Besides the general university regulations governing the award of a Ph.D. degree, specific departmental rules evolve as a matter of case-law decided committee meeting by committee meeting and/or departmental meeting by departmental meeting. In the summer of 1968 the Harvard chairman of economics, Professor Richard Caves, offered the following codification of specific economics practice. Caves’ cover letter and memo that I have transcribed below were found in personal departmental files kept by John Kenneth Galbraith.
___________________________________
1968 Codification of Harvard Economics Ph.D. Regulations
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN
M-8 LITTAUER CENTER
CAMBRIDGE 38, MASSACHUSETTS
September 13, 1968
To: Members of the Department of Economics
From: R. E. Caves, Chairman
Attached is a memorandum prepared this summer which seeks to codify the department’s regulations concerning the Ph.D. program. It is restricted to information not contained in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, General Announcement, 1968-1969 (“The Red Book”) and the leaflet “Higher Degrees in Economics,” Supplement to the General Announcement.
For some time I have felt the need for a memorandum of this type, for distribution both to graduate students and members of the department. A number of changes have been made during the last few years in the administration of various phases of the PhD. program, and it is difficult to bring these to the attention of the students. Furthermore, some regulations rest on oral traditions that I have found to vary depending on whose mouth they come from. This memorandum has been prepared following a search of the minutes of Department and Executive Committee meetings, and in consultation with the chairman of the Committee on Graduate Instruction. Please bring any inaccuracies to my attention.
This document will be distributed to the returning graduate student at the annual meeting held with them during the first week of classes. (It seems best to spare the first-year students until a psychologically more propitious time.)
Let me take this opportunity to remind members of the Committee on Graduate Instruction that they will be in charge of advising first-year graduate students this year, superseding our previous practice of assigning them to all professors and associate professors in the Department.
___________________________________
DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE Ph.D. IN ECONOMICS
SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSE REGISTRATION
First year graduate students in economics with an ordinary undergraduate background should usually enroll in 201a, b, 221a, b, and 233a, b, plus some other course (or pair of half courses) relating to one of the fields that they expect to present on the general examination. Those who have not passed the mathematics exemption exam should substitute 199 for 201a and 221a during the fall term; either 200a or some other graduate course not requiring advanced prerequisites may be included. 201a and 221a are then begun in the spring semester and their continuations (201b and 221b) completed in the following fall. The mathematics placement examination is advisory, so that students who feel its results do not accurately reflect their abilities may consult the instructors in 201a or 221a.
Four courses per term is the standard load, and full-time students are not permitted to take less. There is no tuition charge for additional courses.
First year students may proceed on their own to arrange reading courses where they seem appropriate. Representative cases would be where the student is preparing an optional field for the general examination for which no regular course is currently given, or where his previous study covers a substantial portion but not all of the first-year theory, history, or statistics courses. (None of these courses is required, although they are recommended for most students.) It is also possible for first year students to sign up for “Time,” although this is normally used primarily to cover study for the general examination, and should not be substituted for a reading course without good cause.
The same general rules pertain to registration for the second year. Economics 202a is normally a second-year course, and students who still need to complete 221b or 201b or both should do so during the fall term. Other courses should be chosen to complete the preparation of the fields which the student plans to present on the oral examination.
The department expects that students will normally take at least one working seminar before the end of their second year. This may be taken during the first year, but ordinarily comes in the second. The Graduate Instruction Committee maintains an up-to-date list of working seminars. Second-year students may then wish to register for “Time” for a substantial part of their program. They are not permitted to do so unless the working seminar requirement has been or is being fulfilled. Exceptions to this requirement are given by the chairman only in rare cases to students who are still carrying a heavy load of regular courses during their second year.
In the third year, or after the residence requirement and general examination have been completed, students do not need to be registered if they are not taking courses. Those in residence, however, will ordinarily wish to register in order to use the university’s facilities, and Teaching Fellows must be registered. Registration at this stage may be either for thesis supervision (Economics 301) or “Time” unless the student wishes to take some regular course.
Students who have done graduate work in economics elsewhere before coming to Harvard may wish to apply for transfer credit. This has the sole effect of reducing their tuition obligation to the University. Since none of our courses is required of graduate students, it has no formal implications for either course registration or for the grade average compiled at Harvard. Credit for work done elsewhere is granted at the discretion of the Graduate Instruction Committee. The number of courses for which credit is granted depends on grades earned at Harvard, the nature of courses taken elsewhere and the quality of the student’s performance in them. The maximum credit that may be given for work done other than at Harvard is eight half courses, and students will be granted all or part of this, depending on the record compiled in the Department. Petition forms for requesting credit for work done elsewhere may be secured from the Graduate Office (Littauer M-13) at the end of the student’s second semester in residence at Harvard.
