November 2, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



671 



and well-equipped engineeriDg laboratories 

 ■which have done much to advance engi- 

 neering science, but which are used by ex- 

 perts in research and commercial work and 

 not for purposes of instruction. Although 

 our engineering laboratories are maintained 

 primarily for purposes of instruction, a con- 

 siderable amount of research work is per- 

 formed in them. 



The curriculum of the engineering col- 

 lege at present consists of about 10 per 

 cent, of English or modern foreign lan- 

 guage, usually the latter ; 30 to 40 per 

 cent, of indirect technical studies, as mathe- 

 matics, physics and drawing ; and 50 to 60 

 per cent, of technical work. The tendency 

 is to make the engineering courses as com- 

 pletely professional as are courses in law 

 and medicine. Experience has shown that 

 it is impracticable to teach culture subjects 

 in a course with strongly marked technical 

 tendencies, since the student devotes all 

 his time to the latter and neglects the for- 

 mer. Very recently there has been a ten- 

 dency to force some of the indirect techni- 

 cal subjects, as advanced algebra and trigo- 

 nometry, into the preparatory school to get 

 more time in the engineering college for di- 

 rectly technical subjects. The effect of this 

 is still further to curtail the culture studies 

 of the engineering students by eliminating 

 these subjects from the preparatory course. 



A number of institutions oifer post- 

 graduate instruction in engineering ; but 

 the number doing post-graduate work in 

 engineering is less than that in science or 

 literature. In 1898-99 at twenty-three 

 leading institutions the average per cent, 

 of graduate to undergraduate students in 

 non- engineering departments was 9.94 ; in 

 the engineering departments, 2.3 ; or, in 

 other words, the per cept. doing grad- 

 uate work in non-engineering courses is 

 more than four times greater than in en- 

 gineering courses. In the above computa- 

 tions graduates doing undergraduate work 



are considered as undergraduate students 

 But few, if any, Americans now attend 

 European engineering schools, for it is 

 generally conceded that the American 

 schools, in equipment, methods and scope 

 of instruction, are superior to any European 

 schools, at least for American engineers. 

 There are at least three reasons for the 

 relatively small number doing graduate 

 work in engineering : 



a. In many cases, if not in a majority, 

 the chief object of post-graduate study is 

 to secure the preparation necessary for 

 teaching the subject. In many branches 

 the whole range of study, both under- 

 graduate and post-graduate, is purely ac- 

 ademic and can be obtained in college en- 

 vironments better than anywhere else. But 

 in engineering the prospective teacher must 

 secure a personal acquaintance with the 

 conditions of practice, which can be ob- 

 tained only by engaging in actual engineer- 

 ing work. In short, the future teacher of 

 engineering prefers to engage in practice 

 after graduation rather than to return to 

 college halls for further study. 



b. Probably many students pursue an en- 

 gineering course chiefly because it promises 

 an early means of securing a livelihood, 

 and not unnaturally feel that they can ill 

 afford the means required for post-graduate 

 study. Others who are financially able to 

 continue collegiate work beyond graduation 

 are more anxious to have a part in the ac- 

 tivities of the outside world than to pursue 

 post-graduate study. At present the de- 

 mand for engineering graduates is such 

 that in both of these classes, at least those 

 that are really deserving, find little or no 

 difficulty in obtaining remunerative posi- 

 tions in practical engineering work. The 

 engineering college is attempting to give a 

 professional training to its graduates, and 

 it is not surprising that they are anxious to 

 apply in practice that which they have been 

 studying in college. A few years ago many 



