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Universities (AMERICAN is the development)

AMERICAN is the development of these three characteristics that has made the American University.

Graduate Work. - The first announcement of courses leading to the degree of Ph. D. was made by Yale College in 1860. Harvard followed in 1872. The opening of Johns Hopkins University in 1876 marks an epoch in this field. In that year there were only 269 graduate students in all American institutions.

Ten years later the number had increased to 1,237 and in ten years more to 5,000.

The influence of this movement affected richer and older institutions so that generous provisions for graduate work were made in many of them. The degree of Ph. D. is now regularly conferred on a considerable number of candidates by twenty or twenty-five institutions which by this token may be called universities.

Of course there are others doing a creditable amount of graduate work, especially for the Master's degree, but they do not compete in number and variety of courses offered with the first group.

The requirements for the Doctor's degree are fairly uniform. To the ordinary college course at least three years of work is added. This work is highly specialized, and culminates in a dissertation, which is generally printed and must give evidence of ability to do independent investigation. Preliminary acquaintance with French and German is demanded, also a familiarity with the literature of the subject under investigation. An examination, oral or written, covers the whole field of study.

Facilities for Research. These must necessarily accompany all graduate work.

A university must therefore have well equipped laboratories and extensive libraries. Of course such facilities are demanded even for undergraduate work, but the true university provides them on a scale and to an extent that cannot be demanded even of the best college.

Teachers of university students must also be left free for independent investigations. Under the influence of the National Research Council an effort is now being made to stimulate research in all American institutions of high grade, but the universities must lead the way.

Connected with research work provision must also be made for publication of results.

It was not accidental that Johns Hopkins University became the center from which issued important publications in so many fields.

Professional Training. - Universities are not only well equipped institutions for specialized graduate study, but they are generally big institutions, with oppor-