.
- After you have emailed the instructor, and if they accept you into their seminar:
- Forward the email to firstyearseminarprogram@fas.harvard.edu.
- Add the seminar to your Crimson Cart in My.Harvard.
- Send a petition through My.Harvard to the faculty instructor to get official acceptance to enroll through the system.
- Use the “Filter by Semester” drop-down to show Spring Term 2025 seminars with open seats.
- More seminars with open seats will become available as students alter their courses in the Crimson Carts.
Student Advice
Former seminar student discusses how to choose a seminar with content and in-depth discussions in seminars.
A student-athlete discusses his experience taking a First-Year Seminar.
Information from the Director
Watch this recording of the Informational Webinar with Director of the First-Year Seminar Program, Ofrit Liviatan, to learn about the seminar application process, how to rank seminars, and the new post-seminar module opportunity being offered in 2025-2026.
Applying for a Seminar Through Our Application System
First-Year students will be notified of their Seminar placement for Fall and Spring Seminars via email on Monday, August 11.
Instructions and Information
First-year Seminars are your ideal introduction to the unique opportunities awaiting you at Harvard. Our Seminars are only available for you during your first year. You are eligible to enroll in two First-Year Seminars, one in each term.
Over the summer, you can secure your Fall Seminar, your Spring Seminar, or both your Fall and Spring Seminars. Because demand for a specific Seminar often exceeds its number of seats, we recommend that you submit at least six applications for Fall Seminars and three applications for Spring Seminars to help us match your top choices against your top offers.
You may apply for as many seminars as you’d like, and rank them in order of preference until the deadline. Faculty will review applications and rank their choices as well, and then we run an algorithm to match students with seminars. You will be notified of your seminar/s placement by email. We will then post all Seminars that still have openings on our website, and you can reach out directly to the faculty member with short explanation of why you wish to take the seminar.
Specifics
- Our application system
The system will be accepting applications during the summer for both fall and spring term seminars. - Modify my personal data.
Please complete this section accurately to help us keep in touch with you about your applications. - Browse / Search for seminars to add.
Here you may sort seminar offerings by number or title, or, you may search by schedule (e.g. “Tuesday”) or by keyword (e.g. “science” or “art”).
Applications
Once you’ve decided to apply to a particular Seminar, hit the “apply” button on the seminar description page in order to reach the section of the application asking you for a brief statement of interest. These statements are important because faculty learn from them about your interest in the Seminar. All seminars require that you complete one short brief statement; some also require that you respond to an additional question. Please read the instructions carefully, and note that some Seminars require mandatory field trips that will take place outside of regular meeting hours.
Rank / Manage Current Applications
The algorithm will try to place you in the order of your preference, so please think carefully about your rankings. By default, your first Seminar choice is the one to which you apply first, and your subsequent choices are those to which you apply in that sequence. We encourage 6 applications for Fall Seminars and 3 for Spring Seminars in order to increase your chances of getting a seat in one of your top-choice seminars. You may reorder, edit, add, or delete applications until the deadline. All applications received by this deadline will be treated equally.
Dates & Deadlines 2025-2026
All listed times are Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Wed, October 22: Crimson Carts open for Spring 2026 registration
Wed, November 5–Wed, November 19: Spring Term Registration for Courses
Mon, January 12–Mon, February 2: Add/Drop Period for Spring Term
Questions?
We are glad to help in any way, so please let us know if you have questions at any time. You may email us at firstyearseminarprogram@fas.harvard.edu or call us at (617) 495-1523.
We look forward to hearing from you!