What you need to know

As part of the HASS Requirement, all undergraduates must complete a HASS Concentration of three or four subjects, depending on the field you choose. A HASS Concentration gives you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the issues and methodologies in a single area of the humanities, arts, or social sciences, and helps you gain a sophisticated sense of the questions that characterize that field of study.

Subjects used for a HASS Concentration must be taken for a letter grade, or under first-year P/NR grading or flexible P/NR grading.

Some key points to remember:

  • You may use one subject for both the Distribution and Concentration components of the HASS Requirement with permission from your Concentration advisor.
  • You may concentrate and minor in the same field.
  • Consult with the Concentration advisor for other languages if you would like to concentrate in a language not taught at MIT.
  • With approval from the appropriate transfer credit examiner and your Concentration advisor, you may include subjects taken outside of MIT in your Concentration.

What you need to do

  • Review our list of HASS Concentrations and discuss those that interest you with the appropriate Concentration advisor.
  • Select your field of study and choose subjects in consultation with your Concentration advisor.
  • Create and submit your proposal using our HASS Concentration Form on WebSIS by the first week of classes during the second term of your junior year. Include subjects you have taken, are currently taking, and will take to complete your Concentration. Late submissions incur a $50 fee.
  • Complete your Concentration.
  • Submit your HASS Concentration Form again for approval by the end of the first week of your final term. Late submissions incur a $50 fees.

How to change your existing Concentration:

  • To change your proposed subjects — meet with your Concentration advisor, then go to WebSIS and enter the revised subject(s) on your HASS Concentration Form.
  • To switch to a new Concentration — notify your previous Concentration advisor that you are no longer concentrating in that field, then cancel your Concentration Form and start a new one.

HASS Concentrations at MIT