310 



ROBERT HEYWOOD FERNALD 



and other places of interest for observation of the practical 

 working out of the principles and methods of the classroom, 

 together with the necessar}^ modifications and changes to 

 be made in formulas when applied to practice. 



In addition to the regular undergraduate courses, some 

 institutions are offering graduate courses in engineering 

 leading to the master's degree, and in some cases to the doc- 

 tor's degree. Although the number of students pursuing grad- 

 uate courses in technical lines is small, yet Table IV. is not 

 without interest, showing as it does the number of graduate 

 students in engineering courses in 1889-90 and in 1899-1900 

 in the eighty colleges previously considered. 



TABLE IV. 



The sums spent annually upon the engineering insti- 

 tutions of this country are almost fabulous, yet the results 

 seem to warrant such expenditure, for, judging from the 

 past, much of the progress and welfare of the nation depends 

 upon the successful education and training of its engineers. 



An attempt was made to ascertain not only the annual 

 tuition, but also the other fees that are charged to the stu- 

 dent, and the annual cost to the institution per year per 

 capita for running its technical department. It was in- 

 tended to determine as closely as possible the excess in the 

 cost to the institution for each student over the amount 

 received. Several difficulties have arisen in this effort, 

 the chief one being that ten institutions only gave any fig- 

 ures regarding the cost per year per capita. The annual 

 fees were found to be so variable that little of definite form 

 could be obtained, but it seems that in most cases the fees 

 are for materials used, or for breakage, and, with the pos- 



