Curriculum

Whether you’re interested in a concentration or secondary field, you’ll find a lot of flexibility in the Earth and Planetary Sciences curriculum. Building on a foundation in core sciences, you can start taking upper-level EPS courses as early as your first year.

All of our concentrators — primary, double, or joint-allied — work with the Academic Programs Manager and a faculty advisor to develop an individual thematic plan of study. During your first year, you will meet to choose coursework that best fits your background and research interests.

The EPS secondary field is an excellent complement to other scientific studies at Harvard. It will provide you with a strong foundation in one or more subfields of Earth sciences, including

All information about course requirements can be found in the Green Book.

Department Tutorials

Each year, we host six department tutorials, during which EPS faculty speak informally about their research. These events will deepen your understanding of the field and inspire your own research interests. EPS concentrators are required to attend a minimum of five tutorials prior to graduation.

2024-2025 Department Tutorials:

  • October 2
  • November 6
  • December 4
  • February 5
  • March 5
  • April 2

Senior Thesis

A senior thesis is a chance for you to explore your own research interests in depth. This is a requirement for joint concentrators, and optional for primary and double concentrators.

For primary concentrators, a thesis is required for departmental (English) honors. If you are interested in completing a thesis, you should begin discussions with potential thesis advisors no later than the end of junior year.

Course Requirements

All primary, double, and joint-concentrators complete:

  • Two EPS foundational courses
  • Two math courses
  • One data analysis, statistics, and computation course
  • One physics course
  • One chemistry course
  • One higher-level physics or chemistry course

If you’re interested in a primary or double concentration, you need to complete 14 courses, including:

If you’re interested in a joint-allied concentration, you need to complete 11 courses, including:

  • A minimum of five department tutorials
  • A minimum of five EPS courses
  • A senior thesis

If you’re interested in a secondary field, you need to complete five EPS courses, including:

  • Two EPS foundational courses
  • Three upper-level EPS courses

General and Breadth Distinctions

General Department Offerings

Course NumberTitle
EPS 10A Brief History of the Earth
EPS 91Supervised Reading and Research
EPS 99Senior Thesis Tutorial
EPS 100The Missing Matlab Course: A Practical Introduction to Programming and Data Analysis
EPS/ESE 102Data Analysis and Statistical Inference in the Earth and Environmental Sciences
EPS/ESE 166State-of-the-Art Harvard Climate Observatory and Associated Instrumentation

General Education Offerings

Course NumberTitle
GENED 1018How to Build a Habitable Planet
GENED 1085Energy Resources and the Environment
GENED 1094Confronting Climate Change: A Foundation in Science, Technology, and Policy
GENED 1098Natural Disasters
GENED 1137The Challenge of Human-Induced Climate Change: Transitioning to a Post-Fossil Fuel Future
GENED 1158Water and the Environment
GENED 1167Climate Crossroads

First-Year Seminar Offerings

Course NumberTitle
SCI 5An Introduction to Computation for Contemporary Science
FRSENR 22iThe Science of Sailing
FRSEMR 23lEarth Science Goes to the Movies: Math and Physics of Natural (?) Disasters
FRSEMR 50rWhat Do You See in the Night Sky?
FRSEMR 51cScience in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
FRSEMR 52lLife and Death Lessons from the Fossil Record
FRSEMR 52qRoots & Routes: The Biogeochemistry of Food, From Soil to Plate

Course NumberTitle
EPS/ESE 6Introduction to Environmental Science and Engineering
EPS/ESE 50The Fluid Earth: Oceans, Atmosphere, Climate, and Environment
EPS 53Marine Geochemistry
EPS/ESE 101Global Warming Science 101
EPS/ES 112Thermodynamics
EPS/ESE 129Climate and Atmospheric Physics Laboratory
EPS/ESE 131Introduction to Physical Oceanography and Climate
EPS/ESE 132Introduction to Meteorology and Climate
EPS/ESE 133Atmospheric Chemistry
EPS 134Climate Change Debates: The Reading Course
EPS/ESE 138Mysteries of Climate Dynamics
EPS 139Paleoclimate as Prologue
EPS/ESE 161Applied Environmental Toxicology
EPS/ESE 162Hydrology
EPS/ESE 164Environmental Chemistry
EPS 168Human Environmental Data Science: Agriculture, Conflict, and Health
EPS/ESE 169Seminar on Global Pollution
EPS 174Field Experiences in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Course NumberTitle
EPS 53Marine Geochemistry
EPS/OEB 56The History and Evolution of Life on Earth
EPS 110Introduction to Planetary Materials and Earth Resources
EPS 139/230Paleoclimate as Prologue
EPS 140/243Geochemical and Cosmochemical Thermodynamics
EPS 141/240Isotope and Trace Element Geochemistry and Geochronology
EPS/OEB 150Exceptional Paleobiological Insights into Animal Evolution
EPS 174Field Experiences in Earth and Planetary Sciences
EPS 182Stratigraphy and Sedimentology
EPS 187/287Biogeochemistry

Course NumberTitle
EPS 52Global Geophysics
EPS 54Minerals and Rocks of the Earth and Planets
EPS 55Earthquakes and Tectonics
EPS/ESE 109Earth Resources and the Environment
EPS 110Introduction to Planetary Materials and Earth Resources
EPS 120/220Introduction to Planetary Sciences
EPS 121Geology and Evolution of Planetary Crusts
EPS 140/243Geochemical and Cosmochemical Thermodynamics
EPS 141/240Isotope and Trace Element Geochemistry and Geochronology
EPS 145/245Introduction to Igneous Petrology and Petrogenesis
EPS 146/247Ocean Ridges and the Earth System
EPS/ESE 160Space Science and Engineering: Theory and Applications
EPS/ESE 162Hydrology
EPS 165/265Introduction to Seismology
EPS 171Structural Geology and Tectonics
EPS 174Field Experiences in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Planning Tools

You can track your course requirements using the worksheets on the Undergraduate Forms page. If you have any questions, please reach out to Campbell Halligan or the Head Tutors.