This is an archive. See the current website at www.summer.harvard.edu.
This page contains content from the Summer School 2009. For current information, visit the Harvard Summer School website at www.summer.harvard.edu.
Course prerequisites and required placement tests are listed in course descriptions. In some courses, instructors give in-class assignments at the first meeting to confirm that students have met course prerequisites and are proficient in English language. Based on the results of these assignments, students may be required to move into courses that are more appropriate for their skill level and prior education. See Student Responsibilities for more information.
All courses except those offered by the Institute for English Language Programs (IEL) require English language proficiency. If your primary language is not English, you must meet this requirement to remain registered for general program courses. Meeting the Summer School proficiency requirement does not imply the requirement has been met for other Harvard schools or programs.
If you are applying to the Secondary School Program, you must meet the requirement to qualify for admission.
If you request an I-20 to attend the Summer School, you must meet the requirement before an I-20 can be issued and by Thursday, April 30, at the latest.
All other students must meet the requirement by Tuesday, May 26.
You will be dropped from your courses if you do not meet the English proficiency requirement by the appropriate deadline.
To meet this requirement you must earn the minimum score on one of the following tests:
Earn one of the following scores on this test. You must have your scores sent directly from the Educational Testing Service to the Harvard Summer School Registrar’s Office, institution code 8578:
You must earn a minimum score of band 7.0.
Local students: If you live in the Boston area but cannot provide results from the above tests, you must meet the requirement by earning a score of 70 or higher on the Harvard University English language placement test on Friday, May 1; Tuesday, May 26; or Thursday, June 11. If you have earned a passing score on the placement test in a prior term, you have met the requirement and do not need to take the test again.
If you are not local and cannot take the TOEFL or IELTS, you may request consideration of alternate proof of proficiency, as follows:
If you have taken the Institutional TOEFL, the University of Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), or the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE), you may submit official score reports for these tests.
The above alternatives are considered on a case-by-case basis until the English proficiency requirement deadline that applies to you. Submission of the above materials is no guarantee that the English proficiency requirement will be met.
Secondary School Program (SSP) applicants submit their materials to the SSP office. All other students must register for the general courses they wish to take and submit their materials so they are received in the Registrar’s Office by the following dates:
Documents may be faxed to (617) 496-4181; mailed to Harvard Summer School Registrar’s Office, 51 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138; or scanned and e-mailed to proficiency@dcemail.harvard.edu. Please allow two to three weeks for your documents to be reviewed. You may check your English proficiency status by logging into online services and selecting “Student Information and Status” from the main menu, and you will be notified by e-mail after a determination has been reached. Questions about the English proficiency requirement may be addressed to proficiency@dcemail.harvard.edu.