The top-ranked debate club in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA)
Our instructors have reached the highest levels of competition as competitors
Certificate of Completion and Special awards for winning teams and best debaters
Learn to debate and become a confident speaker, improve critical thinking skills
Welcome letter
Highlights
Introduction to Harvard College Debating Union
Established in the fall of 1981, the Harvard College Debating Union (HCDU) is Harvard's only internationally competitive debate association. Frequently ranked among the top three debate teams in the United States, HCDU leads the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) and holds a record eleven national titles, more than any other institution. Internationally, HCDU teams have been in five final rounds of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) and won four world championships.
We welcome anyone interested in competitive debate. Our team is committed to being a community of equal access. No previous debate experience is required.
Achievements：
Program Introduction
The HCDU Debating Camp is co-organized by the Harvard College Debating Union (HCDU) and ASEEDER. Its goal is to ignite students' interest in debating while enhancing their critical thinking and public speaking skills through a structured curriculum and practical exercises. This equips participants with essential skills that are valuable for their future studies and careers.
In 2023, HCDU reached a cooperation with ASEEDER and opened the HCDU Debating Camp to Asian students, attracting more than 60 students to participate. In the summer of 2025, the HCDU Debating Camp will be opened again. The camp will accommodate both experienced and novice debaters. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of British Parliamentary Debate through engaging workshops, learn essential debating skills from Harvard debaters, and compete in debates on various topics for the honor of being crowned the HCDU Debating Camp Champion.
Why debate
The inclusion of a dedicated option for Debate/Speech on the Common App highlights the significance of these activities in extracurricular involvement. A survey conducted by The Daily Princetonian for incoming freshmen in Fall 2023 revealed that students majoring in humanities, social sciences, engineering, and natural sciences all recognize the value of debate. It's important to note that debate is an extracurricular activity available to all students, regardless of their major.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States average college enrollment rate for high schools was 70%, while the rate of debate team members was 98.58%. In addition, a lot of universities in the U.S. offer scholarships for college debaters, such as University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin. It shows that debate has become one of the extracurricular activities valued by college admissions officers of famous universities.
HCDU 哈佛辩论活动
哈佛大学辩论联盟每周会在哈佛举办丰富的辩论训练活动，并一起参加世界范围内的辩论赛，从耶鲁到牛津到南非再到泰国。除了参加比赛，其团队成员还会组织多样的辩论活动，如公开辩论示范、作为辩论评委参与国际性比赛以及举办高中和大学锦标赛。其举办的哈佛大学世界学校邀请赛（HCWSI）是哈佛大学每年校园内举办的三场顶级辩论赛事之一，另外两场比赛分别为哈佛 APDA 辩论赛和哈佛全国辩论锦标赛。
哈佛 APDA 辩论赛
哈佛中学生辩论锦标赛
哈佛大学世界学校邀请赛
哈佛辩论营（中国站）项目邀请哈佛大学辩论联盟导师原班人马，将哈佛大学本土的辩论训练活动搬至中国，让中国学生可以零距体验最纯正的哈佛大学辩论文化。此外，项目中的获奖队伍可获邀参与哈佛大学世界邀请赛（HCWSI）。在美丽的哈佛大学校园内，亲身体验全美顶级辩论赛事，结交顶级辩友，与同样热爱的辩论的赛手们一决高下。
Why us？
Outstanding faculty
Official certification and awards
Diversified curriculum
Real debate environment
Developing multiple skills
Teaching Faculty
*The faculty is subject to change.
Devan Tatlow
Biophysics and Global Health, Harvard University
Devan Tatlow has done competitive speech and debate for the last 7 years. He was the U.S. National Moot Court champion and National Showcase Winner in debate and competed twice at the Tournament of Champions. He was director of training for his high school team of 40 and has coached, competed, and judged World Schools, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, American Parliamentary, British Parliamentary, and Extemporaneous Speaking. At Harvard, he is also on the Harvard Satellite Team, designing and building an experimental satellite to be launched this December under contract with NASA.
Yuanyi Ma
History and East Asian Studies
Yuanyi Ma has four years of debate experience, along with two years of coaching experience. She has broken at several college-level tournaments and has both championed and top spoke Quebec provincial tournaments. She is experienced in Canadian, British, and American parliamentary debate. At Harvard, Yuanyi is from Montreal intending on studying History and East Asian Studies with a secondary in Neuroscience. Alongside debating with the HCDU, she is also a general editor for the Harvard Review of Philosophy, writer for the Harvard Undergraduate Law Review, and tutor for several Chinatownbased volunteering programs at the Phillips Brooks House Association (*Harvard's largest public service organization).
Molly Callaghan
Economics, Government and History, Harvard University
Molly Callaghan has debated for the past 8 years. She is a U.S. university debating championship national finalist, a two-time high school national champion, the first Irish person to win Cambridge Schools Tournament and competed for the Irish National Debating Team at the World Schools Debating Championships. Additionally, she has coached and judged debate at the university level in 5 different formats -World Schools, American Parliamentary, Public Forum, British Parliamentary, and Public Speech. At Harvard University, she is studying Economics, Government, History, and consulting for Fortune 500 companies.
