302 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 505. 



register for psychology. Freshmen are ex- 

 cluded in all but eight, while eight do not 

 admit even sophomores. The average en- 

 rolment in psychology would, therefore, 

 mean that about 30 per cent, of the stu- 

 dents to whom it is offered are taking some 

 course in this department. With the shift- 

 ing registration during the last three years 

 in college, when the subject is generally 

 taught, it is hardly claiming too much to 

 suppose that 60 per cent, of the graduates 

 from the larger universities in America to- 

 day have taken at least an introductory 

 course in psychology. When it is remem- 

 bered that psychology is required for grad- 

 uation in only eight of these larger institu- 

 tions, the popularity of the subject among 

 students can hardly be questioned. 



Any ranking of the universities as to at- 

 tendance in psychology would have little 

 meaning on account of the numerous local 

 factors which affect the enrolments. In 

 some institutions an introductory course is 

 required of all juniors; again we find that 

 the percentage is reduced by the student 

 interest scattering among the many promi- 

 nent professors in large universities. The 

 percentage of students studying psychol- 

 ogy in Harvard, Yale and Chicago, for 

 example, is in each case slightly below the 

 average, while the number of students to 

 whom they offer psychology is larger than 

 anywhere else except Columbia. At the 

 last-named institution the percentage reach- 

 es 32, but the students are required to take 

 an introductory course, which is left op- 

 tional in the other three. Cornell occupies 

 a medium position; its enrolment in psy- 

 chology is just 20 per cent. By com- 

 parison with reports from the other labora- 

 tories, the distribution of students among 

 the various courses given at Cornell seems 

 to be quite typical. In detail it is as fol- 

 lows: Number of students in the colleges 

 where psychology is offered, 1,200; attend- 



ing the introductory courses in psychology 

 (open to sophomores), 175; the experi- 

 mental course (open to juniors), 30 stu- 

 dents for one semester, 20 continuing for 

 the year; the research courses, 6 graduates 

 doing major work and 6 undergraduates 

 taking up minor problems; the psycholog- 

 ical seminar, 15 students, limited. 



Some idea of the actual number studying 

 psychology may be gained from the fact 

 that the introductory classes at Columbia, 

 including Teachers College and Barnard, 

 show an enrolment of 435 students; at 

 Harvard, 300; Princeton, 250; Nebraska, 

 225; Cornell, Minnesota, Toronto and 

 Wellesley, 175. The interest manifested 

 by graduate students in productive work 

 is best illustrated by a quotation from the 

 address of Professor Cattell, as chairman 

 of the section of anthropology of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of 

 Science : " In the year 1897 there were given 

 by American universities eighteen doctor- 

 ates with psychology as the major subject 

 — more than any science except chemistry, 

 six times as many as in astronomy, and 

 nine times as many as in anthropology."* 

 A summary published in 1903 showed that 

 in five years the number of doctorates in 

 psychology had been 68. Only three other 

 sciences were credited with more— chemis- 

 try, 137; zoology, 72; and physics, 69. f 

 Each of these doctorates meant the comple- 

 tion of an original investigation in the field 

 of the major subject. 



In winning its way to favor among scien- 

 tific men, psychology has depended largely 

 on its experimental work. The improve- 

 ment in quality can only be apprehended 

 by comparing the recent volumes of the 

 technical journals in psychology with those 

 of ten years ago. The adoption of new 

 statistical methods, the use of correlation 

 in studying psychological problems, the 



' Science, VIII., 533. 



t Science, April 10, 1903. 



