Philosophy

Program Overview

Philosophy studies humanity's fundamental questions (how to live, what society to strive for, the limits of knowledge, truth, justice and beauty) systematically and rigorously, through careful argument. How competitive: for the Class of 2029, which entered in fall 2025, Harvard admitted 4.2% of its 47,893 applicants; it publishes no separate figure for international applicants. It sets no IB minimum and no subject requirement, and it requires the SAT or ACT: IB results, final or predicted, count in their place only in exceptional cases. Students apply to Harvard College and choose a concentration, Harvard's name for a major, from 50 fields.