The faculty of arts and sciences formally approved the addition of two new masters programs in the Physics and Astronomy Departments at a meeting of the general faculty yesterday afternoon.
In addition, the faculty voted to put a limit on the number of total majors and minors a student can declare to three.
The faculty unanimously supported the graduate program in physics and astronomy. According chair of the agenda subcommittee Kathy Kramer, the graduate program will be fairly modest, with approximately three to four students per year.
The proposal follows on the heels of a well-established doctoral program, Kramer said.
"A lot of the program formally establishes what [students] have been close to doing already in terms of classes and support," she said.
Kramer also tried to alleviate fears that Dartmouth's graduate programs are expanding too rapidly. She said, "There are a number of factors that hold the number of graduate students at bay, not the least of which is dollars."
The second proposal reviewed by the committee was submitted by the Student Assembly and limits the total number of majors and minors a student can declare to three.
Although some faculty voiced the concern that students might still want to elect more than three total majors and minors, the measure passed with a unanimous vote.
Many faculty felt that by not limiting majors and minors, students would try to obtain a wide variety of credentials, and, as a result, focus less attention on their major.
