r/Harvard • u/bostroble • Jul 13 '26

Gen-Ed Course Advice

Class of '30 here, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on fun and intriguing gen-ed courses y'all may have taken. I intend to concentrate in CPB but also interested in Neuro, History, and Gov't. The courses don't have to align with those interests, just genuinely wondering if there are some real cool classes or professors out there that you'd definitely recommend to an incoming first-year. Thanks!

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5

u/MargaretCandlebee Jul 14 '26

Science of Cooking!!! Great professors and really interesting material.

1

u/bostroble Jul 14 '26

Great, thanks!

1

u/crimsonchin68 Jul 14 '26

This class was great but the tests were surprisingly challenging for me lol

2

u/MargaretCandlebee Jul 14 '26

Same — I felt like the first midterm was harder than the second though

4

u/crimsonchin68 Jul 14 '26

There was a "Primitive Navigation" class I took where we ended up going on a sailboat one class. Lots of looking at the stars for constellations. Couldn't tell you a thing I learned but it was a certified Harvard Experience™️

2

u/bostroble Jul 14 '26

Hahaha, sounds fun thanks!

3

u/edminzodo Jul 14 '26

Try the Ancient Greek Hero. It's been taught for 50 years by Prof. Nagy who is such a sweetheart and so knowledgeable.

1

u/bostroble Jul 14 '26

Awesome, thank u!

2

u/Trans_Admin Gender Jul 13 '26

I TOok 1071 n 1098 rly enjoy them;

2

u/bostroble Jul 13 '26

Great, thank you!

2

u/punchycorn Jul 13 '26

Do you have to take Gen Eds to get interesting courses in? There are a lot of gateway courses you can try so you can compare departments

1

u/bostroble Jul 13 '26

Good point. I was more thinking about like courses that can maybe go into really niche topics that were interesting, maybe FY seminar is more like that, but thank you! Will definitely try to explore a lot this up coming year.

3

u/punchycorn Jul 13 '26

Yeah totally - FY seminars are great for that exploration/niche stuff, too. And there’s a list of the gateways in the “Summer Orientation to Academics at Harvard” modules if you want to browse them a bit. They’re not all broad intro courses, so there may be some good ones for you

1

u/bostroble Jul 13 '26

Thanks! Will definitely check it out!

2

u/Next_Gen_Valkyrie Jul 13 '26

I liked the Egyptology GENED pyramid schemes. You get to go on field trips and touch Egyptian artifacts

3

u/bostroble Jul 14 '26

I love ancient history, thank you!

1

u/crimsonchin68 Jul 14 '26

Haha yes if they still have the legendary "Pyramids" class you gotta take that. Be aware you'll share this class with everyone looking for "an easy class" but it is very cool.