Some popular concentrations at Brown typically attract more than 200 students in a year, while other lesser-known studies may have as few as 15 concentrators. As a result, many of the leaner departments are taking steps to raise student awareness and attract more potential concentrators.
The Center for Environmental Studies, which supports the A.B. in Environmental Studies and the Sc.B. in Environmental Science, actively recruits concentrators. Typically, about 15 people concentrate in each degree every year, said Louella Hill '04, food system coordinator at the CES.
A staff member at the CES works as a concentration coordinator each year. Hill held the position last year. "As a recruiter for the center, I met with people individually, spoke to them and encouraged them to consider applying for the concentrations," she said.
Each year, organizers compile a list of students who identified themselves as interested in either environmental studies or environmental science prior to coming to Brown. Students who signed up at the CES's booth at the activities fair at the beginning of the school year are also included, Hill said.
In addition to individually encouraging students to consider concentrating, Hill also performed more traditional duties as concentration coordinator. She spoke with prospective students at A Day on College Hill, placed advertisements, hung posters and hosted open houses, she said.
Hill noted that the CES is taking steps to raise awareness of its undergraduate programs because it has the potential to accept many more concentrators. "I'm always surprised that there aren't any more students concentrating here. All concentrators are required to write a thesis and do a service-based learning project. They have to apply their theoretical knowledge to actual situations. It's an invaluable educational experience," she said.
The Department of Classics is also actively trying to attract more students for its undergraduate concentration. Joseph Pucci, associate professor of classics, serves as the department's concentration advisor.
The department takes several measures to recruit students for its concentration, beginning before students are even admitted. It typically hosts about 50 visits a year from prospective applicants.
With the help of the Admission Office, the department identifies students who have indicated they are interested in the classics concentration on their application forms. Pucci sends letters to these students "urging them to come to Brown" and concentrate in classics. "The department is in touch with admitted students before they matriculate," Pucci said.
The department then follows up this recruitment effort by contacting potential concentrators early in their fourth semester, Pucci said.
Deborah Boedeker, department chair and professor of classics, said more intense measures are necessary to attract interested students to classics because the department requires concentrators to learn an ancient language.
"What Professor Pucci does is very important in encouraging students to come here and then continuing to cultivate that interest," said Boedeker.
Pucci said the measures taken have been fairly successful - more students have concentrated in classics since the efforts were adopted in 1997.
While the measures to attract more concentrators are largely a result of the efforts of the classics department itself, Pucci noted the Admission Office plays a significant role in allowing access to the database of potential concentrators. "It's thanks to them that we are able to get in touch with potential concentrators and do this. They don't have to allow it, but everyone there has been very supportive," said Pucci.
Some students remember receiving a letter from the classics department before matriculation. "The letter was encouraging, but getting to know Professor Pucci and taking his 'Idea of Self' course really solidified my choice to concentrate in the classics," said Peter Catsimpiris '08.
Other concentrations, such as Sexuality and Society, encounter difficulty in attracting students because they are poorly understood or complex.
"We have one graduating senior this year, and the number usually varies from about one to four every year," said Gretchen Schultz, associate professor of French studies, who serves as the Sexuality and Society concentration advisor.
Schultz pointed to the concentration's interdisciplinary nature and the lack of a department to oversee it as some of the obstacles faced in attracting more students.
"We don't have the resources that a center or a department has. What would be really wonderful is if there were funding for a professor or a visiting professor to teach classes in Sexuality and Society. But we haven't been able to get that kind of institutional support, so there are limits to what we can do," Schultz said.
Despite this, Schultz said there has been student interest in the area of study and that resources have been made available to potential concentrators.
"Quite a few students are interested in taking courses, even if they don't want to concentrate. I keep in touch with students who have expressed interest in the past, but the best resource for us is the LGBTQ Center in Faunce (House), because it's a place that attracts students who have interest in this area and where they can get more information on the concentration," she said.
