Concurrent Master's Program

How does the Concurrent Master's program work?

Undergraduates who wish to apply for this degree must file an application for the graduate program in Physics just as any other student files for graduate work at Harvard (which translates to submitting the application in December of the junior year through the PhD application portal). This application for the concurrent master's requires only two letters of recommendation rather than the three for the PhD. The GRE is not required. The Physics Master's program is quite demanding, and only a few students do it each year. 


Rules for the AM in Physics:

  1. 36 courses total (for a total of 144 credits) must be taken, as the College declares.

  2. The physics AM requires a total of 8 courses with the following rules:

    1. Physics 191 or 247 must be taken, either for the AB or the AM degree.

    2. Up to two of the eight courses can be 100-level.

    3. At least five of the courses must be in Physics with the following exceptions:

      1. If the AB concentration is ChemPhys, then at least six of the AM courses must be physics.

      2. If the AB concentration is something other than Physics or ChemPhys, then at least seven of the AM courses must be physics.

    4. All eight courses for the AM must be taken for a letter grade (courses taken P/F will not count)

  3. The AM program in physics is strict, and exceptions to these rules are rare.


Double counting and course allocation rules:

  1. If a student does a Physics AM, then at most two courses can double count for the student’s AB concentration requirements. (But four courses can double count for the overall AB requirements, to yield a total of 32 courses for the College AB.) 

  2. If a student does an AM in another field, then the double counting for concentration and AM is determined by the AM department.


Contact Us

If you are interested in discussing the program further, please contact the Undergraduate Program advisors.