The Short Degree

Dean Elder, in his recurrent crusade to shorten the academic life of the Harvard graduate student, is now reportedly seeking Faculty approval of a plan limiting Ph.D. candidates to a three year term of residence.

The proposal, aimed at the ten per cent of GSAS students who show signs of turning professional, is commendable as an attempt to eliminate graduate deadwood. It is unpalatable, however, as a program for the Ph.D.

Its inflexibility would have the effect of either ignoring the research problems which constantly beset the most well-intentioned thesis writer or discouraging students from undertaking ambitious projects which they feel might carry them beyond the three-year limit.

If the Harvard Ph.D. is to remain a meaningful achievement, the GSAS must, admittedly, dispense with those students who simply enjoy Cambridge life, but have no real interest in a scholastic carrer. On the other hand, an arbitrary Ph.D. curriculum, such as Elder proposes, would also eliminate those students who, for various reasons, could not complete their thesis in time.

Unless Dean Elder revises his program to take these contingencies into account, his plan could be more of a danger to Ph.D. standards than a help.