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Curriculum Harvard Regulations

Harvard Economics. Account of Graduate Department, July 1886

Excerpts from the pamphlet for the Graduate Department of Harvard University. Looking to the future division of History, Government and Political Economy, I have included information on the fields of history, political science and political economy. I have also included the sections on admission, general degree requirements, fees and estimated costs of room and board.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

ACCOUNT OF THE GRADUATE DEPARTMENT
FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1886-87.
SECOND EDITION.

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY.
July, 1886.

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THE GRADUATE DEPARTMENT.
1886-87.

The Graduate Department of Harvard University is under the charge of the Academic Council, which consists of the President and the Professors and Assistant Professors of the whole University.

 

ADMISSION OF STUDENTS.

Applications for admission to the Graduate Department are received by the Academic Council, and should be made at the beginning of the academic year. Admission is ordinarily granted to Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Science of Harvard University; and to Graduates of other Colleges and Scientific Schools of good standing, who present satisfactory evidence of character and qualifications. Other persons, of suitable age and attainments, may also be admitted, by special vote of the Academic Council in each case.

An application from any person holding an academic degree may be made by filling out and depositing a registration blank at the office of the University, at No. 5, University Hall, Cambridge. If the applicant is not a graduate of Harvard University, he must also file at the same office, for the consideration of the Council, (1) a diploma, or official certificate, of graduation at some institution of advanced education, and (2) satisfactory certificates of scholarship and character. He may also be called upon for a catalogue of the institution at which he was graduated, and for a statement concerning his course since graduation, and should be prepared to furnish these additional documents, on demand.

The Academic Council will vote on applications for admission to the Graduate Department at the next following stated meeting of the Council. Persons intending to enter the Graduate Department, and desirous of knowing whether their qualifications will probably be deemed sufficient by the Academic Council, may apply for information by letter to The Secretary of Harvard College, No. 5, University Hall, Cambridge, Mass.

Members of the Graduate Department can, on application, obtain information as to the probable time that will be requisite for obtaining any

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degree given by the University, and as to the conditions of study for such degree. But the time required in a given case (especially for the degree of Ph.D. or S.D.) will be largely determined by the qualifications of the candidate, as actually shown during his period of graduate study; and cannot, therefore, be accurately stated at the outset.

 

THE REQUIREMENT OF RESIDENCE.

All members of the Graduate Department, with the special exceptions noted below, are required to pursue their studies at this University; and are generally expected to attend the exercises in some course or courses of instruction, and to perform all the required work (including examinations) in such courses; or to carry on regular work in some laboratory or museum or in the library, under the frequent inspection and criticism of instructors in the University.

But holders of travelling fellowships, pursuing their studies elsewhere with the sanction of the Academic Council, are members of the Graduate Department.

Students who are conducting special investigations which require their absence from the University, and those who have completed a period of residence at the University, and are carrying on actual studies with the purpose of becoming candidates for a degree, may also be allowed to register in the Graduate Department, under such conditions as may be imposed in each case. The requirements of study and residence for the several degrees are stated below (pp. 20-24).

 

REGISTRATION AND REPORT.

Every member of the Graduate Department is required to register at the office of the University, at No. 5, University Hall, at the beginning of each academic year, on or before the first Wednesday in October, and to fill out an official blank there provided. He must at the same time obtain authority at the same office, if he is to be in residence, to attend instruction in the University.

Holders of travelling fellowships and other graduate students who are absent from the University by leave of the Academic Council must register by letter, having previously obtained the necessary blank by application to The Secretary of Harvard College.

A student who omits to register at the prescribed time without a satisfactory excuse is liable to be dropped from the list.

Every student is required to enter in his registration paper, with other particulars there called for, a brief statement of his plan of study for the

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year; and also of his actual work for the preceding year, if he was then a member of the Graduate Department.

A student who continues in the Graduate Department for more than one year, with the expectation of applying for a degree, may also be called upon, or may think it desirable, to submit a more detailed written statement of his work for each year, at its close or at the beginning of the next year.

