"There is a fundamental problem in that the scientific approach is so layered," Dibadj says. "You have to get introductory math and physics and chemistry out of the way before you can take really interesting design courses. Plus you have to fill all the [Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology] (ABET) requirements, which are very strict," he adds.

The ABET sets national standards for the number and types of courses a student must take in order to qualify for a B.S. degree. These national standards ensure that engineering programs are about as difficult everywhere else as they are at Harvard.

Because of these high standards, Wang Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Roger W. Brockett says that to a certain extent Harvard's difficulties in maintaining engineering enrollment mirror those of other universities.

"It's hard to go against national demographics," Brockett says, pointing to the high dropout rate among prospective engineering students.

"I don't believe our experience is that different from most Ivy League schools," he says. "It's just not that surprising that people don't have a very clear idea of what it means to work in engineering when they first come here to Harvard, because most people aren't exposed to engineering courses in high school."

Brockett adds that to counter this phenomenon the department had created a new introductory level course, Engineering Sciences 51, in order to introduce prospective concentrators to engineering design techniques.

The department also offers a less intensive degree program, but the B.A. degree in engineering sciences does not seem to attract as many students as the department might hope. According to Swartz, the alternative of entering the B.A. program--which has fewer requirements--is less attractive for students because many graduate schools and prospective employers do not know what level of knowledge a B.A. degree indicates.

While the B.A. program does not require students to delve quite as deeply into engineering, Brockett says, it still plays an important role in the department.

Not everyone is prepared to dig into the B.S. program," he says. "The B.A. option serves a valuable purpose by letting people who are less certain that they want to commit themselves to the rigor of [the B.S. program] still get an outstanding education while preparing them to go on to do graduate engineering work." Brockett notes that many students who have earned the B.A. degree have gone on to attend prestigious graduate programs.

In order to continue and increase the number of B.A. candidates who attend graduate school, Swartz says that one of HSE's goals is to "convince the [Division of Applied Sciences] to write a cover letter with transcripts to explain what a B.A. degree actually means."

Students in HSE hope that by legitimizing the B.A. degree, the program will attract more students who might be willing to take that less demanding route.

But, while students point to the difficulty of the concentration as one reason for its small size, they say that if more interested students knew about the department they might be tempted to join it in spite of the many requirements.

Swartz says that the University has not been making an effective public relations effort to inform high school applicants of the merits of Harvard's engineering program. He adds that during pre-frosh weekend he would like to have the University place prospective engineers with Harvard--students currently in the program.

The Office of Career Services could also do more to inform companies about Harvard's engineering program, according to Swartz, particularly given the fact that "except maybe for computer science, engineering is the most marketable major here," he says.

Apparently, however, the concentration's rigor and relative lack of attention are not the only difficulties facing concentrators. Another appears to be lack of access to suitable equipment--especially computing facilities--for undergraduates.