The program in humanities and social sciences is one of the distinctive and defining aspects of Harvey Mudd College. From its inception, the college has regarded a strong grounding in these areas as an essential part of the education of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, who need to be mindful of the richness and complexities of the human experience as well as the social contexts and consequences of their own endeavors.

In addition to the two Common Core humanities and social sciences courses, students must complete ten full semester courses in a coherent program planned with the approval of their humanities and social sciences advisor. This number of courses constitutes approximately one-third of the coursework the average HMC student completes; that percentage alone distinguishes the HMC curriculum from most other undergraduate programs in science and engineering.

The humanities and social sciences program must include courses in different disciplines that satisfy the distribution requirement, a concentration of courses in a single discipline or with a common focus, and a seminar or an approved senior experience. To foster the growth of an intellectual community, students must take five upper-division courses from departmental faculty members. Students may select their remaining courses from a large number available at Harvey Mudd and the other Claremont Colleges.