<p>I have noticed after some web surfing that Brown does not have a wide variety of majors. This holds true in many of the other Ivies. Why is that?</p>
<p>At least at Brown, the reasons are many. If you want to create your own major, you can, tailoring it to your interests. Many programs are also doable with a combination of an existing major and a few courses. In addition, Brown believes that college academics extend well beyond the majors. The math bachelor of arts program requires 6 courses (and 2 prerequisites) because they see value in taking a variety of courses outside of their department. It’s generally more important to focus on a coherent group of courses than ways to fulfill a major.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have other reasons?</p>
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<p>In the case of Brown, I do not know if this contraction of majors coincided with the adoption of the open curriculum in 1969 or some other university directive.</p>
<p>Personally, my thoughts are along the same vein as Uroogla’s comments. A specialized major within a major (e.g. biomedical engineering, within engineering) will require not only a set of foundational courses, but will also necessarily need to specify additional courses in order to justify your sub-specialization degree. While this is an option and beneficially practical for some majors, I think the overarching goal is to have enough majors but keep them generalized so students will have room to explore and craft a uniquely specialized experience on their own accord, absent hard guidelines.</p>
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<p>Actually, since the New Curriculum – or since the early 80s – the number of concentrations (which is what majors are called at Brown) has more than doubled. Many of the independent concentrations were so popular they were made official (environmental science is one example of this). It is much much harder to do an independent concentration now than 30 years ago.</p>
<p>Brown says it has over 100 concentrations. That seems like a lot to me. I haven’t looked at the other Ivies – how many do the other schools have? Which ones are missing at Brown?</p>
<p>Another point is that Brown doesn’t have separate schools, the way Penn and Cornell do.</p>
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<p>Over 100 is a lot, I’m not quite sure what the OP is talking about. In fact, for a school the size of Brown our number of concentrations is huge.</p>
<p>Btw, we’re down to about 93 active and on the books.</p>
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<p>But just remember, Classics is the best one; ignore the others, for they will only lead you down dark, dangerous paths.</p>
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<p>@Amadeuic</p>
<p>As a Classics concentrator, I must disagree - I believe I’ve gotten more out of classics by learning computer science - what one needs to do to translate passages from Latin/Greek into English and what one needs to do to write a working program are remarkably similar once one gets into it. I believe it’s less what you concentrate in and more what you get out of your 30-40 courses.</p>
<p>But yes, Classics is a great major, with many different options for its completion (I believe there are 5-6 tracks) and I believe anyone would get something out of taking a course in the department, whether it be one of the language courses offered or the courses conducted in translation (English readings).</p>
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<p>Methinks Amadeuic was jesting with his comment about “dark, dangerous paths.” I could have misinterpreted, though.</p>
<p>You both majored in the Classics? Civilization, Greek or Latin (or other)? I’m very interested double majoring in Latin and either Biology or English, but Classics concentrators, at all schools, have been tough to track down. You both seemed to have loved the department at Brown, so that’s yet another reason to apply.</p>
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<p>I assumed he was joking, but figured it would be best to add the comment about the ability to combine two concentrations to make something that is more than just the sum of the parts.</p>
<p>I’m only a 3rd semester student, so majored is probably the wrong term. However, I do plan to complete a classics concentration, along with the computer science-math concentration before graduation. At present, my plan is to complete the Greek-Latin concentration (4 advanced Latin courses, 4 advanced Greek courses, 2 Roman history, 2 Greek history). I may instead complete the Latin version while still taking the Greek language courses, as electives are hard to come by for me, and this would free up 2 classes. Either combination of concentrations is very doable, at least at Brown. So far, I’ve enjoyed the department. The pace is different than high school, but one gets used to it fairly quickly.</p>
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<p>Oh, and for some reason I assumed Amadeuic was a current student, only to realize just now that he is entering Brown in the fall.</p>
<p>That’s really helpful, uroogla, thanks. I’ve definitely been wondering about the rigor of the courses and the feasibility of double majoring; lots of people say it’s common and not too difficult. </p>
<p>What about the pace would you say is different? Is it simply faster, or does it seem to undulate in a specific way?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
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<p>In high school, we read 30-40 lines a night of poetry, for example, Vergil. For Greek, albeit in a course equivalent to 100 and 200, we read two sections, based on the standard numbering system for texts.</p>
<p>In my Latin poetry course this past spring, we read at 75 lines per class, so 225 a week. LATN1810 and LATN1820, one of which is required for a Latin or Latin and Greek concentration, goes at 200 lines a night, so 600 lines a week. While in high school, I felt we spent a lot of time stumbling over grammar, it’s assumed that one more or less understands it, with the exception of some trouble spots that may come up, meaning getting through the reading in class is not problematic.</p>
<p>The pace may fluctuate slightly depending on the class (if it’s too easy you’ll speed up to read more of an author, if it’s too hard you’ll slow down to better understand what you do read). I briefly sat in on an advanced Greek course where they started slow, but built up to 120 lines per night (but 2 meetings per week, so only 240 per week). As far as rigor…I had a bit of trouble adjusting at first, since I had gone nearly 2 years since taking Latin after having exhausted my high school’s courses as a junior and not having the space to take a course fall of freshman year. However, I found everything to be fair. I don’t know if this is pervasive throughout the department, but I found the tests to be relatively easy (a few shorter - 10-15 lines - passages to translate, then a choice between 2 big ones - 20-30 lines, perhaps a question on scansion or a couple dates you were told to learn within a 50 minute period), though because it was all reading one had done, there was little mercy for mistakes. The essays seemed graded fairly - writing, particularly literary criticism, is not my forte (I obtained the equivalent of a B in all my English courses in high school), and I continued to receive that grade on my essays (which were, for me, both 5 pages, no research necessary).</p>
<p>Double majoring is relatively common and not difficult, but one needs to decide if doing so harms one’s ability to thoroughly explore the Brown curriculum. And if it does, if one is fine with that.</p>
<p>I’m a Classics/Computer Science-Math double concentrator. I have a friend in my year who’s Classics/Cognitive Neuroscience (and Pre-Med). Although I toyed with the idea of going to grad school for classics for a bit (since to go to many of the better grad programs, one needs an extra year of each language beyond the concentration requirements to be considered, as well as German and French or Italian), my friend is doing classics just for fun.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions - I’ll do my best to answer.</p>
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<p>size and specificity. at your 40k school with a university style curriculum (as opposed to the Ivy League’s mostly liberal arts style curriculums), you can major in botany, etc. something very specific, therefore increasing the number of avalable majors. </p>
<p>also, there are majors within majors at brown. you can major in geo-bio or straight geology. you (could) major in linguistic anthropology within the two departments. but they arent’ always obvious or listed. do some deeper digging! :)</p>
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<p>I was interested in Communications and Rhetoric. Does anyone know if they have that major?</p>
<p>That concentration itself doesn’t exist, but one can create one’s own such concentration. Glancing at the description on the College Board website, it seems that one could combine courses in the English department, ones on public speaking, those on Semantics, and on other related topics to form such a concentration.</p>
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