Spring Registration 2013
Spring Key Dates 2013January 22, 2013
Welcome back, everyone, and welcome especially to our new concentrators! All of us who are part of the Harvard Economics Department’s undergraduate program look forward to working with you during this semester. We hope everyone can continue the momentum of Fall term courses through a fruitful and enjoyable Spring. Please check out the KEY DATES document link for important deadlines and events!
As you know, all economics concentrators have an assigned advisor. You should already have received a welcome email from your advisor and been alerted to the self-serve list serves organized by class on our website. The website is a great resource for many of your basic questions about requirements, advising, study abroad, honors, and thesis writing. You should also feel free to consult me with particular questions about your program or the department in general. We also encourage you to speak with any of our advisors during daily walk-in office hours at Littauer 112, though you we hope you will view your assigned advisor as your primary contact with the concentration. We encourage you to get to know your advisor to enhance your sense of place in this large department.
Sophomores (and everyone who needs to take Ec 970): The Sophomore Tutorial this spring will offer many interesting topics from which you can choose. All of the tutorial leaders will give brief descriptions of, and answer questions about, their tutorials at the required course-wide Sophomore Tutorial meeting on Monday January 28th at 2:00 pm in Science Center C. Syllabi are available on the course web site. Information about choosing and signing up for your Tutorial section will be distributed at this course-wide meeting. (Please note that the department does not permit tutorial “shopping.”)
Sectioning will be completed by Wednesday, January 30th at 5:00pm, and first meetings will take place beginning Monday, February 4th. Your section leader will email you any readings that need to be completed for the first class. Prerequisites for the sophomore tutorial are completion of Stat 100/104/110, Ec 1010a or 1011a, and concurrent enrollment in (or completion of) Ec 1010b or 1011b.
Your new class T-shirts, with the winning slogan “Harvard Economics, Making Common Sense Complicated Since 1776 ” will be available in the advising office (112) soon after the semester starts and (hopefully) at the first meeting of 970.
Juniors: During the week of April 8-12 (Specfic day TBD) we will hold a meeting for all juniors interested in writing a thesis next year. Thinking seriously about the thesis process in the spring of your junior year will allow you to explore various topics, make an informed choice, and find an advisor before you leave Harvard for the summer – all of which will give you a great head start on the senior thesis in September. Please see Our Advice for Juniors thesis document to start.
Graduating Seniors: We have largely automated the process by which we monitor whether you have met all the requirements necessary to graduate. If you have not already done so in the Fall, we require you to make an appointment to meet with your Ec advisor at the beginning of the term and declare which track you are pursuing in the concentration (basic, honors, thesis,) and to double check whether you have met the relevant requirements. In order to take the honors exam and graduate with honors, you must have declared formally that you intend to pursue the honors track. Most of you have already responded to your advisors regarding this, but if you have not, please do!
All Concentrators:
The Department has worked to make it easier for students to satisfy the writing requirement by offering additional courses with this option. Please see the Writing Requirement tab on the website for a full listing.
The Department is offering 3 new electives this Spring including a Junior Seminar: EC 980y, The Economy of China, taught by Professor Richard Cooper (lotteried the week BEFORE classes start); EC 1144, Advanced Applied Econometrics offered by Professor Ariel Pakes - please note time change, it will be offered M/W 10-11:30; and EC 1620, Industry Structure, Strategy, and Public Policy jointly offered with the Kennedy School and taught by F. M. Scherer.
On the evening of April 15th, the department is bringing Yorum Baumon, standup Economist, to campus for a show! Stay tuned for details!
We all wish you the best of luck with your upcoming semester.
Warm regards,
Jeffrey Miron
Senior Lecturer
Director of Undergraduate Studies
© 2007 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College