Author: Irwin Collier

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Exam Questions Harvard Monetary economics Money and Banking

Harvard. Money. Course description, enrollment, final examination. Huse, 1910-1911

Before Abram Piatt Andrew began teaching a course on money, literally at the turn of the 20th century, the subject of money was treated jointly with national debt. That was how Charles F. Dunbar approached the subject. Charles Phillips Huse was the third instructor to fill the gap left by A. Piatt Andrew. In the following year “money” would merge with “banking and commercial crises”.

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Previous money course materials

1900-01(Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1901-02 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam) Reading list for money 1901-02.
1902-03 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1903-04 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1904-05 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1905-06 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1906-07 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1907-08 (Abram Piatt Andrew’s money exam)
1908-09 (Wesley Clair Mitchell’s money exam)
1909-10 (Davis Rich Dewey’s money exam)

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Course Description
1910-11

8a 1hf. Money. — A general survey of currency legislation, experience, and theory in recent times. Half-course (first half-year). Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse.

This course aims to show how the existing monetary systems of the principal countries have come to be, and to analyze the more important currency problems. It begins with a brief history of the precious metals, which is connected, in so far as possible, with the history of prices and the development of monetary theory. The history of coinage legislation in England and Europe and the United States is traced, and leads to a consideration of various aspects of the bimetallic controversy. At convenient points, the experiences of various countries with paper money are reviewed and the influence of such issues upon wages, prices, and trade examined. Attention is also given to the non-monetary means of payment and the questions of monetary theory arising from their use. Among other subjects treated are the several methods of measuring exchange value, the explanation of price movements, the relations between prices and the rate of interest, the effects of appreciation and depreciation, the criteria of an ideal standard, and the reasons for divergences in the value of money as between different countries.

Course 8a is open to those only who have taken Course 1. 

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 57-58.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 8a 1hf. Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse. — Money. A general survey of currency legislation, experience, and theory in recent times.

Total 108: 2 Graduates, 30 Seniors, 50 Juniors, 18 Sophomores, 2 Freshmen, 6 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 8a
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. Explain briefly: (1) bills of credit; (2) assignats; (3) fractional currency; (4) rupee; (5) “conant”; (6) balboa; (7) guinea.
  2. Trace briefly the changes in the output of gold and silver since 1492. Give the important changes in the market ratio.
  3. Trace the monetary history of the United States from 1792 to 1860. Briefly rewrite this history on the assumption that the United States had adopted the French mint ratio.
  4. Write a brief history of the American trade dollar, stating the circumstances which led to its issue and withdrawal.
  5. Compare the Bland-Allison and Sherman Acts as to their legal provisions and actual results.
  6. Suppose the United States should permit the free coinage of our present silver dollar. What would be the probable effect of this law upon (1) debtors; (2) the value of the dime; (3) the value of the silver certificate; (4) the value of the gold certificate; (5) the value of the greenback; (6) the gold price of silver; (7) prices in Holland; (8) prices in the Dutch East Indies?
  7. The monetary laws of a certain country permit the free coinage of a gold dollar containing 25 grains of pure gold, and of a silver dollar containing 700 grains of pure silver. Subsidiary silver is coined on government account at a ratio of 15 to 1. The necessities of war have, however, led to the issue of irredeemable legal tender paper. Assuming that the market ratio is 30 to 1, state what coins you would find in circulation (1) before the war; (2) when the paper dollar was worth 75 cents in gold; (3) when it was worth 60 cents in gold; (4) when it was worth 45 cents in gold. Devise a scheme for making the paper dollar and the gold dollar circulate at a parity. (Show the method by which your answers were obtained.)
  8. A certain Asiatic country permits at present the free coinage of a dollar containing 348.3 grains of pure silver. How much is this dollar worth in money of the United States, assuming the present price of silver to be 54 cents an ounce? Without changing the weight or fineness of the dollar, tell how you would give this country a monetary system that would prevent fluctuations in the gold value of its coins and insure an adequate supply of money, even though the market ratio should become 30 to 1. (Give exact figures.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers, Mid-Years, 1910-11.

Image Source:  “Money Talks” from the cover of Puck, Vol LX, No. 1541 (September 12, 1906). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.  “William Randolph Hearst sitting with two large, animated, money bags resting on his lap, with arms and legs, and showing two large coins as heads; on the floor next to Hearst is a box labeled ‘WRH Ventriloquist’.”

