2024-2025 Course Information for First-Years Interested in Mind Brain Behavior

Mind Brain Behavior (MBB) academic programs consist of tracks embedded in existing concentrations or the independent secondary field. First-year students interested in MBB are advised to take Psychology 1, Introduction to Psychological Science, this year. It is offered both semesters.

Exceptions to students we recommend take Psychology 1 are students who expect to pursue the computer science or neuroscience tracks, or who might pursue the MBB secondary and have an AP score of 5. CS and neuro students will instead take a more advanced psychology course later in their studies. And students who have a Psych AP 5 may petition to take a more advanced psychology course instead; see Secondary Field Course Petitions | Mind Brain Behavior (harvard.edu) for details. Students do not need to submit petitions until they have declared their secondary field (in the sophomore year or later).

First-years might also consider a variety of General Education courses and Freshman Seminars that address topics in mind/brain/behavior. Although Freshman Seminars do not usually count for concentration or secondary field credit, and General Education courses may or may not count, they can still be a great way to explore your interests.

First-Year Seminars, Fall 2024 (application deadline: 11 a.m., Monday 19 August)
   25N, Finding connections: Perspectives on psychological development and mental illness
   26K, Transformative ideas in brain science: War, technology, and disease pioneered discovery
   49N, Measurements of the mind: The creation and critique of the psychological test
   51C, Science in the age of artificial intelligence
   71Y, Ritual and living the good life
   73C, Race science: A history

General Education Courses, Fall 2024
   1025, Happiness
   1056, Human nature
   1102, Making change when change is hard: The law, politics, and policy of social change
   1179, Psychotherapy and the modern self

First-Year Seminars, Spring 2025
   22T, Why we animals sing
   23K, Insights from narratives of illness
   23S, The Seven sins of memory
   24K, The surprising science of happiness
   24U, “How did I get here?” Appreciating “normal” child development
   51X, Changing Perspectives: The science of optics in the visual arts
   52U, Machine muse: The intersection of AI and human creation
   52Z, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Myths, media, and meaning
   63E, Religion, neuroscience, and the human mind
   73G, The emotions – How do they arise? How can (and should) we manage them?

General Education Courses, Spring 2025
   1024, Pride and prejudice and p-values: Scientific critical thinking
   1038, Sleep
   1046, Evolving morality: From primordial soup to superintelligent machines
   1064, Brains, identity, and moral agency
   1188, Rise of the machines? Understanding and using generative AI