Soc Rel Faculty Votes Concentration Changes, Honors Without Thesis

The Social Relations Faculty this week approved curriculum changes which will allow honors concentrators to substitute one full graduate-level course for a thesis.

The Faculty also voted to change the Soc Rel sophomore tutorial into a half-course for credit running throughout the year, to abolish the four areas of undergraduate study, and to revamp Soc Rel 10.

The three new plans--two for honors and one for non-honors concentration--will be effective beginning with the Class of 1971. Concentrators in the Classes of 1969 and 1970 can choose to work under either the old or new program.

The new alternative honors program requires eight full courses--six or seven were formerly required of all concentrators--which include two semesters of junior tutorial and one full graduate-level course. These students must also take an oral general exam in the spring of their senior year but need not write a thesis.

"We found many students very good academically who wanted to explore a more advanced level of courses," Head Tutor Samuel F. Sampson said yesterday. "It might not be educationally best for them to write a thesis," he continued

The new non-honors concentration requires six full courses, and cuts the one full-course methodology requirement in half.

The thesis-honors program remains the same as before, although changes in sophomore tutorial and Soc Rel 10 are absorbed in its seven-course requirement.

The revision also allows pass-fail to be used for concentration credit. Aside from tutorials, Soc Rel 10, methodology, and graduate courses, honors concentrators may take one and one-half courses under pass-fail. Non-honors may take an additional half course under pass-fail.

New Soc Rel 10

The Soc Rel Faculty also voted to change the format of Soc Rel 10 after next year. Each of the four wings of graduate study in the Department Social Anthropology, Sociology, Social Personality, and Clinical Psychology--will offer a one term introduction to its field. Personality and Clinical Psychology will give a joint course.

Three of these four courses will be required for concentration beginning with the Class of 1973.

By bringing the various wings of graduate study to the undergraduate level, the Department effectively eliminated its four Areas of undergraduate study. No distribution among them will be required after this year.