Proposed revisions to the human biology concentration program will eliminate the bachelor of science degree and alter the bachelor of arts degree, if approved. Though the changes were posted on the Division of Biology and Medicine website as early as this summer, the College Curriculum Council has not yet scheduled a time for their review.
Marjorie Thompson, associate dean of biological sciences, sent an email Aug. 4 to an undergraduate biology listserv about the changes, which will affect the classes of 2014 onward. Elimination of the bachelor of science program "will be official very soon and should be regarded as such," wrote Thompson in an Aug. 11 email to a human biology concentrator obtained by The Herald. Thompson declined to comment for this story.
The number of human biology bachelor of science concentrators increased from five in 2004-05 to 44 in 2009-10, according to the 2009-10 Annual Report of Biological Undergraduate Affairs. Last year, 37 students received a bachelor of arts degree in human biology.
The bachelor of arts program for classes graduating before 2014 requires students to select from one of four themes: human health and disease; race and gender; brain and behavior and ecosystems; and evolution and the environment. The proposed program stipulates the unifying theme of human health and disease, but allows students to define a subfocus with an adviser.
Catherine Nam '13, a human biology concentrator in the bachelor of arts program, said she has not received a lot of information regarding the changes to the program. "It's a bit odd seeing that human bio is such an interdisciplinary concentration," Nam said. "One of the strengths of the program is that it has such diversity within the discipline."
The program draws people with various interests, and the previous option of bachelor of science or arts allowed students more choice "depending on their focal point," she said.
Denny Kim '14, a student in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, said he was surprised and confused by the change. He said he was interested in taking upper-level biology courses, but did not "really have an incentive to take them" without "the recognition that the ScB major gives."
Anthony Urena '12, a human biology bachelor of arts concentrator, also said he would like to see the University keep the science degree. "Brown is the place where you should have the freedom to craft your own education, and it's sort of counterintuitive for them to limit that," Urena said.
Urena first considered the bachelor of science degree when considering medical school, he said. The degree, which includes requirements for medical school, also allows for some freedom in course selection, Urena said. By sophomore year, he realized he was more interested in the sociological aspects of medicine than in attending medical school, he said. Urena said he believed a lot of students end up switching to the arts degree for similar reasons.
The arts degree "incorporates more of a humanities aspect (and) ... still has the rigor of an ScB in human bio," Kim said. But "it says something if you graduated with an ScB degree in human bio."
