As lecturers and mentors, the assistant directors will have “contact with pre-concentrators early,” and may relieve over-burdened advisers, Dahleh says. Although the advising system lacks the kind of structure sought by some ES concentrators, others, like Caroline T. Quazzo ’12, say the small size of the concentration facilitates contact between professors and students.

“I actually think the advising [is] quite good,” she says.

HIGH DEMANDS

Among concentrations at the College, ES is also uniquely demanding. Bachelor of Science candidates must complete 20 half-courses, the highest number of requirements at the College.

Concentrators pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, meanwhile, are required to enroll in 14 to 16 half-courses.

The set of courses—which encompasses classes in mathematics and applied science—ensures that concentrators achieve a deep understanding in their field. But juggling the full course load in addition to laboratory commitments, Gen Ed requirements, and extracurriculars can at times be daunting.

“I think students aren’t very happy with [ES] because it’s a huge workload and a lot of problem sets,” says Carl Daher ’13, an ES concentrator.

Quazzo says that of her 16 required courses, 10 were introductory engineering requirements.

“It’s definitely grown on me—[it was] daunting at the beginning,” she says.

Scheduling so many classes also poses logistical problems, according to Howe. Many courses are held in the afternoon and may interfere with extracurriculars and athletic commitments.

“Optimizing these schedules is difficult,” he says, but the department is trying to move classes around. Given the complex nature of the concentration, efforts are also in place to make requirements easier to understand.

Not all concentrators say they are bothered by the demands. ES Concentrator Sarah E. Campbell ’12 says she has had semesters with over 23 hours of class each week, but she appreciates the rigor. “The benefit of having a lot of class time is that you completely immerse yourself in the material,” she says. And concentrators are not shy to share the heavy-lifting; challenging problem sets have a way of bringing students together, according to Xie.

In fact, many say the concentration as a whole is very tight-knit.

“It’s so small that I actually know every professor,” says William C. Burke ’13, a mechanical engineering concentrator.

POSITIVE CHANGES