After years of biology, history and international relations topping the charts, economics has become the most popular concentration at Brown the last two years, according to recent data from the Office of Institutional Research.
Including double-concentrators, more than 9 percent of 2009 graduates were awarded bachelor's degrees in economics. The concentration usurped the first-place spot previously occupied by biological sciences — a category that comprises biology and interdisciplinary biology programs such as human biology, biophysics, marine biology and applied math-biology. University Registrar Robert Fitzgerald said the same pattern continued with the class of 2010, with about 10 percent of students receiving degrees in economics.
Associate Dean of Biological Sciences Marjorie Thompson'74 PhD'79 P'02 P'07 P'09 disagrees with the conclusion that economics now tops biology and other traditional favorites in popularity. If neuroscience, biomedical engineering and community health are grouped together as biological sciences, she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, "econ doesn't come close."
According to the Annual Report of Biology Undergraduate Affairs for 2008-09, biomedical concentrations — including those listed in the Office of Institutional Research report plus community health, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, biochemistry and computational biology — accounted for about 17.5 percent of students.
"It becomes an issue of who considers what to be underneath what," Fitzgerald said, adding that if each concentration is viewed individually, "econ is by far and away the most popular."
While there are different interpretations of the data on which major takes the lead, economics undoubtedly has seen its own popularity on the rise. In 2006, the number of concentrators was 68, according to the Office of Institutional Research. Since then, the number has more than doubled to 180. Business economics, which had 85 concentrators graduating in 2006, is now a track in Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship.
"Economics as a discipline has many important things to say about the world we live in," Roberto Serrano, professor of economics and chair of the department, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "For instance, the current crisis is affecting everyone, and I bet many students want to understand what's going on a little better."
Serrano added that "economics teaches a set of very useful tools on how to analyze practical problems. These have been traditionally helpful for students to go on the job market."
The department is "lucky to have some of the best teachers on campus, with extremely positive teaching evaluations," Serrano wrote.
Billy Fallon '12, who double-concentrates in economics and math, said he thinks the rising popularity of economics degrees is to due to the department's connections with other concentrations at Brown, including applied math and international relations.
The department is "also very accessible," Fallon said, in some cases requiring only seven courses for concentration fulfillment and thus allowing students to explore other fields.
The economics department has "really amazing faculty" who are very well-known in their areas of study or expertise, he added.
"The professors I've had so far have been excellent," Eric Ho '11, another economics concentrator, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Still, with the popularity of economics courses, "it is sometimes difficult to get personal attention."
Fallon said he doesn't think a concentration's popularity influences students' academic decisions.
But those numbers can impact how departments are perceived and how resources are allocated to them, Thompson wrote.
The Academic Priorities Committee, which makes suggestions to the University administration regarding allotment of funds and resources, "will be very interested in the enrollment and concentration trends in economics over the last several years," Nancy Dunbar, associate provost and committee member, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
"Popularity per se should not be our aim," Serrano wrote. "But the best possible outcome is to end up being popular without having compromised on the quality of the program and the difficulty of the concentration requirements."
Increasing education in economics "is a positive development," he added, "in terms of producing more sophisticated citizens, capable of making better decisions in their households, firms or countries."