THE GENERAL EXAMINATION
The Department of Economics has prepared a number of handouts describing such topics as writing off fields for the general examination, the written theory and statistics examinations, and fields of concentration; these are available in Littauer M-13.
Composition and Timing of the General Examination. The General Examination is given in three parts: a four-hour written examination in economic theory and its history, a four-hour written examination in statistical methods, and a one-and-one-half hour oral examination in three specialized fields.
General examinations are given twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. In the past, the fall theory examination has occurred about November 7 and the spring theory examination the week after spring vacation, around April 11. The statistics examination is ordinarily given a few days after the theory exam. Two to three weeks are allowed for grading, so that the fall oral examinations commence after Thanksgiving vacation and the spring orals at the end of April. Exact dates are posted on the bulletin board outside M-13 as soon as they are available. All parts of the examination must ordinarily be taken at the same time, i.e., a student may not take and pass the theory written exam in one “season” and defer the balance until the next. Students will, however, in some cases be permitted to take the written statistics exam prior to the other two parts.
In the past, it was possible for students to request a particular date for the oral examination. With increased number of students to be examined, this is becoming less and less feasible, especially in the spring. Requests to be first are much more likely to be entertained than requests to be last. In the final analysis, the Department feels that the composition of the board is a great deal more important than the actual exam date, and we consequently give this factor priority in scheduling.
Application for the General Examination. Students are invited to apply for the fall exam after October 1 and for the spring exam after March 1. Application may be made in M-13.
The Written Examination. Copies of past exams are available in M-12. It should be understood that the Department is in no way committed to the format or contents of past exams. Because Business Economics Ph.D. candidates are not responsible for the portion of the written theory examination dealing with the history of economic thought, they are given an optional alternate question.
In order to take the Oral Examination, a student must pass both the written theory and written statistics examinations. In most cases, students will not be examined orally on economic theory and statistical methods material covered on the written examinations. However, candidates who receive a grade of Fair Minus on the written theory examination will take a separate oral examination in economic theory and its history, which will be conducted by at least two members of the committee responsible for the written theory examination. This examination will be given as soon as possible after the theory examinations are graded, and the candidate must pass this separate examination in order to present himself for the general oral examination. The oral theory examination will last about forty minutes and will cover the same subjects, but not necessarily the same questions, as the written theory examination. If the candidate fails the oral theory examination, he will also be considered to have failed the written theory examination; if he passes the oral theory examination, his grade on the written theory examination will remain Fair Minus, and he may proceed to the remainder of the general examination.
The procedure for the statistics examination is somewhat different. A student who performs marginally on the written statistics examination will be examined orally in statistics at his general oral examination along with his other three fields. A student who had planned to present General Analytic Ability plus two specialized fields may therefore find he must present statistics orally. If so, he will continue to present General Analytic Ability, but will have a four member board. A student with no write-off will present four specialized fields: economic history, two selected fields, and statistics.
About two or three weeks after the theory and statistics examinations, students are told whether or not they have passed via sealed envelope distributed by the Graduate Secretary in M-13. Students who must present either statistics or theory orally are informed at this time. Except for any Fair Minuses, letter grades are not given out and no grades are posted.
Write-offs. Although the general examination normally consists of three parts, the written theory examination, the written statistics examination, and the oral examination, it is sometimes possible for students to waive either the statistics examination or one field of the oral examination. The theory examination may never be waived and students may not write off more than one field.
Normally the write-off requirement will consist of distinguished grades in either one full course or two half courses indicated for that field. “Distinguished grades” are defined as A or A- for a full course, or at least an A- average for two half courses, obtained by one of the following combinations: A and A; A and A-; A and B+; A- and A-. The following do not qualify: A- and B+; A and B. The order in which the grades are obtained is not important.
Because the spring general examination is given before the end of the second semester, the questions of conditional write-offs may arise. If a student has completed the first semester of a pair of half courses for the write-off and is taking the second semester course at the time he wishes to present that field on his general examination, he may do so only if he obtained an A in that course first semester. If, at the end of the second semester, he does not have at least a B+ in that course, he will be required to take an oral examination in the field.
The courses usable for a write-off change somewhat from year to year, and students should check with the Graduate Office before taking two halves of a write-off in different years. However, if a student completely fulfills a write-off requirement his first year and does not take his general examination until his second year (the most usual case), he may still waive a generals field with his first year work, even though the write-off requirements may have changed substantially by the time he takes his generals.
