What Is the HSA Requirement at Harvey Mudd College?

The HSA requirement at Harvey Mudd College is the humanities, social sciences, and arts component of the curriculum, and it asks students to take nearly a third of their classes outside STEM. It applies to every Harvey Mudd student regardless of major, so a computer science or engineering major still spends a substantial share of their coursework in fields like philosophy, psychology, political science, sociology, literature, music, photography, and media studies.

How HSA fits into the curriculum

Harvey Mudd describes its curriculum as having three components:

• The Common Core — a coordinated set of courses drawn from every department: biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, math, physics, and humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
• HSA — the humanities, social sciences, and arts requirement.
• The Major — the student's chosen field of study.

The college frames the Common Core as a broad scientific foundation paired with academic writing and critical inquiry, so that "no matter what your future major, you will gain a solid interdisciplinary foundation." HSA is the part of that structure that carries the liberal arts side of the degree.

What the HSA requirement actually means for a STEM student

Harvey Mudd is a liberal arts college where students major in a STEM field while taking nearly a third of their classes in HSA subjects. That proportion is the key fact: HSA is not a token distribution requirement bolted onto a technical degree, it is roughly a third of the academic experience.

The stated purpose is to encourage students to pursue interests beyond their major. The college lists philosophy, psychology, political science, sociology, literature, music, photography, media studies, and "many other fields" as examples of what students can explore.

Can you take HSA courses outside Harvey Mudd?

Yes. Harvey Mudd students can take courses with professors at Harvey Mudd and at the other Claremont Colleges, which expands the range of HSA topics available. This matters if a student wants to go deep in a subject that a single campus may not cover at the level they want.

Why the requirement exists

The college's own framing is that the curriculum integrates rigorous STEM and liberal arts courses to educate scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who "understand the impact of their work on society." HSA is the mechanism for that integration — it is where the "know your impact" idea is meant to be practiced rather than just stated.

Quick reference

If you are evaluating Harvey Mudd as a prospective student, the practical takeaway is that you should expect to write, read, and argue in non-STEM disciplines at a serious level, not just satisfy a checklist. If that prospect appeals to you, HSA is a feature of the degree rather than a detour from it.