Faculty Explore Engineering Sciences Concentrations

The introduction of two new engineering concentrations faced criticism from humanities professors when proposed at Tuesday’s Faculty Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Several faculty members questioned students’ ability to balance the course requirements of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering—both of which will include 20 required half-courses—with Harvard’s commitment to providing a broad liberal arts education.

THE MORE THE MERRIER

According to Evelyn Hu, area dean of electrical engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the establishment of two specialized concentrations in engineering is motivated by both growing student demand and the rapid growth of SEAS.

“Electrical engineering and mechanical engineering are not simply foundational and time-honored, but they’re also rapidly evolving,” Hu said. “Our students are among the first to realize this.”

Both concentrations will be ABET accredited, allowing students to pursue licenseship and doctorate programs in their fields.

Students in engineering sciences currently receive either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree. Both options provide a broad foundation in engineering, although the S.B.—which has been ABET accredited since 1962—requires 20 half-courses while the A.B. requires 16.

Students pursuing either degree choose from one of five areas.

According to Joost J. Vlassak, area dean for material sciences and mechanical engineering, nearly half of the students concentrating in engineering sciences choose to focus on mechanical engineering.

trating in engineering sciences choose to focus on mechanical engineering.

Faculty will vote on the new concentrations at next month’s Faculty Meeting. If passed, they will be only the second and third specialized engineering concentrations offered by the College. Biomedical engineering was the first, initially offered in the fall of 2010.

LIBERAL ENGINEERING?

Although the Faculty Council voted unanimously in favor of the motion to discuss the concentrations, several professors questioned how they would fit into Harvard’s liberal arts curriculum.

“If a concentration that has 20 course requirements is structurally irreconcilable with a liberal arts education, which I think it arguably is, why create even more concentrations like these?,” said Peter J. Burgard, a professor of German.

In order to receive ABET accreditation, an engineering concentration must have at least 20 half-courses. But the need to meet national standards gave some faculty pause.

“I worry that the size of the concentration is driven by the professional demands rather than the demands of the college,” said James T. Kloppenberg, chair of the history department.

Citing Educational Policy Committee guidelines that have consistently encouraged concentrations to curb their requirements, other faculty wondered why only engineering was allowed an increased course-load.

“We’ve tried to create an ethos in which our undergraduate concentrations are not 20 half-courses,” said Diana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion, suggesting that the College might not have consistent standards across disciplines. “I don’t see this as just this incredible exception.”

But Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris emphasized the distinction between an A.B. and an S.B. degree and reminded the faculty that the College must comply with national standards.

Between the 20 courses required for these concentrations, eight general education credits, two language classes, and expository writing, students pursuing S.B. degrees will have at most five electives in their eight semesters at Harvard.

Some professors said such a schedule restricts a student’s ability to pursue a secondary field, study abroad, or take electives in a range of departments—although some engineering students take summer classes or five courses a term to expand their curriculum, according to Marie D. Dahleh, SEAS assistant dean for academic programs.

Former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68, a strong proponent of the concentrations, took to the microphone multiple times to push back against the idea that engineering students are missing out on liberal arts opportunities.

“Having looked at some of the actual transcripts of these students, I don’t think their liberal arts education is being short-changed,” he said. “If the Harvard College [general education and language] requirements...are not enough to guarantee a liberal education, then we should change the College-wide requirements.”

And Hu suggested that the team-based design opportunities offered by at least half of the four extra requirements were an invaluable “out-of-textbook experience that is very important for almost any student.”

Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds suggested that appropriate support networks can help students take advantage of the full scope of Harvard’s academic offerings.

“Without SEAS’ commitment to the fact that these are not engineering students at a more traditional engineering school, but students at Harvard College, we would not have been in support of this motion,” she said.

SETTING THE PACE

Hu closed the meeting with a request for faculty to take a chance on what she called a “unique opportunity” for Harvard to take the lead in re-envisioning undergraduate engineering education.

“[These issues] will continue to be contentious, but if we don’t do it here—if engineering and liberal arts are so intrinsically antithetical that its impossible to join them under the roof of Harvard—I don’t think it will be done anywhere else,” she said.

She emphasized that students choose Harvard knowing that it is a champion of the liberal arts.

“We have students coming into SEAS who have been accepted into MIT and Stanford and other well-known engineering schools,” she said.

“They are very cognizant of the fact that they want to do engineering... at a school that is not known for engineering,” she added. “They are looking for something else.”

OTHER BUSINESS

Dean of the FAS Michael D. Smith opened the meeting by announcing the results of the recent Faculty Council elections, in which 236 ballots were cast. Four women and two men representing three tenured and three non-tenured positions at the University were elected to the Council. The six new members will assume their roles on the first of July.

Although eclipsed by the more lengthy discussion on the SEAS concentrations, revisions to the Student Handbook were also presented to the faculty by Dean Harris. Wording has already been changed to acknowledge the official recognition of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps on campus and to better coordinate the language regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act with federal law.

Additionally, faculty voted unanimously to modify the Handbook to give the Administration Board jurisdiction over academic performance of College undergraduates taking classes at the Harvard Summer School.

—Staff writer Radhika Jain can be reached at radhikajain@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Kevin J. Wu can be reached at kwu@college.harvard.edu.