“It’s nice that there’s a cluster [of concentrations] because it gives a lot of flexibility between the life sciences, and students can really find out where their interests lie,” said Tamara J. Brenner, associate director of life sciences education.

To facilitate student research, the life sciences employ a personalized advising system, with Ph.D.-holding faculty whose full-time job consists of offering guidance to concentrators.

“Having small concentrations with a designated adviser for each student helps a lot,” said William J. Anderson, associate director of education in the life sciences.

This year, the Department of Music score dropped .8 points from the year before to score a 3.36—the lowest in the 2012 survey.

But Mary Gerbi, undergraduate coordinator for the department, said that numbers can be misleading for many of the smaller departments.

“Because the graduating senior class is so small, the sample size changes a lot from year to year,” said Gerbi, who added that the department is starting a review committee to address concentration satisfaction.

—Staff writers Francesca Annicchiarico, Jessica A. Barzilay, John P. Finnegan, and Brianna D. MacGregor can be reached at fannicchiarico01@college.harvard.edu, jessicabarzilay@college.harvard.edu, johnfinnegan@college.harvard.edu, bmacgregor@college.harvard.edu. Follow them on Twitter @FRAnnicchiarico, @jessicabarzilay, @finneganspake, and @bdmacgregor.