Harvard by the Numbers

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) faces interesting challenges in maintaining expertise in current fields of knowledge, bringing in professors to pursue new frontiers, training future scholars, and educating undergraduates. As FAS dean Michael D. Smith illustrated with these figures, adapted from his annual report dated May 2008, social sciences (economics, government, history, and so on) attract the largest number of College concentrators, and account for the largest faculty cohort. Arts and humanities professors rank second, but the number of concentrators (not the only students taking courses, to be sure), is much smaller, and diminishing. Graduate-student enrollments (importantly, the source of teaching fellows) are largest in the sciences, but fastest-growing in engineering and applied sciences—the only group within the faculty to expand in relative size during the past decade (see “A ‘Pause’ and Progress in FAS,” July-August, page 68).

Click here for the September-October 2008 issue table of contents

You might also like

John Goldberg named Dean of Harvard Law School

A professor at HLS since 2008, he steps up from the interim role.

Nieman Foundation Names Henry Chu as Interim Curator

Veteran LA Times journalist calls attention to press freedom

Harvard Can Continue Hosting International Students, Judge Says

Trump hints at a possible settlement with the University.

Most popular

Two Momentous Faculty Retirements

Arthur Kleinman and Harry Lewis depart the classroom.

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvard Summer Reading Picks | 2025

The wealth gap, shamanism, the life of David Nathan, and more

Harvard Medalists

Four people honored for exceptional service to the University

Garber, Trump, and the Fight for Harvard’s Future

Introducing a guide to the issues, players, and stakes.