Holders of travelling fellowships and other non-resident graduate students are required to make a full yearly report to the Academic Council.

Any graduate student who alters his address or his plan of study, or who discontinues his residence at the University, or is absent therefrom for more than one week in term time, or who engages in any regular occupation not stated by him in registering, or who in any way departs from the conditions under which he is understood to be studying, must give immediate notice of the change, and must file a new registration paper (if the change is permanent), at the office of the University.

A student who withdraws from the Graduate Department in the course of an academic year is required to give immediate notice at the office of the University and at the Bursar’s office. No deduction from the full year’s fees will be made in the case of a student withdrawing in the course of a year, unless he gives the notices here called for.

 

STUDIES.

In May of each academic year, the Faculty of Harvard College issue an Announcement of the Courses of Instruction provided for the following academic year. This Announcement (called the Elective Pamphlet) can be obtained on application to The Secretary of Harvard College, No. 5, University Hall, Cambridge, Mass. It includes all the courses offered in the College proper, in the Lawrence Scientific School, and in the Graduate Department. A large proportion of these courses are suitable to be taken by graduates, and are, in fact, regularly taken both by graduates and by advanced undergraduates. Many of them are offered with special reference to graduates; and any course is open to members of the Graduate Department who present sufficient evidence of qualification for that course.

Graduate students may also, in special cases, be admitted to courses given in the professional schools; and any member of the Graduate Department, paying the full fee of $150 per year, is admitted free to the instruction and the examinations given in any other department of the University, with the exception of exercises carried on in the special laboratories.

Graduate students are admitted to work in the Jefferson Physical Laboratory; the Chemical Laboratory in Boylston Hall; the Mineralogical Cabinet and Laboratory; the Museum of Comparative Zoology; the Botanic Garden and Herbaria and the Botanical Laboratory; and (in special

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cases) at the Bussey Institution. All these institutions afford excellent advantages for special study and research. See Appendix.

The University Library embraces various branches, which together contain (June, 1886) about 320,000 volumes. The most important of these branches is the College Library in Gore Hall; which contains about 240,000 volumes, besides a large collection of pamphlets, maps, etc., and is liberally administered for the use of the whole University. An account of this library and of the other libraries of the University will be found on pp. 34, 35. Attention is especially called to the reserved-book system, of which important use is made in many courses of instruction. Every facility is given, especially to students engaged in special studies, for the most advantageous use of the College Library; and great pains are taken to keep up its resources by the purchase of all important new books in the different departments of learning. Graduate students may likewise obtain access to the libraries of the Divinity, Law, Medical, and Scientific Schools, and the other branches of the University Library.

The neighborhood of Boston, moreover, brings within the reach of properly equipped students numerous opportunities for making use of the large and valuable libraries and scientific and art collections which that city contains. The Boston Public Library, in particular, with its great resources and extensive bibliographical aids, is open for consultation to all comers. The privilege of using other important libraries can also frequently be obtained.

As the system of Harvard College is elective, the students are distributed through a great number of courses, and the section in any one advanced course is, in general, a small one, in which each student receives much personal attention. The instruction is given mainly by informal lectures, interspersed with discussion between instructor and students, and aided by theses or other exercises; or by actual practice in the work of composition, or of investigation of authorities, or the solution of problems; or by experimental research in the laboratory or museum, under the guidance, or with the advice, of the instructor. Short examinations are held from time to time; and formal examinations, twice (or in some courses only once) in the year.

Besides the Announcement of Courses, called the Elective Pamphlet, supplementary pamphlets or sheets, containing detailed accounts of the courses offered in the following branches of study:— namely, The Semitic Languages; Sanskrit; Classical Philology; English; French; Romance Philology; Political Economy; Music; Mathematics; Physical Geography, Geology, and Palaeontology; Botany and Zoölogy; —are also issued, and may be obtained on application to The Secretary of Harvard College. These latter publications contain important particulars about the text-books, the methods of instruction, the objects, scope, and mutual

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connexions of the several courses, and the various advantages which students may find outside of the courses. Students unfamiliar with the arrangement of courses at this University, and intending to enter the Graduate Department, are especially advised to consult these publications (which are known as Descriptive Statements).

