One of the hallmarks of a Princeton education is the preceptorial system. Loosely based on the British tutorial system, precepts were introduced by President Woodrow Wilson in 1905 and have since then sought to generate lively discussion and debate over the material covered in larger lecture classes. However, while these sections certainly allow for more conversation and interaction with faculty members or teaching assistants, many students still seek a more intimate and discussion-based classroom experience that can only be achieved in seminar. Indeed, the University recognizes and endorses seminars through its Freshman Seminar Program, which seeks to allow underclassmen the opportunity to interact closely with senior faculty members, explore the material in greater depth and participate in discussions more tailored and interesting than those of a normal precept.
It is surprising and disappointing, then, that many departments do not offer more upper-level seminars for undergraduates. Many large departments, including history, politics and philosophy, offer only four or five seminars per semester. Because seminars tend to have such a narrow focus — Machiavelli’s political thought, for example, or the slave trade in Africa — there are many semesters in which vast swaths of a department’s subject area cannot be studied in any seminar at all. This situation should be remedied: Seminar offerings should be expanded to allow for a broader range of topics and to involve more students in this more intimate classroom setting.
The benefits of this policy would also be seen in the shift in classroom dynamics. Currently, students in concentrations such as philosophy have very few opportunities for discussion-based classes, and most are either forced to remain in lecture classes or move into graduate seminars. This latter option is not ideal for undergraduates, who are then frequently forced to move at a faster pace than they would prefer, or for graduate students, who face the opposite problem of having to slow their education for the sake of younger students. By creating more undergraduate seminars, these departments would prevent these situations and allow students who are unprepared for graduate seminars to still have access to intimate classroom discussions.
Some will argue that increased costs will preclude this policy. Faculty members can only teach so many courses, and particularly for large departments, it is more important to offer larger survey lectures than narrowly focused seminars. However, the Wilson School and art and archaeology both provide examples of departments where faculty split their time between lectures and seminars, with 10 or more seminars offered every semester. Moreover, at peer institutions, like Yale or Harvard, popular departments such as history or political science offer at least 15 or 20 small classes every semester. Some balance must of course be struck between lectures and seminars; we believe merely that the current balance is too far in favor of the former. It’s time for Princeton to extend seminars beyond freshman year and allow more opportunities for close collaboration between students and faculty. It’s time for more seminars.
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