Science Gen Ed Courses Draw Non-Concentrators

Since the very beginning, Physical Universe 27, “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter” has found itself at the center of attention for its ability to attract not only science concentrators, but also the larger undergraduate population.

About 600 students showed up for the class’ debut, nearly doubling the 350-person capacity of the lecture hall. Such record-high numbers can be attributed to the Standing Committee of General Education’s pedagogical and philosophical review of the course’s curricula, according to course instructors.

The course’s existence “is critically reliant” on the Gen Ed program, according to Michael P. Brenner, one of the course instructors and area dean of applied mathematics. “The notion of doing this in this way was inspired by the Gen Ed program,” he said, adding that he would not have taught the course outside the context of Gen Ed.

The course’s status as a Gen Ed offering has been crucial for its ability to attract the undergraduate population, beyond science concentrators, according to Brenner. In fact, the course’s wider appeal to non-concentrators attracted him to the teaching role.

Although teaching a class of students with science backgrounds would be “much easier,” Brenner said, it would also be “much less interesting.”

“The appeal of doing this is that it’s an opportunity to try to communicate with student who ordinarily might not be so interested [in science],” he said.

Administrative Director of the Program in General Education Stephanie H. Kenen said she hopes the strong base of interest shown by non-science concentrators for Science and Cooking will be seen throughout the Gen Ed curriculum. Classes specifically designed to attract students from different academic backgrounds—such as the introductory class Computer Science 50—ultimately define the Gen Ed program, Kenen said.

“There are quite a few courses offered by various departments that meet the pedagogical goals of general education and that also meet the pedagogical demands of a concentration,” she said. “Gen Ed is about connecting what students learn in the classroom to life outside of Harvard.

The primary pedagogical goal of certain courses that fulfill Gen Ed requirements is to serve as stepping stones within their concentrations—for example, several introductory physics classes are targeted towards concentrators who hope to continue studying the discipline. But Gen Ed courses like CS50 and SPU27 emphasize the broader themes that may be applicable to life after Harvard.

Science and Cooking explores the physical and chemical properties of matter through the lens of cooking science. Weekly lectures feature food experts in the field of “molecular gastronomy,” a discipline that uses science to re-engineer food, and lab sections involve cooking and eating.

CS50, another popular Gen Ed course that has drawn the non-science-concentrating contingent, has seen its enrollment jump 56 percent from last year, from 337 students last fall to 525 this year. The course—led by lecturer David J. Malan ’99—is now the fourth largest undergraduate class offered at the College.

According to Malan, many of the students—40.3 percent—take the class as an elective, compared to the 37.6 percent that take the class for concentration credit and the 6.7 percent for Gen Ed credit.

“Inasmuch as CS50 is intended for concentrators and non-concentrators alike, we actually felt that the course was, by design, well suited for inclusion in Ged Ed,” Malan said in a written statement.

“I think especially what David Malan has been doing is great,” said Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Physics Vinothan N. Manoharan. “He’s made that class accessible to a large portion of the undergraduate population.”

“I think there are big ideas taught in these classes, and those ideas are woven into the class that are interesting and accessible to a broad segment of the undergrads,” Manoharan added. “They really are teaching computer science and they really are teaching physics.”

—Gautam S. Kumar contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Sirui Li can reached at sli@college.harvard.edu.