The following brief statement is intended to call the attention of graduates who may be contemplating a period of study here to such features of the system and apparatus of instruction as are likely to be chiefly interesting to them. But it is to be noted that such students may often find it most judicious to devote at least a part of their time to courses of a less advanced grade than those specially provided for graduates.

When a course is designated by a number, in the following statement, the number is that which denotes the same course in the Elective Pamphlet. A course of which the title or number is contained in square brackets is to be omitted in 1886-87, though probably to be given in 1887-88….

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Political Science

 To graduates desirous of pursuing the study of Political Science facilities are offered by established courses in Political Economy, History, Roman Law, and Philosophy, and at the Law School, and by opportunities for detailed investigation. The scope of the work in Political Economy and Roman Law is described under those heads. In History, a large amount of the instruction given (comprising, in all, the work of more than two years) bears upon the science of Government, Constitutional and Administrative Development, International Law, and kindred subjects. In addition,

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instruction is offered in the Ethics of Social Reform (Philosophy 11); in the oral discussion of topics in Political Economy and History (English 6); and in Constitutional Law by lectures in the Law School. Apart from the arrangements with separate instructors for special study and research, there are more than sixty hours of instruction per week, throughout the year, on subjects of importance to the student of Political Science. A Descriptive Statement is in preparation in this department. The degrees of A.M. and Ph.D. are conferred for work in Political Science upon graduates who fulfill the requirements.

Political Economy.

 For students already well grounded in Political Economy, courses are established which afford opportunities, (1) for a review of the historical development of economic science and for the comparison and criticism of leading writers and their theories; (2) for practice in the investigation and discussion of questions of economic legislation or policy; (3) for the study of land tenures and the methods of land-tenure reform in leading European countries; (4) for a review of the tariff and financial history of the United States, in connexion with general political history, and (5) for the comparative study of the systems of public finance adopted by the leading modern countries. For all students who wish to make an investigation of the broad subjects thus stated, more extended than is possible within the limits of an ordinary college course, the University Library affords ample resources, and the instructors are ready to give all possible encouragement and assistance.

In addition to the courses thus regularly established, the instructors in Political Economy also receive properly qualified students who wish to undertake some special advanced study or research. The subjects to be dealt with are selected by agreement between instructors and students, and with the general purpose of placing the investigator upon ground not previously trodden, and giving him an opportunity for original work. The extent and nature of the cooperation of the instructor, and the frequency of conference with the student, are left to be determined by the nature of the special subject on which the latter is engaged; but it is expected that, as indicated by the experience of 1885-86, the relation will be close. For further information, students are referred to the Descriptive Statement of courses in Political Economy.

History. 

 The department of History offers to graduate students advanced instruction in Ancient, Mediaeval, Ecclesiastical, Modern European, and American

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History, in International Law, and also in the History of Institutions, both political and religious.

Attention is specially called to the courses offered under the general title of Course 20; in which an opportunity is given competent students to do original work in Ecclesiastical History, in the Early History of Institutions, in the Social Condition of Western Europe in the XVIIIth century, in American History, or in the History of Modern Diplomacy. Students in these courses and in the other smaller sections will receive the personal attention of their instructors, who will advise and assist them in their chosen fields of research and in the preparation of suitable theses. In some of the courses offered under this head, special attention will be given to practice in the investigation of original sources. It is intended to make the work useful both to future teachers and historical investigators, and to professional or business men who may wish to become thoroughly familiar with some part of the field of history or to acquire the ability to weigh and examine historical evidences.

