Advising

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Introduction

Most of the advising that Special Concentrators receive comes from their Faculty Advisers. Concentrators should meet at least once a semester with their advisers to discuss their course selection and future plans within the concentration. They should also plan on a once-a-semester meeting with the Director of Studies, who is also available on a regular basis for any general advising questions. The assistant to the Director of Studies can also provide valuable assistance to prospective and current Special Concentrators.

Information for Faculty Advisers

A Faculty Adviser's support is, apart from a student's own commitment, the most crucial factor in the success of a Special Concentration. Students who elect to pursue an Special Concentration forego the support as well as the constraints of a departmental concentration. The Faculty Adviser, therefore, bears substantial responsibility for their advisee's education. Minimally, a Faculty Adviser must agree to the following:

  1. Support the proposal described in the Statement of Purpose and Plan of Study the student has submitted, and, in so doing, agree that the student's undergraduate education will be as (or more) coherent, balanced, and throrough as a departmental concentration.
  2. Assume quasi-departmental responsibility for advising the student
    1. Tutoring him/her or finding a colleague willing to tutor him/her;
    2. Discussing course selections and signing his/her study card each term;
    3. Approving changes in his/her Plan of Study;
    4. Arranging for two thesis readers, if the student is pursuing honors;
    5. *Setting and grading a general examination;
    6. Writing letters of recommendation.

Faculty Advisers, in essence, are responsible for overseeing their advisee's progress toward the degree. The petition that was submitted by the student and approved by the Committee on Degrees in Special Concentrations will be sent to the Faculty Adviser if the student's petition is approved. Each term, a copy of the latest Plan of Study is placed in the student's registration packet. Understanding that specific courses frequently disappear from the course catalogue, your advisee may need to make some course substitutions. These substitutions must be approved by you in writing, either by signing the noted changes on the Plan, or by sending a note directly to Deborah Foster, Director of Studies (DUS). The student will need both your and the DUS signature on his or her study card each term.

If there is a possibility of you being on leave at any time during your advisee's career here, it is important that you let the DUS know, and that you arrange for one of your colleagues to assume your responsibilities during your absence. This is particularly important in the student's senior year when he or she may be writing a thesis (honors candidates) and taking the general exam (basic and honors candidates). Each faculty adviser is responsible for finding readers for his or her advisee's thesis, and for writing (or giving, if oral) and evaluating the student's general exam.

Please feel free to contact the DUS with any questions you might have about Special Concentrations.

*General Examination: All Special Concentrators, both Honors and non-Honors candidates, must take a general examination during their last term in the College. Faculty Advisers to Special Concentrators should have a conversation with their advisee to determine the form of the examwritten or oralthat is deemed most appropriate for the students Special Concentration. The examination is ordinarily based on a reading list of appropriate material reflecting the students concentration courses. (The examination is not a thesis defense.) The administrative details are as follows:

  • Written exams, composed of questions posed by the Faculty Adviser, are three-hour long exams, ordinarily administered during the first week of reading period in the final term of the students senior year. A copy of the exam questions must be delivered to the Special Concentrations office prior to the date that the exam will be administered. The author of the exam plus one other reader (selected by the Faculty Adviser) do the grading. The Office of Special Concentrations will deliver to the Faculty Adviser two copies of the completed exam, along with a grading sheet, immediately following the students completion of it. Both readers should complete and sign the grading sheet.
  • Oral exams also should be scheduled during the first week of Reading Period. The oral exam is meant to examine the same material as the written exam (see above). The exam is one hour in length and is conducted by the Faculty Adviser and one other faculty member, selected by the Faculty Adviser. Both examiners should complete and sign the grading sheet.

View the General Exams-student page.

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Information for Tutors

Special concentrations could not exist without the good will and generosity of faculty and teaching fellows willing to serve as tutors for undergraduates who have designed their own field of study. Each tutor will work with his tutee to design and implement a one-term tutorial on the interdisciplinary topic of the student's concentration. Although each tutorial is unique, it is assumed that Tutors for students in Special Concentrations will accept the following as a minimum set of responsibilities:

  1. Submission to the Office of Special Concentrations as soon as possible but no later than the fifth Monday of the term, a syllabus/tutorial plan signed by the student's faculty adviser and the tutor providing your address, email address, telephone number, and graduate student status, if applicable.
  2. Weekly supervision of tutorial with papers assigned as seem appropriate to the subject matter.
  3. Submission of tutorial report with grade at completion of tutorial (grade sheets will be sent in January or May) noting approximate number of meetings, and describing briefly the content of the tutorial. Comments are particularly appreciated, as they are helpful in advising and in writing letters of recommendation. Special Concentrations 91r, 96r, 97r, and 98r are letter- graded courses, while Special Concentrations 99 is graded SAT/UNSAT.
  4. General supervision of tutee's academic progress during the term in which the tutorial is taught.

Graduate student tutors should ordinarily have passed their general exams and have taught for one or two terms in the College. Exceptions must be approved by the Director of Studies in consultation with the Faculty Adviser. For questions on compensation, please contact Stephanie Macaris (smacaris@fas.harvard.edu).

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