80 Years of Curriculum Changes Produces Extensive Study Areas

In the early 1870's, James Bryce visited Harvard and described it as "no real university, but only a struggling college with uncertain relations to learning and research." Today, Bryce would eat his words, for 80 years has performed a miraculous--change, transforming the small provincial college of 1873 into a great university, offering opportunity for study in almost every conceivable field.

Three fundamental revolutions in the curriculum, one introduced by President Eliot, one by President Lowell and one by President Conant, have been completed in a scant 80 years. First the elective system, then concentration and distribution, and finally General Education, made a Harvard education in 1953 far more different from 1873 than 1873 was from 1642.

In 1642, the three-year college course was a strictly confined, minutely planned curriculum. In his first year the student of 1642 took Logic and Physics on Monday and Tuesday, Greek Grammar on Wednesday, Hebrew Grammar on Thursday, Rhetoric on Friday and Divinity Catechetical, History and Nature of Plants on Saturday. In his second year he studied Rhetoric, Divinity Catechetical, Ethics and Politics, Greek Grammar and Aramaic and in his third year, Rhetoric, Divinity Catechetical, Syriac, Arithmetic and Geometry, Astronomy and Greek composition. No deviation was allowed from this course of study.

Electives

For more than 200 years the college curriculum varied little. As late as 1775 a fine was imposed for speaking anything but Latin, Greek or Hebrew within the confines of the Yard. The first elective course was introduced in 1825, but it remained for President Eliot to develop the elective system to its full degree.

In 1868-9, the year before Eliot's inauguration all Freshman courses were prescribed. They were Greek, Latin, Mathematics, French Elocution, Ethics, History and lectures in "Integral Education." In the Sophomore year the student of 1868 was required to take Rhetoric, History, Chemistry, Elocution, Philosophy and German. In addition he had to choose "eight hours a week" or three courses from among the electives offered--Latin, Greek, Italian, English, pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

An 1868 Junior was required to take Philosophy, Physics, Rhetoric and lectures in Chemistry. Besides these he was required to choose two or three electives from among a list composed of the Sophomore elective subjects plus Chemistry, German and Natural History. Seniors were required to study Logic and Philosophy, Physics, History, Rhetoric, Religious Instruction, and two or three electives from a list similar to the Junior's.

Influence

The elective system as introduced by Eliot has been called the most influential single contribution to American education. It certainly was the most radical change in the history of Harvard curriculum up to that time. It was not, of course, introduced all at one time. But in 1873, four years after Eliot was inaugurated, the elective system had progressed far beyond its status in 1868.

The catalogue of courses for the year 1873-4 is arranged in a significantly different manner from the catalogue of 1868-9. The latter was organized, as had been the practice for 200 years, under the name of the class. Subjects were taught not in open courses, but as Freshman Mathematics, Sophomore German, Junior Greek or Senior Rhetoric. But starting with 1873-4, the required and elective courses were no longer listed under the class, but under eight departments: Classics (Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Sanskrit), Modern Languages (English, German, French, Italian and Spanish), Philosophy, History, Political Science, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, Natural History (geography, Botany, Anatomy and Physiology, Zoology, Geology), and Music.

Also for the first time in 1873, course were numbered, for example, as Classics 1, History 2, or Physics 3. Although no longer listed under classes a limit was set to the number of students from each class permitted to take a course, i.e. 44 seniors, 43 juniors, 3 sophomores. In 1872 for the first time the courses were listed with the names of the professors.

New Freedom

The abolition of prescribed courses and the enrichment of the elective program was on of Eliot's primary aims. Bit by bit required courses become electives. In 1874-5 all required studies were in the Freshman year except for Rhetoric, History, Philosophy and Political Economy. In 1883-4 the elective system was extended to Freshmen and all courses were made elective except for Freshman English and French or German, Chemistry and Physics, and certain themes and forensics in the upperclasses. Prescribed Physics was dropped in 1890 and Chemistry in 1894 and sophomore themes and junior forensics in 1894.

In 1884-5 Eliot lashed out at violent critics of his elective policy among the faculty. "To fetter this spontaneous diversity of choice by insisting that studies shall be taken in certain mixtures or groups. . .is as unnatural as it is unnecessary. . .Groups are like ready-made clothing cut in regular sizes; they never fit any concrete individual."

