English Department Scores First in U.S. News Ranking
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Books lining the Dunster Library shelves are no longer protected behind metal bars installed last year to preventing students from moving them.
When people think of Harvard their minds often wander to red brick buildings filled with students eagerly studying to become future lawyers or politicians. But those thoughts may soon shift to include the likes of Shakespeare and Fitzgerald.
U.S. News and WorldĀ Report ranked Harvard as the number one university in the world to get an English degree. Rankings are based on data gathered by the QS World Survey, a company that gathersĀ comparativeĀ data on universities and organizations.
Three years ago the English Department restructured concentration requirements to better cater to students' needs, according to Professor of English Stephen L. Burt.
"Rather than requiring a two-semester lecture course, we instead require four seminar-sized courses that can be taken in any order," Burt said.
W. James Simpson, chair of the English Department, said that the department's top-notch faculty make it stand out.
"We need to keep focused on our graduates and keep hiring great faculty to stay on top," Simpson said.
Rounding off the top five are University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of California at Berkeley, and Yale University.
"Of course this isn't about competition, but we're happy they liked us," Burt said.
He makes a good point: with Yale lagging behind who needs to worry?