Graduate Students Favor Economics and Chemistry

Economics and Chemistry have become the most popular subjects in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences during the war, replacing English and History as leaders, according to the school's annual report, released today.

During the last academic year Economics led with 51 students, followed by Chemistry with 43, History with 30, and Government with 26, while in 1940-41 there were 152 in History, 144 in English, 109 in Economics, and 90 in Biology.

Only 393 enrolled in the School last year, marking a steady decline from the twenty-year high of 1,147 in 1939-40. The number of students in the Graduate School has fluctuated greatly during the period from 1922-1944 as a result of the depression and the Second World War.

In 1922-23 there were only 689 men in the School; this number steadily grew until, in 1931-32, the enrollment was 1,105. With the coming of the "Recession," the School was reduced to 792 graduate students.

Of the fewer than 400 men in the School for the academic year 1943-44, 100 were aliens, a higher percentage than in any peacetime year.

Various Inquiries Launched

The annual report stressed the fact that the Committee of Deans of the Graduate School has launched a series of inquiries into the various phases of graduate education and of graduate school administration. Some of the problems that have been considered have been manner of and qualifications for admission, evaluation of war service as a partial basis for admission, and the future housing of graduate students.

With regard to admissions, it was decided that the "record of distinction" should continues the major basis of admission, although the Graduate Record Examination will be used as a source of supplementary information in dubious cases.

The language requirement has been defined, and a committee has been formed to prepare language entrance examinations. The Committee also voted to include a physical examination in the admission requirements.

A committee has been appointed to make an evaluation of war service credits by studying and weighing types of academic work done by former Harvard Graduate Students and by new applicants for admission.