The College Library contains an extensive collection of original historical material, especially in Americana, and in documents relating to the history of international disputes. It aims to supply all the more important additions to the material of historical science, and to make its collections useful to all earnest enquirers. The reserved-book system receives much attention in this department, and access to the shelves may be obtained by students engaged in special researches. The libraries of the schools of Theology and Law are accessible to students, who may also, on proper recommendation always obtain the use of many important historical libraries in the immediate vicinity of the University.

Roman Law.

Two courses are offered for 1886-87; one general and introductory, the other advanced and special. The titles will be found in the elective pamphlet….

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DEGREES.

Any member of the Graduate Department may be admitted to examination for the degree of A.B. (if not already an A.B. of Harvard University), by vote of the College Faculty; or to examination for the degree of A.M., Ph.D., or S.D., by vote of the Academic Council; provided that all the required conditions of candidacy have been fulfilled. But, in future, no person will be regarded as a candidate for a degree, but

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only as a graduate student, until he actually presents himself for his final examination.

Applications from graduate students for admission to examination for any degree should be made to the College Faculty or to the Academic Council as early as the tenth day of January in the year in which the applicant wishes to be examined. Later applications may be received, provided all examinations already held in the courses of instruction taken by the student hare been passed, and all other requirements for the degree, up to the time of application, have been complied with. The application should be accompanied, in each case, by a statement of the course or field of study on which the applicant will offer himself for examination, and, if he is an applicant for Ph.D. or S.D., by the title of the thesis which he purposes to submit. Information concerning the conditions on which a graduate student may expect to be admitted to examination for any degree may be obtained, at any time, by application to the Secretary of the Academic Council.

The Degree of A.B.

A student who wishes to be admitted to examination for the degree of A.B. must have studied for at least one year at this University; and must have pursued a course of study approved by the College Faculty as affording suitable preparation for the degree, and have passed all the examinations in that course.

Qualification for candidacy for A.M., Ph.D., or S.D.

A student who wishes to become a candidate for the degree of A.M. or Ph.D. must have attained the degree of A.B. (or an equivalent degree); and, if this degree has not been conferred by Harvard University, it must be accepted by the College Faculty (with or without special conditions) as qualifying the student for candidacy for the degree of A.M. or Ph.D.

A student who wishes to become a candidate for the degree of S.D. must have attained the degree of S.B. (or an equivalent degree); and, if this degree has not been conferred by Harvard University, it must be accepted by the Faculty of the Lawrence Scientific School (with or without special conditions) as qualifying the student for candidacy for the degree of S.D.

Time Conditions.

The least periods of study and residence required for the degrees of A.M., Ph.D., and S.D., of students already properly qualified by the degree of A.B. or S.B., are as follows: For A.M., one year of study at the University, in the Graduate Department, or (in the case of a student who is also a candidate for a professional degree) in a professional department; for Ph.D., two years of study at the University, in the Graduate

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Department; for S.D., three years of special scientific study, of which at least two must be years of study at the University, in the Graduate Department. But the Academic Council may, for sufficient reasons, remit one of the two years of residence (not of study) for the degree of Ph.D. or S.D. to Bachelors of Arts or Science of Harvard University.

These periods must, however, be regarded merely as minimum periods required for the several degrees. They must often be exceeded; especially in the case of persons partly occupied in other work, of graduates of other institutions, and of Bachelors of Arts or Science of Harvard University who are studying for the degree of Ph.D. or S.D.

No year can be counted to a student as a full year of study for a degree which is not entirely devoted to studies approved by the Academic Council as forming a year’s work for that degree. A student who means to become a candidate for a degree should consult the Secretary of the Academic Council, at the beginning of each year, about his plan of study.

Grounds of the Degree of A.M.

The degree of A.M. is conferred on a student who passes, with high credit, an examination on a course of study proposed by the student, and approved by the Academic Council, as a suitable preparation for the degree; and this course of study may be limited to a single department, or may have a miscellaneous character. If no special conditions are imposed on a student’s candidacy, the requirement for the degree of A.M. ordinarily consists of four full courses of instruction, of advanced grade, pursued for one academic year.