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Uncategorized

Harvard. Enrollment and Exam for Public Finance especially Taxation. Huse, 1910-1911

Charles Phillips Huse again substituted for his thesis advisor, Charles Jesse Bullock, in 1910-11. This post has established a curatorial first for Economics in the Rear-view Mirror, namely, it has a list of all previous examinations for courses in public finance at Harvard going into the 1910-11 academic year that have been transcribed and posted!

Links to previous public finance exams 1883-84 to 1909-10.

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Relevant Readings for Students

From 1906: Selected Readings in Public Finance edited by Charles Jesse Bullock (Boston: Inn & Company).

From 1910: Short bibliography on public finance “for serious minded students” by Bullock.

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Course Description
1910-11

7 2hf. Public Finance, considered with special reference to the Theory and Methods of Taxation. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 10. Professor Bullock [sic] and an assistant.

This course is for undergraduates exclusively. As stated in the title, much attention is given to the subject of taxation, which will occupy about one half of the time of the course and will be studied with special reference to federal, state, and local taxation in the United States. The remainder of the time will be given to such topics as governmental expenditures, governmental industries (including some study of the relation of the state to railways and other public-service industries), public debts, and financial administration.

The course may, with the consent of the instructor, be elected by students who are taking Economies 1 in the same year.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 52

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 7 2hf. Dr. [Charles Phillips] Huse [Ph.D. 1907], assisted by Messrs. [Wilfred] Eldred [Ph.D. 1919] and [Roscoe Russell] Hess [LL.B. 1916] . — Public Finance considered with special reference to the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

Total 192: 1 Graduate, 30 Seniors, 63 Juniors, 69 Sophomores, 18 Freshmen, 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 7
Year-end Examination
1910-11

  1. What is the significance, practical and theoretical, of the increase of public expenditure in modern times?
  2. Discuss the financial results of the United States postal service.
  3. What do you consider the proper financial policy for public industries?
  4. What is the incidence of a tax on interest? On wages? On the products of a monopolized industry?
  5. State the benefit and ability theories of taxation. To what extent should each be followed in apportioning the burdens of any particular tax? Of the tax system as a whole?
  6. Describe the working of the general property tax in the United States. What defects are most clearly and generally to be observed? What reforms of the tax are most commonly urged?
  7. What have been the salient features of state inheritance taxation in this country? What changes are to be expected in the future?
  8. Describe the following features of the British income tax:
    (1) the five schedules; (2) stoppage at the source; (3) extent of declaration; (4) amount of evasion; (5) exemptions and abatements; (6) productiveness; (7) conformity with ideals of justice.
  9. Describe the present position of the income tax in the financial systems of our state and national governments. What are the arguments for and against a Federal income tax in the United States?
  10. What use is made of license taxes in the United States? What are the arguments for and against the license tax?

Source: Papers set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, …, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College. June 1911, p. 44. In Harvard University Archives, Examination papers, 1873-1915 (HUC 7000.25). Box 9. Examination Papers, 1910-11, p. 45.

Image Source: Charles Phillips Huse, Boston University yearbook, 1927.

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Earlier public finance exams
at Harvard

1883-84. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. Taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1884-85. Political Economy 7. Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the U.S. [Omitted 1884-85].

1884-85. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1885-86. Political Economy 8. Financial History of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1886-87. Political Economy 8. Financial History of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Exams not (yet) found]

1887-88. Political Economy 7. Taxation, Public Debts, and Banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1887-88. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 7. Taxation, Public Debts, and Banking taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1888-89. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar

1889-90. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Banking. Omitted.

1889-90. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by Adolph Caspar Miller

1890-91. Political Economy 7. Public Finance and Taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1890-91. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by William Morse Cole.

1891-92. Political Economy 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation  taught by Charles F. Dunbar [Mid-year examination not found]

1891-92. Political Economy 8. History of Financial Legislation in the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1892-93. Economics 72. Financial Administration and Public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1893-94. Economics 8. History of Financial Legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1894-95. Economics 7. Theory and Methods of Taxation (first semester) and Financial Administration and Public Debts (second semester) taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1895-96. Economics 7. Financial Administration and Public Debts taught by John Cummings.

