Faculty Council considering abolishing AB/AM and AB/SM programs

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

I was reading the Harvard Crimson and the last paragraph of this article (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/10/26/allen-withdraws-sanctions-motion/) caught my attention:

“[For a new policy under consideration] students would no longer be able to receive a Master’s degree in four years through the activation of advanced standing, a program that allows College students to receive an A.B. in three years through the use of Advanced Placement credit.”

I’m a prospective student. Coming from the UK system where you start specialising at age 14, and drop down to 3-4 subjects at age 16, advanced standing and a program like that would be a good fit for me I feel and is a major part of why Harvard is my top choice. (Other US colleges offer the same program, but they are much stricter with eligibility for Advanced Standing with A-levels)

So seeing this is a bit worrying as if the motion went through I think it would be unfair to students who join intending to participate in the programs. Does anyone attending Harvard know if the motion is likely to go through? If it did, would it likely affect people potentially joining the Class of 2022?

2

If any change happens, it would likely not affect current students or potential applicants in the current cycle. They more than likely would grandfather them in, as they did when they recently revamped gen ed requirements.

As it is, many departments do not currently participate in combined degree program. Few students, even if they intend on pursuing 2 degrees upon matriculation, actually end up doing so. For the list of departments that do participate, see the below link:
https://oue.fas.harvard.edu/masters