For sophomores, it’s a decision year, and among all of those decisions, one of the most important is what concentration to choose. It’s a big question that determines much of our time at Princeton. For some, like myself, the largely ignored option of early concentration was a great opportunity I was lucky to find out about from a fantastic senior. Let me fill you in.
Early concentration is the opportunity for sophomores to declare their major during first semester and begin independent research early. For a history major like me, that meant writing my first junior paper during the second semester of sophomore year. Early concentration is available in all of the following departments: history, East Asian studies, comparative literature, philosophy, physics, French and Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, astrophysical sciences, German, chemistry, classics and sociology.
The process of early concentration varies with each department, but for me, it required a meeting with the departmental representative and a short interview about my desire to study history. I also met with the professor who would be advising my junior paper research and teaching the 400-level history course required of all concentrators.
Early concentration has certain advantages. Diving earlier into a department is certainly rewarding and can provide more access to funding, professors and department-specific opportunities. Learning the discipline of department-specific research early only enhances the other courses in one’s concentration: I became more appreciative in my other history classes to find readings easily available on Blackboard after going through the process of tracking down physical documents in different libraries. As there were only three of us completing junior papers in my history seminar, we had the undivided attention of our professor. Early concentration allows more freedom to study abroad, and by completing research early, I do not have to write a junior paper while abroad. It also allows more flexibility to pursue certificates.
Professors are enthusiastic about early concentrators. Most I’ve talked to, from history to German, love to meet with students who love their subject and look forward to encouraging students to develop their research discipline earlier in their Princeton careers. Neta Bahcall of the astrophysical sciences department said, “The benefits, with any field, is those who decide to early concentrate are students that are really interested and know what they want to do, be it astrophysics or anything. That’s where the fun is— getting yourself immersed in the topic.”
Students are, of course, excited about early concentration — those who choose to dive into a subject early must be crazy (about the subject). But for those who have not heard of it, I enthusiastically endorse looking at this option.
However, early concentration is not for everyone. Professors and department chairs will discourage students from early concentration if they feel the student is not passionate about the subject enough to begin early research. Professor Michael Graziano of the psychology department “does not encourage or discourage” early concentration in general because specialization depends on every student.
Early concentration is still not popular, with only a few students declaring early each year. Some declare early and then decide to wait until junior year to begin research. Some departments, such as geosciences and mathematics, allow early research, but not early concentration. Although the Economics department does not have the program, it allows students to take graduate level courses or access funding for summer projects.
In my experience, early concentration is an example of one of the reasons I chose Princeton: the chance to work with stellar professors and the support of an academic community while answering a research question, along with the independence (and outcome) of pursuing a topic alone.
For sophomores who have fallen in love with a subject, I urge you to consider early concentration by reaching out to the departmental representatives of the disciplines listed above. For freshmen who are still searching, know that this option exists (and if you’re a history nerd like me — see you in the library!).
Azza Cohen is a history major from Highland Park, Ill. She can be reached at accohen@princeton.edu.
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