<p>How is the Core curriculum at Harvard like? Is it as tough as Columbia's or UChi's? Tougher?</p>
<p>from what i hear, i think that it sounds more like a "distributional requirement" thing, rather than a stringent set of classes that everyone needs to take...so no, it's definitely not as tough as that of Columbia or Chicago.</p>
<p>It is not as stringent as Columbia or Chicago. We have 11 different core areas, and based on your field of concentration, you are exempt from four. There are a variety of ways you can meet core requirements, especially with regards to the Foreign Cultures core, in which students can either receive a language citation or fulfill a secondary field (minor) in a "foreign" culture such as East Asian Studies or Indian Studies. Otherwise, you do have choice in each of the core areas (i.e., in the Social Analysis core area, one could take Introduction to Economics whereas others might take an Introduction to Linguistics class).</p>
<p>It's not a distribution requirement, which would mean students would be required to take a certain number of courses in broad-based subjects (Humanities, Science, etc.) that already exist within the school's departments. The Core Office is a department in and of itself.</p>
<p>There are 11 total areas that comprise the Core Curriculum right now: Historical Studies A and B, Science A and B, Quantitative Reasoning, Literature and Arts A, B and C, Foreign Cultures, Moral Reasoning, and Social Analysis. Core classes are specialized courses (i.e. not from within an already existing department, except in a few cases) designed for people who don't have prior knowledge of the subject being studied.</p>
<p>Everyone has to take a class in 7 out of the 11 areas, and are exempt from the 4 areas that are closest to their concentration so that they gain a broad base of knowledge from the Core. (That's the aim, anyway - it's debatable whether that's actually what happens.) So for example, as an English concentrator, I had to take Science A & B, Moral Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Historical Studies A, Literature & Arts B (focuses on music and visual art), and Social Analysis. </p>
<p>The Core is being replaced with a "General Education" system for upcoming classes, though I'm not sure how soon it'll be implemented. It seems like General Education is just the Core by another name though ... </p>
<p>Anyway I can't say whether it's tougher than Columbia's or Chicago's because I've never been to either of those schools, but it can certainly be difficult depending on the classes you take, not to mention the amount of space it takes up in your undergraduate courseload (almost 1/4).</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>