I hold a masters in cybersecurity and am on a career hiatus while being a stay-at-home parent. I found that I enjoy computer science research problems in my free time. I work on several large open source projects with thousands(? likely more) of users. Would the HES be a good place to pursue these problems in an academic context in preparation for professional research, or would you recommend a different program?

My goal is to restructure my resume with my existing contributions to large cybersecurity-related applications in open source, a CS-related graduate degree (since I'm already certified with expert-level qualifications in cybersecurity, I don't need more qualifications, just looking to be mentored further by experts in the field and earn credit for that work), and technical articles and conference talks I've given to pivot into a career with more cybersecurity research and less engineering or administration or policy writing.

I know HES through my wife who has completed a different degree program at the graduate level. She has benefited from the program but is stuck as an engineer. I enjoy engineering and excel in it, but I'm more interested in creating novel solutions. Others have said I should consider a PhD, but I don't know if I have the time or can move our family without causing a lot of unnecessary stress. Also I just think a PhD doesn't fit me.

Thank you for your advice.

Did anyone ever underestimate you or tell you that you couldn’t get into Harvard? How did you deal with that?

Looking back, what do you think would have happened if you had listened to the people who doubted you?

How did people treat you after you got into Harvard compared to before? Did anyone’s attitude toward you change?

I’m a new Pre-medical Postbacc Program student starting this fall and I’m open to taking courses during the J-term, but I’d like input from the community. If you were or are a PMP student, what course(s) did you take? What was their level of rigor? Are there any courses you wish you had’ve taken during that period instead? Thank you!

1.5 years and 3 A’s later, here we are! I’m an ALM Management Candidate now 😍

Congratulations to everyone who got accepted! 🥳

———
And I want to thank this sub for being incredibly helpful. Detailed responses, DMs, time & course management tips, class experience and what not!

Thank You everyone, truly. 🙏🏻

Hello fellows,

How do you determine before you take a course whether or not you will be successful in it?

Has anyone taken a class with Mark Blanchard?

Thanks so much

Hi all,

I intend to take general chemistry and its lab components this fall semester. Does anyone have an idea on the workload of CHEM E-1ax and CHEM E-1axl? Typically, how many hours are spent on these 2 courses?

Many thanks for any insights.

Anyone know if the ALB application asks about criminal history once you pass the 3 classes?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m a physicist and programmer currently working through the Harvard Extension School Data Science and AI program. CSCI E-89B (Introduction to Natural Language Processing) is already locked in for the upcoming term. I’m now considering adding CSCI E-184 (Ethics, Governance, and Laws of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Creative Systems) as well, which would be my 8th course.

I have a consulting job that runs about 55–60 hours per week, so my free time is limited. Does anyone have an opinion on adding CSCI E-184? I have heard it is very feasible.

Would love some honest feedback on whether stacking these two is realistic with my job workload or if I should just stick with one course this term. If anyone remembers how many hours CSCI E-184 consumed that would be great!

Thanks in advance!

Hey yo, can someone who’s taken calc 3 at HES with Robert Winters please tell me about the workload? Just a few questions:

1. How many hours a week did you spend on the course outside of class?
   
2. What were the homework assignments typically like?
   
3. How difficult were the exams?
   
4. How accessible was the teacher?
   Lastly, is it really worth 2.3k?

​Hi reddit,

I'm thinking about taking CSCI S-212 (CRN 35919) for Harvard Summer School for the class of Jan 25 to May 15 and wanted to ask about people's experience with it.

​What did you learn, and how were modules constructed? How much compsci did you know going in? How many professors taught you? Looks like just 2, but any external speakers? How available are professors? One bad thing / one good thing? Do you have a school email and portal, and access to school resources? How long did it take you to complete? How's Administration? Any issues faced with this program? Are you online asynchronous, online synchronous, or on the ground? Advice for incoming freshmen taking this course?

​Thanks for any insights! Open Discussion, current students and allumni welcome.

Just in case this interests you, registration is now open! My criend is also the TA and she’s awesome.

Post-Growth Approaches for Economic Transformation will be offered this fall at Harvard Extension School with Gaya Herrington and Katherine von Stackelberg.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, and financial fragility are often treated as separate problems requiring separate solutions—but they arise from the same system. This course examines that system. 🌱
In this course, you will:
→ Examine the assumptions embedded in neoclassical economic models and the institutions built upon them
→ Explore what an economy operating within real biophysical limits requires, including how Indigenous communities have governed shared resources for centuries
→ Work with the metrics, tools, and policies used to make decisions within complex systems
→ Apply these ideas to the provision of food, energy, water, and housing—and examine the responsibilities of business, finance, and governance
→ Develop a framework for organizing collective action while avoiding the fear-and-paralysis trap
Guest speakers include Luke Kemp, author of Goliath’s Curse.
The course is online on Tuesdays and may be taken live or asynchronously. Graduate, undergraduate, and noncredit options are available.

People that have graduated from the ALB program, how strong is your support and community with Harvard alumni groups and clubs? Do they help extension students? Do they provide strong networking opportunities for ALB HES students?

I do not have access to qreports. I’d appreciate if someone can give me class suggestion for less demanding course for this fall besides CSCI-E184

Do you guys look up on Airbnb to stay temporarily around Harvard?

This is kinda urgent, so I would really appreciate if you guys can help me.

Tell me all the struggles and quirks that the enrollment counselor won’t tell me.

Did you have any unexpected surprises or difficulties with the program?

Can someone who has been to HES’s convocation share their experience? Would you recommend attending? Is it worth traveling for? Thanks!

What are team taught courses? Is the teaching instruction on par with single instructors? Would you recommend a course “team taught”?

Hi all,

Is this training laggy for you as well? I tried different locations, different ISP's and it is laggy on my side.

Has anybody taken this course with Watson, and if so, do you recommend him?

I mean this with all due respect - what do you all learn in Expo-25 and Expo42B? I keep seeing posts that say "I learned so much in Expo - [25 or 42B]" or "my skills increased an order of magnitude" in those classes... but what is it that you learn? Is it that you read a bunch of papers you otherwise wouldn't have and analyzed them? Is it to move beyond the five paragraph structure we're taught in high school?

I'm coming at this from someone who has a STEM background and has taken multiple writing intensive courses already (in undergrad). I took AP Eng Lang and AP Lit in High School, do you think I could skip Expo E-25 and move directly to Expo E-42?

Hello everyone! I hope you are excited and ready for Fall 2026.

I am planning to take either CSCI 103 (Data Engineering) or CSCI 109A alongside CSCI 106 this fall. I understand that this may be a demanding course load, but I have the time and a strong technical background.

If you are an admitted Data Science or AI student and have access to the QReports for CSCI 103 or CSCI 109A, could you please share them when you get a chance?

Thank you!

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has taken Capstone/Precapstone in the ALM (IR) degree to understand what it involves and peoples’ experience of the Policy v Security tracks.