The Academic Council will approve studies pursued in the Professional and Scientific Schools as constituents of a one year’s course for A.M.; but only when the Council is satisfied that the candidate has no intention or expectation of offering any of the same studies for another degree. The degree of A.M. may also be conferred on students having the degree of A.B. (conferred by Harvard University, or accepted as sufficient by the College Faculty), simultaneously with the degree of D.B., LL.B., M.D., S.B., or C.E., and on the same course of study. The degree is thus given, on the nomination of the appropriate Faculty, and on the recommendation of the Academic Council, and only after the longest course of study and residence provided for the professional degree, and upon examinations passed with high credit. Professional students, properly qualified, who wish to be candidates for the degree of A.M. on these terms should apply to the Faculty of their School on or before the 1st of June in the year of their graduation at the School. If not Bachelors of Arts of Harvard University, they should make early application to the College Faculty for the acceptance of their degree of A.B. They do not register as members of the Graduate Department.

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Grounds and Standing of the Degrees of Ph.D. and S.D.

The degree of Ph.D. or S.D. is given, not for the mere reason of faithful study for a prescribed time or in fulfilment of a determinate programme (even though approved by the Academic Council), and never for miscellaneous studies, but on the ground of long study and high attainment in a special branch of learning, manifested not only by examinations, but by a thesis, which must be presented and accepted before the candidate is admitted to examination, and must show an original treatment of a fitting subject, or give evidence of independent research.

Any person on whom the University has conferred the degree of Ph.D. or S.D. is thereby recognized as qualified to give instruction to candidates for this degree in the department in which he has taken the degree, and to advance knowledge in that department by his own investigation.

A candidate for the degree of Ph.D. must offer himself for examination in some one of the following departments: Philology; Philosophy; History; Political Science; Mathematics; Physics (including Chemistry); Natural History; and Music. Within his chosen department, he must name some special field of study, approved as sufficient by the committee of the Academic Council in that department. He is liable to minute examination on the whole of that special field; and is also required to prove such acquaintance with the subject-matter of his department in general as the committee in that department shall require.

A candidate for the degree of S.D. must offer himself for examination on two subjects, or fields of study, belonging to the range of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences. He must show special attainments in one of these subjects, and is liable to minute examination in the whole ground which it covers; and he is also required to have such general knowledge in the department to which his special studies belong as the committee in that department shall require. His thesis must embody some contribution to science or some special investigation.

An applicant for the degree of Ph.D. or S.D. must hand a fair copy of his thesis, on or before the first day of May, to the chairman of the committee in his department of study; and the chairman has power to reject a thesis not plainly written. No candidate is admitted to examination till his thesis has been approved by the committee; and, on the approval of the thesis, and as early as the first day of June, the thesis is deposited at the office of the University, for inspection by any member of the Academic Council, with a certificate of approval, signed by a special committee.

A successful candidate is allowed to print his thesis as one accepted for the degree, with the certificate of approval and the signatures of the approving committee; and either a printed or a written copy of the thesis

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and the original certificate mast be deposited in the Library and must be open to public inspection.

The department of study in which the degree of Ph.D. or S.D. is conferred is named in the quinquennial catalogue of the University; and the department, the special branch of the department, and the title of the thesis are named in the Commencement programme and the next following annual catalogue.

The degree of Ph.D. carries with it that of A.M., the full title of the degree being Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts.

A student who has taken the degree of A. M. may count the study and residence, already offered for that degree, towards the degree of Ph.D. also; provided the Academic Council approve such study and residence as in itself suitable to be counted for the degree of Ph.D.

 

FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

The attention of students who purpose to enter the Graduate Department from some other college is specially called to the Morgan Fellowships….

