一直以来，哈佛大学要求在校本科生除了自己的主修专业课程之外，还要修习一系列课程，以确保他们受到的本科教育涵盖了宽泛的研究课题和研究方法。哈佛大学新的通识教育项目(general education program)大胆地致力于将学生在课堂上学到的知识与校园围墙外的生活，甚至毕业后的生活联系起来。通识教育课程的内容和其他的课程内容具有相连性，但教学方式并不一样。通识教育课程的目的不是将学生带入一门学科，而是将一门学科融入学生的生活。通识教育项目把艺术和科学与学生们面临的21世纪的世界以及毕业后的生活联系起来，让学生了解哈佛大学所有的研究课题和研究技巧。
通识教育课程由本科生主修专业课程之外的一系列课程组成，从而取代了过去30多年来一直实行的核心课程体系(core system)。目前，有很多的通识教育课是由经过较大修改的核心课程转化而来，其他诸如“生命的定义，从夸克(quark)到意识”这类课程就是全新的了。这些新课程将课堂学习和其更广泛的含义联系起来，不仅是跨学科的，还超越了课堂本身。其中有些课程还是由不同系别的教授联合授课的。
在新的课程体系中，学生必须在八大课程类别中各选择一门课程。这种新的体系鼓励教授们以校外教学、动手实验、客座演讲和其他新颖模式进行大胆创新，当然也同样鼓励学生去大胆创新。
Traditionally, the undergraduates of Harvard University are required to study their major subjects as well as a series of other courses in order to ensure their undergraduate education covers extensive research themes and methods. The general education program at Harvard University bravely aims at combining the knowledge the students learn in classes with the life outside campus or even the life after graduation. The content of the general education program is of connection with other subjects, but the teaching method is different. The target of general education program is not to immerse a student into certain subject, but to introduce that subject into the life of that student. The general education program links art and science together with the 21th century facing the student and the life after the graduation, making students familiar with all the research themes and methods.
The general education program consists of a wide range of courses besides the major subjects for the undergraduates, and supercedes the core system that has been practiced for the past three decades. At present, many courses under the general education program derive from major core courses, and some other subjects such as The Definition of Life, From Quark to Consciousness are completely new. These courses combine the class learning with wide implication, which are not only inter-discipline, but also beyond class learning itself, and some of which are taught by different professors from different disciplines.
Under the new curriculum system, students will have to choose one course from each of the eight course categories. The new system encourages professors to be bold with out-of-school teaching, hands-on experiments, guest speakers and other innovative models, as well as students.
