Harvard students aren’t just worried about fewer A’s. They’re worried about where the A’s could begin disappearing. In Harvard’s recent grade inflation report, a passing mention revealed what has become a focal point for students: some departments give out far more A's than others.

Since the report’s release, that concern has grown louder. In a follow-up survey from Harvard’s Undergraduate Association, roughly 50% of respondents said they believe grading policies should differ by concentration.

We’ve written before about the need to re-center academics in a culture increasingly driven by the “shadow system of distinction.” Some student reactions to even the potential of tougher grading have felt overblown. But here, they aren’t wrong: as Harvard confronts grade inflation, it also needs to confront grade disparity.

The numbers show why. In 2020-2021, the share of A-range grades varied greatly by division (even before accounting for categories with even higher grading patterns, such as Gen Eds): 

  • 73% of Arts and Humanities grades are in the A-range

  • 65% of Social Science grades are in the A-range

  • 65% of Natural Science grades are in the A-range 

  • 60% of Engineering and Applied Science grades are in the A-range

Yale shows even wider gaps: in 2022-23, 52% of Economics grades fell in the A range, versus over 92% in History of Science and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

If Harvard is serious about restoring academic rigor, it can’t ignore these departmental disparities. Reform loses credibility if the strictest graders are the ones tightening further simply because it is easier. STEM courses often lend themselves to curves; in the humanities, where grading can be more subjective and varies by instructor or teaching fellow, recalibrating expectations is harder. That makes clear guidance even more important.

Without it, pressure to keep grades inflated is stronger where standards are less defined. Departments with more grading ambiguity must take the challenge seriously, not only to preserve fairness, but to avoid demoralizing students in other fields. When peers see inconsistent standards, it chips away at the idea that a Harvard education reflects shared expectations of excellence.

For departments facing declining enrollment, high grades may feel like a survival strategy. But leniency also has costs: it erodes student morale, weakens trust across disciplines, and risks turning students away from fields they fear will not be taken seriously by employers, graduate schools, or classmates. In a tough and technical job market, the better strategy isn’t to pull back, but to take pride in rigor and reestablish it as a strength.

If Harvard wants students to value a liberal arts education, grading across all departments must reflect a shared commitment to rigor. That doesn’t mean identical standards, but it does mean every department — especially those where grading is more subjective or inflation pressures are higher — must take a clear-eyed look at what fairness and excellence demand in their context and commit to upholding them.

Ask 1636

Send us your Harvard and higher education questions!

Q: What happened with the explosion on Harvard Medical School’s campus last weekend?

Early Saturday, two men broke into an HMS lab and detonated a large commercial firework. No one was injured, and the explosion caused limited damage. Both suspects were later arrested and appeared in federal court on Tuesday. HMS Dean George Daley (AB ’82) told the community that while Harvard police will maintain an increased presence on the campus, there’s “no ongoing threat to public safety” and the building is secure and fully operational.

Events

  • Cleveland, OH — November 13 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET: Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and the Harvard Club of Northeast Ohio are hosting a reception with HDS Dean Marla Frederick. Register here.

  • New York, NY — November 18 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. ET: Harvard Business School (HBS) and the HBS Club of New York are hosting a reception for alumni with additional career planning workshops for recent graduates. Register here.

  • Virtual — December 5 from 11:30 am-12:30 p.m. ET: The Harvard Club of Western North Carolina is hosting President Alan Garber (AB ’76, PhD ’82) for a conversation about the University’s priorities, progress on campus, and Garber’s vision for Harvard’s future. Register here.

  • Virtual — December 11 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET: Harvard Business School Jewish Alumni Association (HBSJAA) is hosting a conversation for members with Jana Kierstead, Kristin Mugford (AB ’89, MBA ’93), Joshua Margolis (AB ’88, AM ’90, PhD ’97), and Mitch Weiss (AB ’00, MBA ’04) on the campus climate for Jews. Register here. 

  • Washington, D.C. — December 12 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. ET: Join HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein for breakfast to discuss “how HKS is adapting and supporting its community members in unprecedented times.” This event is geared toward alumni affected by changes in the public sector. Register here. 

If you find our newsletter valuable, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support 1636 Forum’s mission.

FYIs

Harvard Tightens Screening of International Visitors, Columbia Urged to Cut CCP-Linked Ties

  • Harvard will conduct security screenings of international participants, faculty, and co-sponsors for all University-affiliated events, including executive education programs, workshops, and conferences. The new policy broadens Harvard’s previous export control rules that applied to high-profile scientific and technology endeavors. 

  • According to an internal presentation obtained by The Crimson, the expanded compliance policy requires vetting attendees from sanctioned countries such as China, Iran, and Russia, and may require export licenses for sharing research materials or granting lab access to foreign visitors.

  • Harvard attributed its new policy to the current federal administration’s “different focus” and recent congressional inquiries into Harvard’s foreign ties, for example into a Harvard School of Public Health conference attended by members of the U.S.-sanctioned Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

  • Columbia also received a letter this week from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) urging the university to end student exchange programs supported by groups with ties to the CCP. It singles out Columbia’s promotion of a 2026 China Trek trip co-sponsored by an “instrument of the CCP’s approach to political warfare,” the China-United States Exchange Foundation. 

Harvard Salient Board Issues Cease and Desist, Hires Law Firm to Investigate

  • The Harvard Salient’s alumni board has ordered the conservative student magazine to halt publication and stop using its name, after weeks of internal dispute over governance and content.