The sheet on write-off requirements that is available each fall in the Graduate Office contains a list of fields in which a write-off is automatically granted for candidates with the requisite grades. Occasionally, a student will wish to write off a field which is not listed. In this case, a student has the right to petition, in writing, the Committee on Graduate Instruction.
Final jurisdiction on all matters pertaining to write-offs rests with the Committee on Graduate Instruction. Students who wish a write-off that deviates from the normal procedure should check with the Graduate Secretary in M-13, who will supply instructions on petitioning the Committee. To allow the Committee ample time to meet and discuss petitions, and to allow a student to revise his program of study if his petition is rejected, a student should present his petition as soon as possible, certainly no later than the beginning of the semester in which he wishes to take his Generals.
The Oral Examination. The identity of the board members remains a secret until twenty-four hours before the oral. (Those with Monday exams are informed by a Sunday phone call.) The board will usually consist of three faculty members, at least one of whom is tenured.
Students who have no write-off, or who write off statistics, will be examined in three fields. All others will be examined in two regular fields, but a third examiner will be present on the board to evaluate the student’s General Analytic Ability.
The final grade on the General Examination is a composite of three other grades: the theory exam grade, the statistics exam grade, and the grade on the orals. The only grade that is recorded on the permanent record is the final grade. Students are informed within an hour or so of their oral examinations of their final grade for the general.
As in the past, if a student fails any portion of the general oral examination, he fails the entire oral examination, and must again present the same three specialized fields (or two specialized fields and General Analytic Ability). If a student who must present statistics orally fails this portion of the general examination, he will have to retake both the written statistics examination and the entire general oral examination.
Students who receive a grade of at least Good Minus on the general are not required to take a final examination in any fields which were presented at the oral.
Master of Arts Degree. Students who have passed all portions of the general examination may apply for an M.A. degree. There is no fee for this. However, students who have received credit for work done elsewhere should check before applying for an M.A., as this may jeopardize having the necessary sixteen half courses for the Ph.D. residence requirement. Since there is a December 1 deadline for the March degree and an April 1 deadline for the June degree, degree applications may be submitted by the optimistic before generals are taken.
As far as the Department has been told, applying for an M.A. in no way affects one’s draft status, unless the MA. is a terminal one.
SUPERVISION OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
A student is expected to begin active work on his doctoral dissertation as soon as he has completed his General Examination. At that time, he will ask two faculty members from the Department to comprise his thesis committee and to supervise his thesis until it is completed. One of the committee members should be either a professor or an associate professor in the Department (or comparable visiting faculty member), but the second committee member may be chosen from among the lecturers and assistant professors. In some cases it has been possible for students to choose as one committee member a professor from either another department at Harvard or from the economics department of another university. The student will ask one of the committee members (which need not be the tenure member) to serve as principal director of his thesis and chairman of his thesis committee. (A different procedure applies optionally to students who passed the general examination before 1968.)
Having secured approval from two faculty members, a Ph.D. candidate shall register his thesis topic with the Graduate Office within one term after completing the General Examination. On the appropriate form, he shall propose to the Department Chairman a thesis topic and suggest the two faculty members who have agreed to supervise it. The Chairman of the Department will consider the suitability of the proposed thesis committee. Unless they hear otherwise, students may assume approval has been given.
Throughout the time he is writing his thesis, a student is expected to keep in touch with both members of his dissertation committee on the progress of his work. In case a member of the dissertation committee leaves the university for more than a semester, the student is responsible for suggesting a replacement. Department members who are on leave from the university are expected, however, to continue to supervise theses begun under them whenever practicable.
Every student who has passed his General Examination since February 1, 1966, is required to present at least one report on his thesis project to a working seminar. Each year a list of working seminars is issued by the committee on Graduate Instruction. If no working seminar in the field exists, arrangements shall be made for presenting the thesis to another seminar in the presence of at least one member of the thesis committee. Students who plan to be out of residence while writing their dissertations would contact the Department Chairman regarding special arrangements for fulfilling this requirement.
Students are reminded that five years after the general oral examination has been passed, there is a deadline for submitting the thesis. Because the special examination is an investigation of a student’s knowledge of his particular field, not merely a thesis defense, it is imperative that a student maintain an up-to-date knowledge of his field. Students who spend many years writing their dissertations may tend not to keep in touch with current literature and may find themselves handicapped at the special examination. Therefore the Department is quite strict about enforcing this five-year rule, and extensions of time are by not means automatic.