Eliot carried his elective system to such an extent that in 1886 the B.A. degree was given for passing grades in 18 completely unrelated courses. These rather lax requirements resulted in many students earning their degrees in three rather than four years by taking more than the necessary courses each year and by taking courses in summer school. Although violently opposed by a large part of the faculty, this practice was encouraged by the administration. In 1889 Dean Briggs declared, "We continue to feel the uncompromising notion that college studies are to be counted off as rapidly as possible."

In 1879 an event occurred which although not as educationally significant as the creation of the elective system undoubtedly has had a very great effect on the education of Harvard students. This was the founding of the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women (named Radcliffe in 1894). 27 girls were enrolled in the first class of Harvard's annex for women and courses were given by Harvard professors in four small rooms at 6 Appian way. Not long afterwards Radcliffe dropped separate instruction and joined Harvard classes.

Distress

Meanwhile, faculty distress at Eliot's elective system was growing. In 1903 came a report by the Faculty Committee on Improving Instruction, largely written by A. Lawrence Lowell. The report pointed up what Lowell considered the sad state of the Harvard curriculum. "In the college today," the report declared, "there is too much teaching and too little studying." The report went on to state that students were spending as little as 3 1/2 hours a week on courses. It also criticized the elective system for allowing haphazard choosing of courses based on how easy they were or what hours they met. The report also brought to light the surprising number of students who were getting through college in three years.

The report resulted in three main changes in the curriculum. First, many of the notorious guts were stiffened. Secondly, in order to discourage students from getting their degree in three years extra tuition charges were made for all courses over four. The third change was a set of new regulations stiffening the requirements for degrees with honors.

The Faculty report was only one symptom of a growing dissatisfaction among the faculty with Eliot elective and hyperfree curriculum. The faculty opposition was led by Professor Lowell and when Eliot resigned in 1909, Lowell was chosen president.

Major Errors

Lowell wasted no time in remedying what he considered the major errors in his predecessor's policy. The system of Concentration and Distribution was framed 9in 1910 and went into effect for the class of 1914. This system required every undergraduate to concentrate at least six of his 16 elective courses in one division or recognized field for distinction, and to distribute at least six of his other courses among the three general groups outside of his concentration. For the purpose of distribution four groups were created.

1) Languages, Literature, Fine Arts and Music.

2) The Natural Sciences.

3) History, Government, Economics, Education and Anthropology.

4) Philosophy and Mathematics.

In 1928-9 the distribution requirements were changed to one in literature, one in history or government, one in science and one in math or philosophy.

Lowell explained his aim in the system of Concentration and Distribution. "First to require every student to make a choice of electives that will secure a systematic education based on the principles of knowing a little of everything and something well. . .and second to make the student plan his college curriculum seriously and plan it as a whole."

The other big reform introduced by Lowell was the system of the General or Divisional examination, also aimed at integrating the student's curriculum. Lowell did not require departments to adopt the General Examination system, but History, Government and Economics did in 1919, Modern Languages in 1922 and the other soon followed.

When Lowell resigned in 1933 he left a curriculum which tempered Eliot's elective system with his own system of Concentration and Distribution. To President Conant was left the adaptation of this curriculum to the needs of the modern mid-twentieth century world. Conant's "General Education" plan, which replaced the old Concentration, Distribu- tion scheme, was really an extension of it. It sought to mitigate Eliot's elective system by requiring the student to take a full-year introductory course in each of the three main divisions of learning, the Humanities, the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences.

In the fall of 1946 a "guinea pig" group of freshmen and some upperclassmen, along with a few Radcliffe girls tried out the projected GE program. The program proved successful and in 1949 the freshman class was required to take one GE course. In 1950 the freshmen were required to take two courses and in 1951 the full three, spread out over their first two years.

Perhaps the most graphic picture of the phenomenal development over 80 years can be gained by a comparison of the number of courses offered in the college. In 1873 Harvard listed 92 courses; the 1952-3 catalogue lists over 2,000 courses given in the college alone. A 20 fold increase in 80 years; who knows how many times it will increase in the next 80 years