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The Morgan Fellowships. — Four Fellowships of the annual value of $500 each were established in 1884 by the gift of the late Henry T. Morgan of New York. These Fellowships are to be assigned to persons undertaking advanced studies, in the departments in which the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science are given. The applicant need not have received, or be a candidate for, any academic degree, but must exhibit proof of such previous training, attainments, and capacity, as promise special fitness for the work which he undertakes. The holder of a Morgan Fellowship is required to carry on his studies subject to the approval

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and under the supervision of the Standing Committee in the department in which his studies lie, to reside in Cambridge through the academic year, and to engage in no other occupation, except such public instruction as may have been approved by the Academic Council. The term of appointment to a Morgan Fellowship will be one year, but the holder will be eligible for appointment for a second term.

The appointment is made annually by the President and Fellows on recommendation of the Academic Council, at or about Commencement in each year….

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PRIZES.

The following prizes are administered by the Academic Council, and are open for competition to students in the Graduate Department: — …

 

The Toppan Prize.

A prize of one hundred and fifty dollars, the gift of Robert Noxon Toppan, of the class of 1858, is offered for the best Essay (of sufficient merit) on one of the following subjects in Political Science: —

  1. The present condition of Economical Science, and the demand for a radical change in its methods and aims.
  1. The origin, services, and future of a Second House                     [p. 29]
  2. The causes and probable effects of the tendency to Disestablishment of State Churches.

This prize is open to Graduates of the College of not more than three years’ standing, and to all persons who, having received an academic degree, pursue in 1885-86 or 1886-87 regular studies in the Graduate Department or in one of the Professional Schools.

Essays must be deposited at the President’s office on or before the first day of May, 1887. In every case the writer must inscribe an assumed name on the title-page. A sealed letter must be sent in at the same time, under cover with the Essay, containing the true name of the writer, with the date of his graduation; and this letter must be superscribed with the assumed name. Any manuscript not plainly written may be rejected. The prize will not be awarded to any Essay that does not give such evidence of solid study, sound thought, and literary care, as would, in the opinion of the judges, warrant its publication….

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FEES, BONDS, AND EXPENSES.

The full annual tuition-fee of a graduate student is $150.

A graduate student who pays the full tuition-fee is entitled, without further payment, to attend any of the courses of instruction in any department of the University (except exercises carried on in special laboratories), and to be examined in such courses. He has the right to use the University Library; and, on the further payment of certain laboratory fees, he may attend, and be examined in, courses of instruction, and, if properly qualified, may be admitted to work, in the following laboratories and museums: —

The Jefferson Physical Laboratory,

The Chemical Laboratory in Boylston Hall,

The Mineralogical Cabinet and Laboratory,

The Museum of Comparative Zoology,

The Botanic Garden and Herbaria and the Botanical Laboratory.

The special laboratory-fees are as follows: For each laboratory-course in Physics, the fee is $10, which covers all charges. For study in the Chemical and Mineralogical laboratories, there is a general fee, which varies from $5 to $30, according to the nature and amount of the work undertaken, and also an individual fee for the use of materials in special investigations and for breakage, and in payment of fines for violation of the laboratory regulations. For each laboratory-course in Natural History, the fee is $5, which covers all charges.

Graduate students who do not wish to take the full number of courses

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of instruction may register as members of the Graduate Department, and may avail themselves of many of the privileges of full membership in the University, on the following terms : —

For any course of instruction, named in the Elective Pamphlet, and not a laboratory-course, the fee is $45 a year; and for any such half-course, $25 a year; up to $150 a year. But any student who takes a laboratory-course must pay the full tuition-fee of $150, besides the special laboratory-fees. For instruction not given in the regular courses, or at the laboratory, the fee will be computed at the rate of $15 per one hour a week of instruction during the academic year, up to $150. But in no case shall the tuition-fee of a graduate student, whether resident or not (non-resident holders of fellowships being excepted) be less than $30 a year; and it is never more than $150 a year.

