104 
Tue degree is simply an abbreviation of the diploma, and the title merely in- 
dicates that the student has received the training of the undergraduate course 
of a college. The name of the college may with groat propriety be included in 
parentheses after the degree. For the second degree resident graduate study 
or successful practical work should be required, and then the degree should be in 
keeping with the work that has been done. 
A. B. Storms, of Iowa. The tendency of the older eastern institutions is to 
simplify the matter of degrees, as the paper states, and there is evident 
necessity for this. Originally the bachelor of arts degree implied that the 
student had pursued a certain well-defined course of study, the courses of study 
leading to the degree being limited. It was assumed when this degree was 
given to a man that he had studied Greek and Latin, or at least Latin. With 
the growth of scientific studies, however, there has been a great enlargement of 
the curricula of the schools, with a multiplication of bachelor degrees of 
various kinds. I do not think the bachelor of science degrees are sufficiently 
definite as significations of the courses pursued. I would like to add the 
designation of the line of study, as, for example, bachelor of science in agricul- 
ture. Bachelor of science means that a student has pursued the general scientific 
course. When we give the degree cf bachelor of science in agriculture it means 
the student has pursued the agricultural course, and I think that is essential. 
T do not believe you can radically change the degrees that are already fixed, 
like those of engineering, veterinary medicine, etc. 
H. 0. White, of Georgia. I suppose we all recognize that no baccalaureate 
degree should be given except on the completion of a course of study 
reasonably satisfactory to the faculty as indicating that the man who pursued 
it has had a certain amount of general training in which there may have been 
certain special lines of work. Now, the difficulties that have confronted the 
faculties — certainly the difficulties that have confronted our faculty through our 
entire history — is to determine just what lines of special work we shall admit 
for our baccalaureate degrees. It of course touches the broad question which 
was in part discussed at the National Association of State Universities the 
other day as to how far professional training might be admitted into the years 
of the man's college course usually dedicated to his undergraduate work. In 
•our technical courses in the sciences I fancy we have less trouble with the 
degree given of liberal arts. We have less trouble because some of our tech- 
nical sciences are pedagogically of such value in science training that we have 
had no great difficulty in permitting our undergraduates to take certain lines 
which might be regarded as specialized lines. Now, assuming that they may 
take these various specialized groups in agriculture, or even in pure sciences, or 
the application of pure sciences and chemistry — we have such an instance in 
our own case, that of engineering — that the faculties are careful that the num- 
ber of years which are dedicated to the undergraduate work shall include just, 
the study which will give the man the necessary mental training and discipline 
to put him side by side with the man in the liberal arts course: that is to say. 
in the general collegiate training, we started out by differentiation in the name of 
the degree. We gave the degree of bachelor of engineers, and also bachelor of 
agriculture, and we gave the degree even of bachelor of chemical science at one 
time, and the tendency was to differentiate in the name of the degree. We found 
there was one effect of this in the mind of our students. When a man came 
and entered, for example, he would enter in the freshman class for the degree of 
bachelor of engineering. Before he passed into the sophomore class he would 
want to substitute this or that or the other study for something we thought 
better for his general training in the freshman work, and so eventually we 
came to the conclusion — and it is a conviction with us, because we have now 
