Harvard Extension School Students Rally for Degree Name Change

[ifomonay]

I was thinking of doing the data science program there. but I thought that no one is going to know what a Master's degree in Extension Studies is. The major for ALL programs there is "Extension Studies", so employers will think the degree is about curriculum design for adult learners.

Would it be misrepresentation if you wrote "Masters Degree" on your CV and mentioned data science as your field of study?

No it won't be a mispresentation. You can list "data science" as a concentration. But if an employer does a background check, Harvard will say your degree is this:
"Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies"
It won't list your concentration. And if I'm not wrong (someone can correct me), Harvard won't show your concentration on the actual diploma either.
Interesting thing. My wife's new coworker put "MA in Business, Harvard University". When the employer did the background check it came back as "Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, Harvard" . lol. However, they considered her as passing the background check, because it was an actual Masters from the real Harvard. So it really depends on the employer whether they think you lied or not if you try to hide "Extension studies".
Just to be clear, the degree is a bonafide degree from Harvard University, but Harvard also wants to make it clear to employers that you didn't attend the elite Harvard College that has the 2% acceptance rate.