A graduate student paying less than $150 a year is not entitled to the privilege of free admission to the instruction and the examinations given in other departments of the University.

The fee for the examination for the degree of Ph.D. or S.D. is $30; but this fee is not charged to any candidate who has paid the full tuition-fee of $150 for at least one year as a graduate student.

Graduates of the University or of other collegiate institutions, desirous of pursuing their studies at Cambridge without guidance, may enjoy the use of the Library on the payment of five dollars a year; but such graduates are not entitled to be classed as students of the University, nor will residence on these terms be accepted as residence constituting membership of the Graduate Department or qualifying for any degree.

Members of the Graduate Department, except the holders of travelling fellowships, must give bonds in the sum of $200, signed by two bondsmen, one of whom must be a citizen of the United States, for the payment of all dues to the University, but the bond of the “American Surety Company,” if made in a form that shall be satisfactory to the Bursar, will also be received. Instead of filing a bond, any student who prefers may pay his fees in advance, and deposit with the Bursar such a sum of money as may be deemed sufficient to secure payment of all other dues to the University.

No officer or student of the University will be accepted as a bondsman. The bills of graduate students are payable in each year on January 12, April 12, and October 10; but the third bill of all candidates for degrees must be paid at least one day before Commencement. Each bill will contain one third of the annual charges. When a student severs his connexion with the University, his whole bill becomes payable at once.

The following deductions are made from the full year’s tuition fee, in cases of absence during a part of the year, arising from any cause: —

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For absence during not less than three consecutive months at any time of the year, $30 will be deducted.

For absence during the whole year, not including the mid-year or final examinations, $100 will be deducted.

No deduction is made, on the ground of absence, from the fees charged for single courses and half-courses.

The necessary expenses of living of a graduate student for an academic year (of thirty-eight weeks) may be estimated as follows : —

Rent and care of furnished room…             $40 to $175

 

Board…                                                               133 to 304

 

Fuel and lights…                                                20 to 50

$193 to $529

For the total yearly expenditure (including the full tuition-fee, books, room, board, fuel, lights, clothing, etc.), $500 is enough for a student who practices strict, but not unhealthful economy; $800, for one of careful and moderate habits; and $1000, to cover all ordinary comforts; while $1400 is a very liberal estimate for any student who does not indulge in mere extravagance.

Members of any department of the University can board at cost by joining the Association which uses the great dining-room of Memorial Hall. The cost may be expected not to exceed four dollars and a half per week. Applications for seats should be made, at as early a date as possible, at the Hall to the Auditor, from whom full information can be obtained. The Hall opens on the last Wednesday in September.

The Hemenway Gymnasium (see p. 39) is open to all students of the University.

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APPENDIX.

LIBRARIES, LABORATORIES, MUSEUMS, ETC.

The University Library.

The College Library in Gore Hall is for the use of the whole University. All students who have given bonds may take out books, three volumes at a time, and may keep them four weeks. Books, reserved at the instance of officers of instruction, as collateral reading for their courses, are shelved in separate alcoves, with tables for consultation, and can be taken out only near the close of library hours, and must be returned upon the reopening of the Library. Students who leave Cambridge for an absence of more than one week must first return all borrowed books.

The College Library is open every week-day, except Thanksgiving day, Christmas day, New Year’s day, Fast day, Memorial day, and the Fourth of July, from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.; but in winter it closes half an hour before sunset, and in vacation or recess at 2 p.m. On Sundays during term time the Library is open, for readers only, after 1 o’clock p.m.

The College Library may be consulted by all persons, whether connected with the University or not. The privilege of borrowing books is also granted, under special regulations, to persons not connected with the University. Blanks for making applications for such use may be had of the Librarian.

Persons entitled to use the College Library can have access to the departmental libraries, for consultation, by applying to the Superintendent of circulation at Gore Hall; but such libraries are primarily for the special use of the schools and departments, and are placed in the buildings belonging to such schools and departments. An express-box passes regularly between the College Library and the Bussey Institution.

The following was the enumeration of the bound volumes in the several libraries in Sept. 1885 : —

Gore Hall                                                         232,800

Lawrence Scientific School                              2,500

Bussey Institution (Jamaica Plain)                2,700

Phillips Library (Observatory)                        3,300

Botanic Garden (Herbarium Library)           4,000

Law School                                                        21,600

Divinity School                                                 17,400

Medical School (Boston)                                  1,500

Museum of Comparative Zoology                17,600*

Peabody Museum                                                 800

304,800

 

* This does not include the Whitney Collection of Geology and Geography, not yet enumerated.

[p. 35]

The collection of pamphlets and maps in the College Library is very large, and is estimated to be equal in number to the collection of bound volumes. The departmental libraries have also considerable numbers of pamphlet monographs on subjects connected with their specialties; and these are not included in the count of volumes. The College Library has also a collection of coins.

The catalogue of the Gore Hall Collection, including pamphlets, is on cards, accessible to the public, and consists of two parts, the one arranged by authors, the other by subjects. Printed strips of titles added to all the libraries are issued two or three times a week; and they are posted in Gore Hall and in the departmental libraries. Three or four times during the academic year, they are gathered in the Bulletin of the University, and issued with notes on the authorities in different departments of knowledge. From such supplements, another series of publications is made up, as “Bibliographical Contributions,” which are in course of publication. More extensive bibliographical works constitute another series, ” Special Publications,” of which Scudder’s “Catalogue of Scientific Serials” (1633-1876, 8vo, pp. 370) makes No. 1, published in 1879. There has also been issued a Catalogue of the Gray Collection of Engravings (4to, 1869); but this collection has, for the present, been transferred from the Library to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The Library also issues for the University a Weekly Calendar, giving announcements not contained in the tabular views….

[p. 39]

The Hemenway Gymnasium.

The new gymnasium, named in honor of Augustus Hemenway of Boston, who gave it to the University, is a handsome and spacious structure, built and equipped with the utmost thoroughness. It is furnished with the best patterns of ordinary gymnastic apparatus, and with many new appliances designed to develop the different parts of the body, and so constructed that they can be adjusted to the strength of the strong or to the weakness of the weak.

The bathing arrangements are complete, and the dressing accommodations are ample.

Facilities for recreative exercise have been provided in the Bowling-Alleys and Ball-Court, and in the Rowing, Fencing, and Sparring Rooms

The Gymnasium is open to all students of the University on week days from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., and from 3 until 5.30, and from 8 until 10 p.m., except on Saturdays, when it is closed at 6 o’clock.

The attendance is voluntary, and the system adopted is one designed to meet the special wants of each individual. Realizing the great diversity in age, size, and strength, as well as in health, of the students who attend the University, the Director makes no attempt to group them into classes which pursue the same course of exercises.

[p. 40]

Upon entering the University, each student is entitled to an examination by the Director, in which his physical proportions are measured, his strength tested, his heart and lungs examined, and information is solicited concerning his general health and inherited tendencies. From the data thus procured, a special order of appropriate exercises is made out for each student, with specifications of the movements and apparatus which he may best use. After working on this prescription for three or six months, the student is entitled to another examination, by which the results of his work are ascertained, and the Director enabled to make a further prescription for his individual case.

A course of informal lectures is given by the Director, in which the theories and principles of physical training are practically illustrated….

 

Source: Harvard University. Account of the Graduate Department for the Academic Year 1886-87 (Second edition, July 1886),

One reply on “Harvard Economics. Account of Graduate Department, July 1886”

On Depth and Breadth
“Within his chosen department [e.g. Political Science, “Political Economy” is not a department], he must name some special field of study, approved as sufficient by the committee of the Academic Council in that department. He is liable to minute examination on the whole of that special field; and is also required to prove such acquaintance with the subject-matter of his department in general as the committee in that department shall require.”

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