Sample Schedule
| Date | 9-12 am | 2-6 pm | |
| July 6th | Students arrive | ||
| July 7th | Inexperienced and Experienced group
● Opening speech & Coach introductions ● Icebreakers Rose and thorn Number Picnic game ● Goals Self-reflection and set intentions for camp! Inexperienced group: Intro to Debate Hot Air Balloon Debate Experienced group: Intro to British Parliamentary Debate British Parliamentary motion types |
Inexperienced group
● Intro to British Parliamentary Debate ● Debate Workshop 1: How to Think of Arguments Motion Break Down ● Debate Workshop 2: How to Make an Argument Introduce fundamentals of argumentation ● Public speaking workshop Experienced group: ● Debate Workshop 1: How to Think of Arguments |
|
| July 8th | Inexperienced and Experienced group ● Debate Workshop 3: Rebuttal Workshop How to do rebuttal Exercise: Rebuttal Tennis Watch a recording of national/international final round and have students respond to their speech ● Debate Workshop 4: Weighing Lecture on how to weigh arguments Weighing drills |
Inexperienced and Experienced group ● Workshop 5:Whip speeches Speech Structure House by House Clashes ● Debate Practice Rounds Students prep and debate with targeted guidance from tutors |
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| July 9th | Inexperienced and Experienced group ● Debate Workshop 6: Extensions Analytical Extensions & Typical Extensions ● Debate Workshop 7: POI’s Teach communication within and between teams, Coach gives speech then students interrupt with POI’s and give rebuttal Students selected to give speeches and all other students give them POI’s and give rebuttal |
Inexperienced group |
|
| July 10th | Inexperienced and Experienced group ● Debate Workshop 8: Principles and Philosophy What are principled arguments How to write principled arguments How to debate with principles (against and with) Walking debates of ethical dilemmas ● Debate Workshop 9: Practicing Principles and Philosophy Walking debates of ethical dilemmas Inexperienced group ● Content Lecture 2: Policy Politics Experienced group ● Content Lecture 3: Policy Politics |
Inexperienced group ● Content Lecture 3: Sports ● Debate Practice Rounds Students prep and debate with targeted guidance from tutors Experienced group ● Content Lecture 4 ● Debate Practice Rounds Students prep and debate with targeted guidance from tutors |
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| July 11th | Inexperienced and Experienced group ● Demo debate round Featuring your coaches woo! ● Debate Quiz Inexperienced group ● Content Lecture 4 Experienced group ● Content Lecture 5: Criminal Justice |
Inexperienced group ● Content Lecture 5: Criminal Justice ● Practice Debates ● Competition Preparation Experienced group ● Content Lecture 6: Education Systems ● Practice Debates ● Competition Preparation |
|
| July 12th | ● Debate Competition | ● Debate Competition
● Talent Show! ● Awards + Final Remarks |
|
| July 13th | Students leave | ||
* The schedule is subject to the final arrangement of the HCDU Debating Camp
Application Information
Application Information
- Date：July 6th-July 13th，2025 (8 days)
- Location：Shanghai
- Grade：7-12, all students who have a passion for debate and wish to improve their speaking and presentation skills.
Fee
- Includes: Tuition, instructor service fee, certificate application, ASEEDER group leader service fee, insurance, and study materials.
- Excludes: 1. Transportation fee 2. Meals during the program 3. Hotel residence fee (optional)
Requirements:
Experienced group: (Meeting any one of the following criteria is sufficient)
- IELTS speaking score of 6.0 or a TOEFL speaking score of 20.
- Possesses some full English debating experience and can provide proof of participation.
Inexperienced group: (Meeting any one of the following criteria is sufficient)
- IELTS speaking score of 5.5 or a TOEFL speaking score of 15, and no debating experience is required.
- If the student does not meet the above criteria, the student needs to provide a recommendation letter from their teacher as proof of English proficiency, or complete a phone or online interview with an ASEEDER teacher.
— Q&A —
项目中优秀辩手将有机会获得额外奖项，获奖队伍可获哈佛世界学校邀请赛（Harvard College World Schools Invitational Tournament, HCWSI）参赛权。HCWSI 是美国首屈一指的世界学校锦标赛（World Schools tournament），来自世界各地的许多辩论队伍都参加了该项比赛，为 7 月的世界辩论锦标赛（World Championships，是世界范围内最高级别的辩论比赛之一）做准备。比赛的评委和主席团队由多位国家辩论队教练和前世界冠军组成，比赛一般在马萨诸塞州剑桥市的哈佛校园举行。
哈佛辩论营采用的是世界中学生议会制辩论（World School Debate Championship, WSDC）赛制，涉及即兴议题（赛事开始前 0.5-2h 给出辩题），考验同学们现场准备议题的能力。