1895-96. Economics 8. History of Financial Legislation of the U.S. taught by J. A. Hill.

1896-97. Economics 16. Topics in the Financial Legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1897-98. Economics 71. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig, Readings, Exams.

1898-99. Economics 16. Topics in the Financial Legislation of the U.S. taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7a. Financial Administration and Public Debts taught by Charles F. Dunbar.

1899-1900. Economics 7b. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1900-01. Economics 7a and 7b. Not offered.

1901-02. Economics 7a and 7b. Financial administration; taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1902-03. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation with reference to local taxation [undergraduate] taught by Edward Dana Durand, Readings, Exam and Durand biography.

1902-03. Economics 16. Financial History of the United States taught by Prof Henry Brayton Gardner of Brown University.

1903-04. Economics 7b. Theory and Methods of Taxation taught by Frank William Taussig.

1903-04. Economics 16.  Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7a. Introduction to public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 7b. Theory and methods of taxation [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1904-05. Economics 16. Financial history of the United States taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 7.  Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1905-06 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1906-07 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1907-08 Economics 16. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 7. Public finance [undergraduate] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1908-09 Economics 16. Public finance [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock

1909-10 Economics 7. Public finance and taxation taught by Charles Phillips Huse [biographical information included]

1909-10 Economics 16. American Taxation [advanced course] taught by Charles Jesse Bullock and Charles Phillips Huse.

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Exam Questions Harvard Transportation

Harvard. Transportation economics. Enrollments and Final Exam. Ripley, 1910-1911

For as long as advanced electives in economics had been offered at Harvard there was a course on transportation economics, in the beginning exclusively on the economics of railroads. This post includes links to the exams from 1887-88 through 1909-10 as well as the most recent transcription of course material for the 1910-11 academic year.

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Earlier exams etc. for Economics 5,
Pol Econ 9
(Economics of Transportation/ Railroads)

1887-88 (James Laurence Laughlin)
1888-89 (John Henry Gray)
1889-90 [Omitted]
1890-91 (Frank William Taussig)
1891-92 (Frank William Taussig)
1892-93 (Frank William Taussig)
1893-94 (Frank William Taussig)
1894-95 (George Ole Virtue)
1895-96 (Frank William Taussig)
1896-97 (Frank William Taussig)
1897-98 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1898-99 (Hugo Richard Meyer
1899-1900 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1900-01 (Hugo Richard Meyer)
1901-02 (Ripley with Hugo Richard Meyer)
1903-04 (Ripley alone)
1904-05 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1905-06 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1906-07 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett and Walter Wallace McLaren). Also with the Assignment of Reports.
1907-08 (Ripley with Stuart Daggett)
1908-09 (Ripley with Edmund Thorton Miller)
1909-10 (Ripley with Eliot Jones)

….etc.

1906-07. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)
1907-08. Ec 17. Railroad Practice (Dr. Stuart Daggett)

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Monographs/Books on Transportation by W. Z. Ripley

Transportation. Chapter from the Final report of the U.S. Industrial Commission (Vol. XIX) and privately issued by the author for the use of his students and others. Washington, D.C., 1902.

Railway Problems, edited with an introduction by William Z. Ripley (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1907).

Railroads: Rates and Regulation (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912).

Railroads: Finance & Organization (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1915).

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

APPLIED ECONOMICS
For Undergraduates and Graduates

5 1hf. Economics of Transportation. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 10. Professor Ripley assisted by Mr. [Ralph Cahoon] Whitnack.

A brief outline of the historical development of rail and water transportation in the United States will be followed by a description of the condition of transportation systems at the present time. The four main subdivisions of Rates and Rate-Making, Finance, Traffic Operation, and Legislation will be considered in turn. The first deals with the relation of the railroad to shippers, comprehending an analysis of the theory and practice of rate-making. An outline will be given of the nature of railroad securities, the principles of capitalization, and the interpretation of railroad accounts. Railroad Operation will deal with the practical problems of the traffic department, such as the collection and interpretation of statistics of operation, pro-rating, the apportionment of cost, depreciation and maintenance, etc. Under Legislation, the course of state regulation and control in the United States and Europe will be traced.

Course 5 is open to all students who have taken Economics 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 57.

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 5 1hf. Professor Ripley, assisted by Mr. [Ralph Cahoon] Whitnack.— Economics of Transportation.