  • The board said it retained outside counsel to investigate “decisions around the publication of certain offensive material” and “deeply disturbing and credible complaints about the broader culture of the organization.” 

  • The move follows the board’s late-October suspension of the Salient after its September issue included a passage echoing Adolf Hitler’s 1939 Reichstag speech, which editor-in-chief Richard Rodgers (AB ’28) called unintentional.

  • Salient student leaders initially defied the cease-and-desist order but later told The Crimson they would comply while “attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution” with the board.

Crimson “Ethicist” Column on Cutting Off Zionist Friends Draws Criticism from Campus Jewish Groups

  • The Crimson’s “Amateur Ethicist” column published a column on whether a Jewish, anti-Zionist student should “let go of [their] Zionist friends.” The columnist wrote that ending such friendships is “not obligatory” but is “justifiable.”

  • The piece drew prompt backlash from Harvard’s Jewish community leaders:

    • Harvard Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Jason Rubenstein (AB ’04) said the exchange reflected the kind of antisemitism Jewish students increasingly face on campus: not the “genteel” exclusion of the 1960s, but rather morally-framed social shunning. He added that because most American Jews identify as Zionists, portraying Zionism as a moral failing effectively normalizes discrimination against them.

    • Harvard Chabad’s Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi criticized The Crimson for publishing the column in the first place, arguing, “would The Crimson publish: ‘Should I let go of my Muslim friends?’ or, ‘Should I let go of my gay friends?’”

  • The “Amateur Ethicist” columnist wrote in a February 2025 Crimson piece, “I also stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Witnessing ‘the first live-streamed genocide in history,’ to quote Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa, I have grown frustrated at Harvard’s continued investments in companies tied to weapons manufacturing and Israeli settlements….accusations of antisemitism today [are] being weaponized against foreigners in America.”

More News

More News at Harvard:

  • The Crimson: “To The Editor: My Side of the “Apartheid Wall” Story” — by Harvard president emeritus Larry Summers (PhD ‘82)

  • The Crimson: “Harvard Faculty Question Whether Steep Ph.D. Cuts Are Necessary”

  • The Crimson: “At Harvard Talk, Princeton President Says Colleges Should Set Clear Time, Manner, Place Rules for Protests”

  • The Crimson: “Harvard Faculty Adjust to Teaching in the Political Hot Seat”

  • Harvard Gazette: “Leading FAS in period of major challenges, opportunity for change” — feat. FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra 

  • The Crimson: “Grad Union Rallies Against Removal of 900 Students from Bargaining Unit”

  • The Crimson: “The Return to Test Requirements Shrank Harvard’s Applicant Pool. Will It Change Harvard Classrooms?”

  • Harvard Divinity School: “HDS Students Win Harvard Culture Lab Grant for Deep Listening Project”

  • The Crimson: “Garber Names Four New University Professors, Harvard’s Highest Faculty Distinction”

  • The Crimson: “Students, Alumni Urge Harvard SEAS To Reinstate Environmental Science and Engineering ADUS”

  • The Editors: “Harvard Employee Was Fired For Celebrating Jewish Holiday, He Says” — by Ira Stoll (AB ‘94)

  • The Crimson: “What TF?” — op-ed by Miriam Goldberger (AB ‘28)

  • The Crimson: “Student Workers and the Fight for Academia” — op-ed by History of Science PhD Candidates Oliver Lazarus and Alex Garnick and second year law student Kristen Busch

More News Beyond Harvard:

  • Wall Street Journal (gift link): “AI Is Teaching the Next Generation of M.B.A.s the Classic Case Study”

  • Bloomberg (gift link): “Why Is Going to Law School So Popular Again?” 

  • The Atlantic (gift link): “When Helicopter Parents Touch Down—At College” 

  • Chronicle of Higher Ed: “The Great Campus Charade: Students are learning less, studying less, and skipping class more — yet their grades go up and up.” 

  • Yale Daily News: “YCC Senate passes condemnation of Yale gift to Israeli military backer”

  • Yale Daily News: “Revised policy bars sharing files from Yale misconduct complaint process”

  • Daily Princetonian: “Future Humanities Institute to weigh HUM sequence expansion, hoping to be hedge against budget pressures”

  • The Williams Record: “Faculty votes to alter handbook, remove DEI references”

  • Wall Street Journal: “Trader Jeff Yass Is Giving $100 Million to ‘Anti-Woke’ University of Austin”

  • Higher Ed Dive: “‘End of an era’: Experts warn research executive order could stifle scientific innovation”

  • The Atlantic: “The Next Era of the American University”

  • Inside Higher Ed: “Are Trump’s Settlements Losing Steam?” 

  • The Atlantic: “Why Students Are Obsessed With ‘Points Taken Off’”

  • The Restoration: “Trump Administration Higher Education Reforms are Sweeping but not Unprecedented” — by Hoover Institution Fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  • Education Next: “International Students Need Not Apply” — by Jon Marcus, senior higher education reporter at The Hechinger Report 

  • Free the Inquiry: “What Universities Should Do After Rejecting Trump’s Compact”  — conversation hosted by Heterodox Academy with USC chemistry professor Anna Krylov, University of Chicago Law School professor Tom Ginsburg, and Penn history and education professor Jonathan Zimmerman. 

  • The Dartmouth: “Letter to the Editor: Self-Victimization Is A Dangerous Game” — by Dartmouth Freshman Oz Trost

  • The Stanford Daily: “From the Community: Why Stanford was right to host Governor DeSantis” — by Joe Nail, Knight-Hennessy Scholar in Stanford’s MBA and Master’s of International Policy programs