A limited amount of computer time is available each year to students writing theses. Unfortunately, the funds available have been increasingly less adequate in recent years, but the Department is able to allow each student one-half hour of time for writing his thesis. However, we are sufficiently constrained that it is impossible for us to give thesis-writing students additional time beyond the thirty minutes except in a few special cases. Students must plan their programs very carefully and take advantage of the services of the IBM fellows in order to cut costs. Anyone planning a thesis which will involve considerable use of the computer should be all means establish how it will be financed before beginning work on it. While it is unfortunate that students must sometimes pay for their own computer time, this avenue is nevertheless always open. Computer time on the 7094 costs $2.50 a minute and students whose fellowships or personal finances permit the outlay may always purchase time. Computer time is arranged through the Graduate Office in M-13.
Some seminars and courses have funds to finance computing needs for term papers, etc. Slightly more lenient rules than those quoted above apply to holders of NSF Fellowships.
THE SPECIAL EXAMINATION AND COMPLETION OF THE THESIS
When a candidate has nearly finished writing his doctoral dissertation, he shoud see the Graduate Secretary in Littauer M-13 about typing and binding the thesis and taking the Special Examination.
In order to take the Special Examination, it is required that a candidate first submit two bound copies of his thesis to the Department.* At this time he will fill out an application for the Special Examination. A third reader will be chosen and an examination date fixed. (Should a second reader not already have been chosen, he will also be selected at this time.)
*In spite of past leniency, the Department will be adamant about enforcing this rule, and exceptions to it will not be automatic.
Contrary to the extract “Higher Degrees under the Department of Economics,” from the Supplement to the General Announcement, the thesis does not have to be submitted by December 1 for a March degree or March 1 for a June degree. However, candidates must file a degree application with the Graduate Secretary by December 1 for a midyear degree or April 1 for Commencement, and must pass the Special Examination before either February 1 or June 1 for the appropriate degree to be conferred. A degree application may be filed before the thesis is submitted, as degree applications may be withdrawn if the thesis is not completed in time.
Special examinations may be arranged at any time of the year. Students are warned, however, to allow ample time for the readers after the final draft is completed and before the special exam is scheduled. Furthermore, a serious traffic jam develops at the end of every summer, when most faculty members are away and many students wish to finish in order to take fall jobs. The department cannot guarantee prompt scheduling of specials at this time.
Candidates are reminded that the Special Examination is now formally an examination in the field, or parts of fields, in which the thesis lies. Students are referred to a memorandum dated September 12, 1966, which explains this further.
Physical Requirements for the Thesis. “The Form of the Doctoral Thesis,” taken from the Supplement to the General Announcement, explains procedures for finishing the thesis, but the following points should be noted.
Number of Copies. Unless specifically told otherwise by his advisor, a student may assume the Department requires only two copies of his thesis.
Paper. The first copy of the thesis must be typed on Crane’s thesis paper, which is available in the Coop. The second copy may be Xeroxed. As twenty pound paper does not travel successfully through most Xerox machines, it obviously cannot be required for the second copy. If the second copy is a carbon, it should be done on thirteen pound (or heavier) paper. Any deviation from this format should be cleared through Mr. Elkins, Archivist at Widener Library.
Summary. Although a summary is no longer required by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, two copies of a four to ten page summary are required by the Department of Economics. The summaries are initialed by the two supervising members of the thesis committee when the thesis is accepted and are inserted in a pocket in the back of each copy of the thesis. In addition, the Department would like a 75-word summary of the thesis to be published in the September issue of the American Economic Review.
Binding. The New England Book Binding Company, 24 Blackstone Street, Cambridge (located parallel to Memorial Drive and one block north, between Western Avenue and River Street, phone 868-7220), can bind theses in five working days for about $9.00 per volume. They will also pick up and deliver in Cambridge. Candidates should be sure to tell the bindery to put a pocket for the summary in the back of each copy of the thesis, as this is not done automatically. The thesis may be bound in any reasonable color.
Footnotes. Unless a student is informed otherwise by his advisor, he may follow the editorial recommendations on page 4 of “The Form of the Doctoral Thesis.” Footnotes may be at the bottom of the page, within the text, at the end of chapters, or at the end of the thesis.
Thesis Acceptance Certificate. The Thesis Acceptance Certificate is signed by the first and second readers at the Special Examination. The Department will take care of pasting it in the thesis.
Caveat. Once a thesis has been taken to the Registrar’s Office, it cannot be retrieved.
Special Examination. The special field or fields in which the Special Examination shall be taken are designated by the chairman of the dissertation committee. The exam also constitutes a defense of the thesis.
The two supervising members of the thesis committee agree on a grade on the thesis itself. A separate grade on the special examination is given by the three-man examining committee.
Source: John Kenneth Galbraith Papers. Series 5. Harvard University File, 1949-1990. Box 526, Folder “Harvard University Department of Economics: General correspondence, 1967-1974 (3 of 3)”.
Image Source: PhinisheD Gown at pinterest.co.uk