Supply for the Demand

Economics concentrators have some reason to celebrate now that Harvard has reinstated the department’s junior seminars. After cutting the program from this year’s curriculum due to financial circumstances, the College is adding six seminars over the next academic year, each with a maximum of 18 students. While this is a positive move overall, economics concentrators would benefit from additional changes to the program.

Large classes and limited teacher-student interaction have long beleaguered Harvard’s largest concentration, and bringing back seminars is clearly a step in the right direction. Ideally, students will have greater opportunities to substantively connect with their peers and instructors, in a more intimate class environment. However, the number of seminars—which decreased relative to years past—and their relatively large size limit the benefits students can derive from such courses. Offering more seminars with smaller class sizes within the department should be a priority for the College.

In order to meet this goal, the administration should expand the number of Harvard professors who teach such classes. In the past, economics seminars were generally headed by visiting faculty members. When the department’s visitor budget was slashed last year in the name of streamlining costs, there were fewer instructors on campus to teach the seminars. This was cited as a reason for the program’s temporary elimination. Although the department recently experienced an influx of visiting faculty, thanks to a partially restored budget, it should not depend on outside instructors to teach its most intimate courses.

Since six seminars will be offered next year, participation is clearly limited to only a fraction of each class of students. Economics—the largest department at Harvard, with over 700 concentrators—is already understaffed, with large student-to-faculty ratios and unwelcomingly massive lecture courses. More seminars, with as small or smaller enrollment, should be added to supplement the curriculum of students who often do not receive the personal attention present in other departments. Indeed, the academic development of economics concentrators is especially important given the barrage of economic issues prevalent today, and students should have the privilege of having one small class.

For this year’s juniors, it is likely disappointing that the opportunity to take a seminar was unavailable to them. Thus, it is only fair that students from the class of 2011 have access to the seminars offered next year, when they are seniors.

It is admirable that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences reinstated the seminar program for economics concentrators. However, providing these six classes cannot alone ensure that students reach their full academic potential. Economics seminars must be replicated and restructured to be more sustainable, worthwhile, and inclusive for Harvard’s largest group of undergraduates.