核心課程之改革：哈佛大學通識教育改革之研究

Reform of Core Course: Research of Reform of General Education at Harvard University

自2009年起，哈佛通識教育將全面實施新制，將行之有年的核心課程由「分類學分要求」取而代之。新制課程及相關規定亦陸續完成，規定學生需於八大領域中各修一門課程，八大領域包含：美學與闡釋的理解、文化與信仰、經驗與數學推理、倫理推理、生命系統科學、物理宇宙科學、世界各社會、世界中的美國。哈佛大學部學生無一例外皆須修習通識教育課程，但可重複計算通識教育課程與主修學分，此為通識教育學分充抵機制，若系所所開設之主修課程符合通識教育標準，可以充抵為通識教育課程學分。隨著時代的改變，人們對核心課程的熱忱已逐漸下降，早期核心課程的理念希望提供博雅的視野，然此理想難以禁得起考驗，這成為推動改革的重要原因。

As of 2009, Harvard University has replaced its Core Curriculum with a distribution requirement consisting of a total of eight courses selected from and including Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding, Culture and Belief, Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning, Ethical Reasoning, Science of Living Systems, Science of the Physical Universe Societies of the World, The United States in the World. There will be no exemptions from portions of the general education curriculum, but there will be ways for students to double-count courses for both general education and concentration credit. University expect departments to allow appropriate general education courses to be used for concentration credit. The reasons for changing to the Core stemmed from the dissatisfaction of general education programs in the 1960s and the perceived need to understand the basic precepts of learning. Since the development of Harvard’s Core Course, many have questioned its usefulness for the growing, globally aware, and culturally diverse demographic that make up the students and faculty.