The number of undergraduates taking graduate-level courses has substantially increased in recent years - 582 undergraduate students enrolled in graduate-level classes in the 2006-2007 academic year, compared to 411 in 2002-2003.
Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron said much of the increase is due to the University's Plan for Academic Enrichment, which she said has added 177 new faculty members, increasing course offerings both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels. Additionally, she said, there have been new graduate programs in which undergraduates have been able to participate.
"Advanced undergraduates in those departments have benefited from the flowering of course offerings at both levels," Bergeron said. "It also says a lot about our undergraduates - that they're capable of keeping up in these advanced classes."
Undergraduates taking graduate-level courses say they value the experience.
Adam Merberg '08 - who is taking both MA 252: "Algebra" and MA 211: "Introduction to Manifolds" - said he was drawn to the graduate-level courses because they were a challenging supplement to his undergraduate courses.
Bob Beddor '07, who is taking CO 282, Sec. 07: "Of Monuments and Documents, Or How To Do Things With (Images and) Words," said he enjoyed the upper-level undergraduate seminars he took in the past, motivating him to try graduate-level classes.
"I really enjoyed the small class size and the intense dynamic that develops within the small-class setting," he said.
Paul Wallace '08 said he didn't realize undergrads could sign up for graduate-level classes, so he was "pleasantly surprised" when he was allowed to take a graduate-level comparative literature course. He said having the graduate students in class with him added a lot to his academic experience.
"It becomes much more apparent that the grad students have a significant amount of research in a specific area," Wallace said. "It's another great resource, having the grad students in there, because they have a very specific direction of information. It's like having a class of lots of other teachers."
There are other benefits as well - students say the graduate-level courses can help prepare them for grad school or careers.
"It's helpful for getting into the graduate programs to have some graduate classes," Merberg said. "And I was also running out of undergraduate classes."
"For undergraduate students thinking of pursuing careers in academia or going on to a Ph.D. program, it's just a good idea to get a taste for what it's like to take graduate courses," Beddor said.
But Merberg said some of the grad students are "less than happy" about having undergrads in their classes, and Beddor said he has heard that some professors discourage undergrads from taking graduate-level classes "because the content is so specific."
"It may be a general worry for some classes, but I've found that in the classes I've taken, while they have been very focused, there has been a lot of interesting material, and you have a wide variety of material and a wide variety of choices of what you want to focus on," he said.
Professor of Mathematics Joseph Silverman '77 P'03 P'06 P'10, who teaches some graduate-level classes with enrolled undergraduates, said as long as students have the background necessary, he does not have a problem with them taking the course.
"Brown philosophy is to give students advice and let them decide what classes they want to take," he said.
"Well, it's one of the great things about Brown - the relationship between the undergraduate College and the Graduate School. It's a lot easier for students to cross over in both directions than in a lot of places," Bergeron said.
