6 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



is indigenous. The decade from 1890 to 1900 witnessed a growth 

 wholly unprecedented in most of the strong coeducational colleges and 

 universities of the central and western states. Academic standards 

 were raised, equipments were lavishly provided in accordance with 

 modern demands, faculties were enlarged and admirably trained 

 specialists were secured in every department. In many institutions 

 graduate courses of high merit were developed. The increase in the 

 number of students was equally remarkable. The University of 

 Minnesota leaped from 1,183 to over 3,000. The University of Cali- 

 fornia from 763 to 3,024. The University of Wisconsin rose from 

 966 to 2,619. Cornell had 1,390 students in 1890, and 2,458 in 1900. 

 At the University of Michigan the figures for the same period were 

 2,420 and 3,482. Moreover, in this same decade two coeducational 

 universities were founded, Leland Stanford, Jr., University and the 

 University of Chicago, which at once took rank with the foremost 

 institutions of the country. In the year 1900 the former reported 

 1,389 students, the latter 3,520. Many other universities might be 

 cited, such as the State Universities of Iowa, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, 

 Nebraska and Illinois, but they all tell the same story of the tropical 

 development of higher education throughout this central and western 

 region. 



In 1890 there was but one of the large coeducational colleges in 

 which women constituted over a third of the student body. This was 

 true even in the courses grouped under the departments of literature, 

 science and the arts. In institutions possessing schools of law and 

 medicine the percentage of women in the total student body was very 

 small. Even at this early date, however, Oberlin College was enjoying 

 the fruits of its pioneer policy in first opening the doors of a man's 

 college to women by finding 53 per cent, of its students women. It is 

 not without interest to those nervous prophets who foresee a tidal wave 

 of women sweeping the helpless men before it out of the coeducational 

 institutions, that the percentage of women in the department of liberal 

 arts at Oberlin has remained almost stationary for ten years, having, 

 as a matter of fact, fallen somewhat toward the end of the period. 

 Oberlin is in this particular also an exception, however. In all the 

 other important universities the percentage of women has materially 

 increased, and in some instances passed the fifty-per-cent. mark. Thus 

 in 1900 the course in literature, arts and general science showed at the 

 University of California 55 per cent, women; at Minnesota 53 per 

 cent. ; at Chicago 47 per cent. ; at Michigan 47 per cent ; and at North- 

 western 44 per cent.* 



* These figures cannot be regarded as absolutely accurate, owing to the 

 method of cataloguing found in the reports of certain institutions. The pe- 



