Sizing It Up

Louis Turgel '01 could not make up his mind.

It was spring of his sophomore year, and it was time to choose.

"It was a last-minute decision between Slavic or political economy," he said in an e-mail about his struggle to pick a major.

Turgel chose Slavic languages and literature. And one of his reasons was the small size of the department.

In deciding whether to join large or small departments, sophomores often use the same criteria as Turgel — weighing the Davids and Goliaths of academic concentrations against each other.

Indeed, there are numerous costs and benefits to joining both large and small departments. For one, there is the perception that advisers in small departments are more accessible to students. "I could choose any professor for my independent work — there were no assignment forms," Alexandra Rothstein '00 said, explaining why she chose to major in Near Eastern studies, the University's smallest department with three majors. "They have had a lot of time for me."

NES major Seth Wikas '01 agreed. "Finding a professor who was interested in my field, and world-renowned for his work at that, was not hard, and he has been very easy to reach and helpful in the whole process," he said. Wikas added that a small department such as NES has trouble attracting students because "it is specific to a certain region of the world or concentrated field of study."

In contrast, some economics majors complain that their advisers are not as helpful and that the large number of students in the department can detract from the overall academic experience.

"There are not enough professors or grad students to advise undergrads, a problem which has been exacerbated recently by the growing popularity of the finance aspect of the econ department," Sarah Tani '00 said.

Tani had an "exceptionally heinous experience" with her junior paper adviser — a fifth-year graduate student who was looking for a job and did not look over her final draft until the night before it was due. Tani added that if a student is not getting a certificate in finance, "you may feel like a guppy in a bowl full of piranhas when you go job or internship hunting during junior and senior year."

Had she known what she knows now — that she could still pursue the same coveted investment banking jobs if she had graduated with a degree from another department — Tani said she would have chosen another major.

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Still, other economics majors feel the department offers them opportunities that smaller ones cannot. Economics major Jiro Kondo '01 said he understands the "little fish, big pond" feeling in the department, but that he himself does not feel that way. "I've developed good relationships with some professors in the department," he said. "One of them asked me to read over a chapter of a book he was writing. We connected really well. His research interests are really similar to mine."

Former economics department chair Ben Bernanke agreed his department's size should not discourage students from joining. "It's great that so many students have an interest in economics," he said. "It's a highly relevant, highly interesting department. If we had more resources to meet the demand, we'd get more students."

Turgel does not believe the Slavic languages and literature department — the University's second-smallest department with five majors — needs more students. "The one reason that the department could use a few more majors would be to help it out financially," he said. "I'm not sure more majors would attract any more money to the department, but anything is worth a try . . . The smaller departments do not get enough money, whether from the University or from private donors."

NES department chair Andras Hamori '61 said he would like to attract more students, but the number of concentrators has probably never exceeded 10 since 1961, when there were six seniors. Next year, the department plans to add a social scientist — a specialist in the politics or political economy of the Middle East — who Hamori hopes will attract more interest in his department. "This should add significantly to the number of students who enroll in our courses and should add a few concentrators," he said.

Class size is another characteristic that distinguishes large departments from smaller ones. While teaching assistants often lead precepts in the economics department, many NES classes are seminars and therefore are taught only by professors.

As the only senior in her department, Rothstein does not have anything to say about NES teaching assistants — because she has never had a precept in her mainly seminar-style departmental classes. "I've enjoyed being in a small department — part of why I chose NES," she said. She added that because of her interest in Jewish studies — in which she is earning a certificate — majoring in Near Eastern studies made sense.

SLA major Eleanor Aversa '01 said her department allows for more interaction with graduate students — which often does not occur in small majors. She said there is always the opportunity to chat with professors and graduate students in the department's lounge and that faculty members are always asking about her junior paper even though they are not her advisers.

Like NES majors, SLA majors get their first-choice advisers for junior papers and thesis work. "There is no such thing as second-choice here," Turgel said.

SLA department chair Charles Townsend said he would like "to see more students in the department, but the size is reasonable, given the Slavic departments in other schools."

Townsend noted, however, that general interest in Slavic studies has waned because of a lack of interest in Russian studies. "The end of communism brought about a lessening of interest in Russia," he said, adding that "quality, not quantity, matters."

Turgel explained that precepts are not particularly small because courses in the department are popular electives.

An NES major can become an investment banker while an economics major can choose to teach in high school. Though choosing a major can seem like a daunting challenge, the decision is, ultimately, what the student makes of it.

Just ask Turgel.

"It was the best decision I made at Princeton," he said of his choice to major in Slavic languages and literature. "I get to read some of the best books in the world and still have the rest of my life to pursue a career in a politicsor economics-related field — or maybe something entirely different."