Editorial: Escaping McCosh 50

Unfortunately, there are many students who rarely, if ever, enroll in seminars during their Princeton careers. In many of the larger departments, students are able to fulfill their requirements predominantly through lecture courses. Though precepts do add an important discussion element to lecture courses, the demand for students to evaluate the material is far less rigorous during a 50-minute precept than a three-hour seminar. Additionally, lecture courses rarely offer the kind of pedagogical engagement with professors that lies at the core of a seminar-style class. Consequently, students who do the overwhelming majority of their coursework in lecture classes are likely to miss out.

Faculty and administrators already prescribe requirements for students based on which kinds of courses they believe constitute a well-rounded, liberal arts education. Therefore, it would be reasonable for them to also decide that this liberal arts education should include the academic experience offered by an upper-level seminar. Though lecture courses can be challenging and thought-provoking, they should be supplemented with seminars for a more complete education.

To this end, each department should re-evaluate its requirements to ensure that its students cannot avoid upper-level seminars or the department’s equivalent of a challenging, discussion-based learning experience. While many departments do have a junior seminar as part of junior independent work, some are primarily geared toward ensuring that students keep up-to-date on their research, rather than providing vigorous academic exercise. Departments should consider instituting a seminar requirement not linked to independent work, or at least ensuring that departmental advisers look closely at course choices to guide students toward these kinds of experiences. While the board understands this may mean that some departments will have to reallocate their teaching resources to provide enough seminars for their students to take, the benefits accrued to students are sufficient to justify this effort.

Engaging with academic material at a higher level through thought-provoking discussion should be an integral part of the Princeton liberal arts education. Departments would do well to examine the ways they can enable, encourage or require their students to make seminar-style classes a significant component of their coursework; it is necessary to ensure that all students have a high-quality academic experience.