“The people in the sciences say there are [drawbacks],” Harris says. “But in fairness, there are lots of prerequisites to doing science well now.”

But Goldman Professor of Computer Science Steven J. Gortler says that he thinks science professors would not be opposed to pushing concentration choice back into the sophomore year if concentration advising would take place in the freshman year, rather than after students declare a concentration.

“I don’t think anybody really cares that much about when there is a declaration,” he says. “The real question the sciences have is how early students come in to talk to someone.”

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 also says that an improved advising system must accompany the recommended shift.

Without proper advising, students in their first two years might not be taking the necessary prerequisites to study higher-level material.

“It is really a question of getting good advising,” he says. “If we have better freshman advising, people may be more sympathetic to delaying concentration choice.”

Students, even those who have already made their decision, are overwhelmingly in favor of a move in concentration choice timing.

Jordan C. Jones ’07, who plans to concentrate in economics and government, says he feels the May 2004 declaration deadline he faces is too early.

“It’s really unnecessary to put that much pressure on freshmen,” he said. “I think pushing it back to...sophomore year would be very beneficial to our students.”

CROSSING FIELDS

University President Lawrence H. Summers and Kirby have long stressed the importance of interdisciplinary work, which Kirby outlined as one of the themes of the review in his 2002-2003 Annual Letter to the Faculty.

“I think interdisciplinary work is very much a focus of the review and I think opportunities for it definitely will emerge as a recommendation,” Harris says. “One can say that with confidence.”

But while Harris says that interdisciplinary work has been discussed in the review, he declined to say which specific recommendations may be included in the report.

Gross has suggested that one way the curriculum may offer more interdisciplinary opportunities is through broad-based Harvard College courses—lecture courses that may be used to fulfill the distribution requirement that the proposal will suggest replaces the Core.

“To cover broad topics well, the Harvard College courses may be co-taught by faculty,” he says.