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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 



these statistics was begun fourteen years 

 ago. 



The 75 degrees from Columbia is the 

 largest number hitherto conferred by any 

 American institution and places this uni- 

 versity first in the total number of doc- 

 torates given in the past fourteen years. 

 Chicago follows closely, with 545 degrees, 

 10 fewer than Columbia, and is followed 

 by Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Penn- 

 sylvania and Cornell, the decrease being 

 in each case in the neighborhood of fifty 

 degrees. These seven universities are re- 

 sponsible for about three fourths of the 

 degrees conferred. Among state universi- 

 ties, Wisconsin and Illinois have main- 

 tained the position which they have recently 

 acquired, having granted this year, re- 

 spectively, 15 and 11 degrees, as compared 

 with six from Michigan and the same num- 

 ber from California. During the ten-year 

 period beginning in 1898, Chicago, Har- 

 vard, Columbia, Yale and Johns Hopkins 

 conferred nearly the same number of de- 

 grees, varying from 356 at Chicago to 305 

 at the Johns Hopkins. In the course of 

 the past four years Columbia has taken a 

 decided lead, while Cornell and Pennsyl- 

 vania have passed the Johns Hopkins and 

 approach Yale. The figures are: Co- 

 lumbia, 233; Chicago, 189; Harvard, 157: 

 Yale, 134; Cornell, 125; Pennsylvania, 

 116; Johns Hopkins, 106. The standards 

 maintained by these universities are not 

 the same. The percentages of the doctors 

 who took their degrees prior to 1906 in the 

 natural and exact sciences attaining the 

 standard of scientific recognition indicated 

 by the asterisks in the " Biographical 

 Directory of American Men of Science" 

 are: Harvard, 37; Johns Hopkins, 34; 

 Chicago, 27; Cornell, 22; Columbia, 20; 

 Yale, 19; Pennsylvania, 8. It should, 

 however, be noted that the superior rec- 

 ords of Harvard and the Johns Hopkins 



are in part due to the fact that they gave 

 a relatively larger number of degrees at 

 an earlier period.^ 



The number of doctorates conferred in 

 the natural and exact sciences is increas- 

 ing more rapidly than in other subjects. 

 Prior to 1908 the average number of de- 

 grees conferred in the sciences was 124, as 

 compared with 148 in the other group ; in 

 the three following years the average num- 

 bers were 186 and 189, respectively; this 

 year the numbers were 239 and 198. As 

 shown in Table II., Chicago is the univer- 

 sity which has conferred the largest num- 

 ber of degrees in the natural and exact 

 sciences, followed by the Johns Hopkins 

 and Columbia. Of the degrees conferred 

 at Cornell, 64 per cent, have been in the 

 sciences, at the Johns Hopkins 58 per 



- The report of the commissioner of education 

 gives annually the number of doctorates of philos- 

 ophy conferred by American universities, and as it 

 is printed later than the report in Science it 

 might be assumed to be more complete and accu- 

 rate. This, however, appears not to be the case. 

 In the report for 1910 St. Louis University is 

 reported as giving 17 doctorates of philosophy 

 and Grove City College 6. The degrees attributed 

 to St. Louis University were an error, no doctor- 

 ates of philosophy having been conferred. Grove 

 City College may have had a legal right to confer 

 this degree, but according to the same report of 

 the commissioner of education it has no graduate 

 students and its total endowment is $25,000. In 

 answer to an inquiry the president of this college 

 writes: "In reply to your esteemed favor would 

 say, that the six doctorates to which you refer 

 were conferred by Grove City College upon men 

 who had previously received their bachelor degrees 

 and who had given two years and more to the 

 prescribed courses of study in philosophy main- 

 tained by this institution and in addition, two 

 full summers in residence under my personal in- 

 struction, as well as that of Professor Ormond, of 

 Princeton, and Professor John E. Clarke, of the 

 Boston University. Some of these also had taken 

 a course at Grove City under the late Borden P. 

 Bowne, who assisted me in this work for some 

 twelve or fourteen years. Any further informa- 

 tion desired will be promptly forwarded." 