Total 142: 4 Graduate, 48 Seniors, 65 Juniors, 18 Sophomores, 5 Freshmen, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 49.

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ECONOMICS 51
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. What is the principal feature of the law of 1910 respecting rate making power of the Interstate Commerce Commission? Explain the necessary procedure.
  2. How does the law of 1910 affect the long-and-short-haul clause? Show how the new law contrasts with the law before amendment. Does it affect water competition? If so, how?
  3. What was the gist of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Illinois Central car-distribution case? Show how it was related to pending legislation.
  4. Describe the plan adopted for eliminating railway competition in trunk line territory since 1901. Why were the coal roads so troublesome?
  5. Cite or invent a case of true commercial competition as it affects rate-making. Show wherein it differs from ordinary railroad competition.
  6. Describe how a branch line may be administered or its affairs dealt with in accounting as to conceal the real financial condition of the main company?
  7. What use did you make of the balance sheets of your railroad in connection with your thesis? (If it was an analysis of one or more railroads.) If your theses was of another sort, explain what is the significance, or lack of it, of the main items on a balance sheet.
  8. Describe the nature of the pending railroad rate increase cases before the Interstate Commerce Commission. Set forth the leading arguments on either side.
  9. Outline the plan involved in the Keene Southern Pacific pool of 1902-3.
  10. Define the following: —
    1. Immunity bath.
    2. Differential rates.
    3. Voting trust.
    4. Stock watering.
    5. Commodity rate.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1910-11.

Image Source: “The Highland Light.” Print. 1910. Digital Commonwealth, Massachusetts Collections on Line.

The Highland Light, a 4-4-0 or American type which William Mason built at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1867 for the Cape Cod Railroad (now part of the New Haven system), was one of America’s most graceful iron horses. Mason created “melodies cast and wrought in metal,” according to Matthias N. Forney, himself a great locomotive designer. “He was a wonderfully ingenious man and embodied with his ingenuity a high order of the artistic sense, so that his work was always most exquisitely designed.” Mason declared that locomotives should
“look somewhat better than cookstoves on wheels.” A distinctive feature of the Highland Light was the pairs of decorative brackets that joined the hubs of her tender wheels. Mason’s ornamental monogram was placed proudly between her driving wheels.

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Exam Questions Harvard Statistics

Harvard. Statistics. Enrollment, course description, final exam. Young, 1910-1911

Professor Allyn Abbott Young

According to a story in The San Francisco Call Bulletin (19 June 1910), the head of the Stanford department of economics, Allyn A. Young, was to go on leave for a year to take the place of Professor Taussig at Harvard. Perhaps Taussig planned on going on leave himself when the original invitation to Young was made, but Taussig did end up teaching his courses as scheduled at Harvard in 1910-11. Young returned to Harvard in 1920.

This post adds links to the statistics exams of courses offered earlier at Harvard by John Cummings and William Z. Ripley. The exam questions for Allyn Abbott Young’s visiting year at Harvard have been previously posted so the value-added to Economics in the Rear-view Mirror is the added course description along with links to earlier statistics exams in the economics department beginning in 1896.

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Statistics (Econ 4), previous years

1896-1900, John Cummings.
1900-01 [omitted]
1901-02, Ripley.
1902-03, Ripley.
1903-04, Ripley. [only mid-year exam found]
1904-05, Ripley.
1905-06 [omitted]
1906-07. [offered but no printed exam found]
1907-08, Ripley. [only mid-year exam found]
1908-09, Ripley.
1909-10, Ripley.

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Course Description
1910-11

[Economics] 4. Statistics. — Theory, method, and practice. Tu., Th., at 11.  Professor [Allyn Abbott] Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University).

            This course is intended rather as an analysis of methods of research and sources of information than as embodying mere results. A brief history of statistics will be followed by an account of census and other statistical methods in the United States and abroad, with the scientific use and interpretation of results. The main divisions of vital statistics, relating to birth, marriage, morbidity, and mortality, life tables, etc.; the statistics of trade and commerce, such as price indexes, etc.; industrial statistics relating to labor, wages, and employment; statistics of agriculture, manufactures, and transportation, will be then considered in order. Laboratory work, amounting to not less than two hours per week, in the preparation of charts, maps, and diagrams from original material, will be required.

