![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_01.jpg)
Students pass Memorial Hall on the first week of classes at Harvard College.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
The fall semester is off to a busy start, with Harvard students scrambling to sample a variety of classes before settling on their course load.
In the first week of each semester, students can take as many classes as they are able to fit into their schedule. For many, it’s a great way to try out different courses before making their final decisions.
Last week, undergraduate and graduate students alike tried out everything from “Death and Immortality” to “Mathematical Modeling” and “Islam and Politics in the Middle East.”
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_05.jpg)
Photos by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_06.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_07.jpg)
A student makes her way to class in Emerson Hall.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_08.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_09.jpg)
Adolfo Roquero Gimenez ’22, Anna Biggs ’20, and Sahar Omer ’20, above, take in “Islam and Politics in the Modern Middle East” with Professor Malika Zeghal, below, in Emerson Hall.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_10.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_11.jpg)
Roxanne Guenette lectures on “Elementary Particle Physics” in Jefferson Hall.
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Professor Lauren K. Williams teaches “The Story of the Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture” in the Science Center.
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_13.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_12.jpg)
Students pack a Science Center lecture hall for “Madness and Medicine” by Professor and Pforzheimer House co-faculty dean Anne Harrington.
Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_16.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_18.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_17.jpg)
Anna Gong ’22 (right) captures partner Tristen Mejias-Thompson ’19. Laura Chang ’18 does a still life.
Photos by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_24.jpg)
Students leave Emerson Hall.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Professor Lawrence Bobo teaches “Race, Racism, and American Politics” in the Barker Center.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_20.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_21.jpg)
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_22.jpg)
Arlesia Grace McGowan ’19 participates in “Critical Listening” with Professor and Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer in Paine Hall. Ria Modak ’22 absorbs Professor Sugata Bose’s “Modern India and South Asia” course in Emerson Hall.
Photos by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
![](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/First_Week_25.jpg)
Cindy Zhang ’21 waits for a friend in the Science Center.
Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer