August 16, 1912] 



SCIENCE 



201 



shall have had the degree of master of 

 science or arts, or equivalent training. 

 This would require that a man shall have 

 his first degree and shall have pursued 

 graduate studies for one year and thus 

 have gone far enough in advanced work to 

 become qualified to begin a piece of special 

 investigation. After a student has con- 

 tinued his work at Washington to the point 

 where he should have a doctorate, he may- 

 take his examination and qualify himself 

 for his doctorate at the institution at which 

 he previously studied, and thus add to the 

 prestige of that institution. Naturally, a 

 part of such qualification would be a thesis 

 prepared by using the material in the bu- 

 reaus and departments. If the universi- 

 ties outside of Washington should coop- 

 erate with the Washington scientific staff, 

 a student at Washington might be to a 

 certain extent under the guidance of the 

 university from which he came, and by this 

 means his entire graduate work be made a 

 harmonious whole. 



NOT A RIVAL TO EXISTING INSTITUTIONS 



Thus the proposed national university 

 would not be a rival to existing institu- 

 tions, but supplementary to them ; not sup- 

 plementary to one of them, but supple- 

 mentary to all. In Germany it is the habit 

 of students when studying for a doctorate 

 to spend a part of the time at one univer- 

 sity and a part at another. In some cases 

 the work for the doctorate may be done at 

 more than two institutions. The plan to 

 have the departments at Washington avail- 

 able for advanced work would undoubtedly 

 result in giving to many students a broader 

 training than they now secure because of 

 the fact that they would do a portion of 

 their advanced work in a university and a 

 part in the research departments at Wash- 

 ington. This arrangement would be most 

 advantageous, for a part of the work would 

 be done in institutions where the spirit is 



that of a university, and part in the bu- 

 reaus where the spirit is that of immediate 

 results; and it is the combination of the 

 ideal and the practical in a man's educa- 

 tion which gives the highest capacity for 

 future useful service to the nation. 



SUMMARY 



In summary, (1) It is proposed that the 

 unapproached wealth of books and ma- 

 terials at Washington for research be made 

 available to the advanced students of the 

 country having the baccalaureate degree 

 and one year of graduate work or its 

 equivalent. 



(2) It is proposed that the scientific staff 

 at Washington be authorized as a part of 

 their official duties to give a limited amount 

 of instruction. 



(3) It is proposed to establish an admin- 

 istrative division, the duties of which shall 

 be to make the facilities of Washington 

 known and to guide the students to them. 

 If desirable this division may be made a 

 part of the Bureau of Education. 



(4) It is proposed that a student com- 

 pleting his work for a doctorate at Wash- 

 ington be granted his degree from the insti- 

 tution from which he came. 



(5) It is proposed that existing univer- 

 sities cooperate in this work with the 

 departments at Washington. 



If this plan be adopted, it can not be 

 gainsaid that science in America will re- 

 ceive a great impetus; that the scientific 

 bureaus at Washington will be inspired to 

 escape from their bureaucratic bonds at 

 least in some measure, and if so they will 

 make larger contributions than heretofore 

 to the advancement of learning. All the 

 above results may be accomplished by a 

 relatively small expense and to the mutual 

 advantage of the United States depart- 

 ments and existing universities. 



Charles Richard Van Hise 



TJniveesity of Wisconsin 