            Course 4 is open to students who have taken Economics 1; and it is also open to Juniors and Seniors who are taking Economics 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 53

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 4. Professor [Allyn Abbott] Young (Leland Stanford Jr. University). — Statistics. Theory, method, and practice.

Total 26: 5 Graduates, 8 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 2 Freshmen, 1 Others

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1909-1910, p. 49.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 4

Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

[There was no mid-year exam in the collection of printed exams.]

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 4

Year-end Examination, 1910-11

Answer eight questions.
  1. In what ways did (1) “German university statistics” and (2) “political arithmetic” differ from modern “statistics”?
  2. What errors are found in age statistics?
  3. In what ways may the death rates of two or more cities be accurately compared?
  4. What are the best methods of measuring the change in the length of human life? What different things may be meant by the “length of human life”?
  5. Discuss census statistics of manufactures, with special reference to the definitions of (1) “manufactures,” and (2) “capital.”
  6. What are the chief uses of price statistics? How are the problems of (1) choosing quotations, and (2) weighting, affected by the intended use?
  7. What different methods of “smoothing” a statistical diagram can you suggest? When should diagrams “smoothed” and when not?
  8. What refinements of method should be observed in making comparisons of the birth rate at different periods or for different classes of the population?
  9. May it be expected that most frequency curves will approximate the normal curve of error? Why?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1910-11 (HUC 7000.25) Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1911), p. 42.

Image Source: Portrait of Allyn A. Young from the 1918 Cornell yearbook, The Cornellian (vol. 50), p. 18. Image enhanced by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

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Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Enrollment, course description, semester exams in sociology. Carver and Bristol, 1910-1911

Carver lists sixteen items in his chapter on sociology in A guide to reading in social ethics and allied subjects (1910), by Francis G. Peabody et al.

An obituary for Carver’s assistant for the course, Lucius Moody Bristol (Harvard PhD in Social Ethics, 1913), was published in Social Forces Vol. 32, Issue 1 (October 1953), p. 90.

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Sociology exams from earlier years.

1892-93 (taught by E. Cummings)
1893-94 (taught by E. Cummings)
1894-95 (taught by E. Cummings)
1895-96 (taught by E. Cummings)
1896-97 (taught by E. Cummings)
1897-98 (taught by E. Cummings)
1898-99 (taught by E. Cummings)
1899-1900 (taught by E. Cummings)
1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)
1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field) Includes the reading list for the course and additional biographical information.
1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)
1907-08 (taught by T. N. Carver)
1908-09 (taught by T. N. Carver and C. W. Thompson)
1909-10 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. S. Davis)

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Course Announcement and Description
1910-11

  1. Principles of Sociology. — Theories of Social Progress. Mon., Wed., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Fri., at 1.30. Professor Carver, and an assistant.

An analytical study of social life and of the factors and forces which hold society together and give it an orderly development. The leading social institutions will also be studied with a view to finding out their true relation to social well-being and progress.

Spencer’s Principles of Sociology [Vol. 1; Vol. II; Vol. III] and Carver’s Sociology and Social Progress will be read in full. Students are expected to take part in the discussion of the books read and of the lectures delivered.

Course 3 is open to students who have passed satisfactorily in Course 1.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), p. 63

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Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 3. Professor Carver, assisted by Mr.[Lucius Moody] Bristol [Ph.D. 1913] — Principles of Sociology. Theories of Social Progress.

Total 61: 8 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 27 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 2 Freshmen, 12Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911 p. 50.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 3
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

  1. What is the bearing of Weisman’s theory of heredity upon the problem of the transmissibility of acquired characters?
  2. What is Spencer’s opinion as to the methods of administering charity?
  3. How does the transition from the militant to the industrial type of society affect the liberty of the individual?
  4. What is the relation of our economic concept of wealth to the general problem of adaptation?
  5. How does Spencer explain the origin of the belief in ghosts?
  6. What is meant by the power of idealization, and how does it affect the process of adaptation?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 3
Year-end Examination, 1910-11

  1. Comment upon the following: —
    “Already increased facilities for divorce point to the probability that whereas, while permanent monogamy was being evolved, the union by law (originally the act of purchase) was regarded as the essential part of marriage and the union by affection as non essential; and whereas at present the union by law is thought the more important and the union by affection the less important, there will come a time when the union by affection will be held of primary moment and the union by law as of secondary moment: whence reprobation of marital relations in which the union by affection has dissolved.”
  2. Trace the origin, separation, and specialization of the leading professions.
  3. What is the leading idea of the selection entitled “War and Economics”? What do you think of it?
  4. What is the leading idea of the selection entitled “The Prolongation of Infancy”? What do you think of it?
  5. What, according to Nordau, are the symptoms and the causes of increasing degeneration in recent times?
  6. What is the relation of morality to the problem of adaptation?
  7. What are the leading phases of the struggle among the individuals of the social group called the state?
  8. What is meant by the storing of social energy, and by what means is it accomplished?
  9. Discuss the question: Is monarchy or democracy the more highly evolved form of government?
  10. What do you regard as the most important thing you have learned in this course?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1910-11 (HUC 7000.25) Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1911), pp. 41-42.

Image Source: Thomas Nixon Carver from Harvard Class Album 1913 (colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror).

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Exam Questions Harvard Principles

Harvard. Enrollment and semester examinations for principles of economics. Taussig, 1910-1911

After a pause dedicated to revising a paper, I return to the task of transcribing the economics mid-year and year-end examinations from Harvard University. The first table below provides links to four decades worth of introductory exams, ending in January and June 1910. Material for the other economics courses taught at Harvard in 1910-11 will be posted over the next couple of months.

In 1910-11 Frank Taussig was back in the saddle after a leave of absence taken during the previous year. He completed the first edition of his Principles of Economics [Volume I; Volume II] in March 1911 [Preface]. Links to the references from that first edition have been posted.

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Exams for principles (a.k.a. outlines)
of economics at Harvard
1870/71-1909/10

1871-75

 1880-81 1890-91 1900-01
1881-82 1891-92

1901-02

1882-83 1892-93 1902-03
1883-84 1893-94

1903-04

1884-85 1894-95 1904-05
1885-86 1895-96

1905-06

1876-77

 1886-87 1896-97 1906-07
1877-78 1887-88 1897-98

1907-08

1878-79

 1888-89 1898-99 1908-09
1879-80 1889-90 1899-00 1909-10

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Course Announcement
1910-11

  1. Principles of Economies. Tu., Th., Sat., at 11. Professor Taussig, assisted by Drs. Huse, Day, and Foerster, and Messrs. Sharfman, and Balcom.

Course 1 is introductory to the other courses. It is intended to give a general survey of the subject for those who take but one course in Economics, and also to prepare for the further study of the subject in advanced courses. It is usually taken with most profit by undergraduates in the second year of their college career. Students who plan to take it in their first year are strongly advised to consult the instructor in advance. History 1 or Government 1, or both of these courses, will usually be taken to advantage before Economics 1.

[…]

Course 1 gives a general introduction to economic study, and a general view of Economics for those who have not further time to give to the subject. It undertakes a consideration of the principles of production, distribution, exchange, money, banking, international trade, and taxation. The relations of labor and capital, the present organization of industry, and the recent currency legislation of the United States will be treated in outline.

The course will be conducted partly by lectures, partly by oral discussion in sections. A course of reading will be laid down, and weekly written exercises will test the work of students in following systematically and continuously the lectures and the prescribed reading.

Source: History and Political Science, Comprising the Departments of History and Government, and Economics, 1910-11. Published in the Official Register of Harvard University. Vol. VI,I No. 23 (June 21, 1910), pp. 51-2.

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 Course Enrollment
1910-11

Economics 1. Professor Taussig, assisted by Drs. [Charles Phillips] Huse [Ph.D., 1907] , [Edmund Ezra] Day, [Ph.D. 1909] and [Robert Franz] Foerster [Ph.D. 1909], and Mr.  [Alfred Burpee] Balcom [A.M. 1909] — Principles of Economics.

Total 531: 5 Graduates, 14 Seniors, 96 Juniors, 272 Sophomores, 99 Freshmen, 45 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1910-1911, p. 48.

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ECONOMICS 1
Mid-year Examination, 1910-11

Arrange your answers
strictly in the order of the questions.
Give your reasons in all cases.
  1. “Economic productivity is not a matter of piety or merit or deserving, but only of commanding a price. Actors, teachers, preachers, lawyers, [sic, “prostitutes,” was the last item on H. J. Davenport’s list on p. 112, see link.] all do things that men are content to pay for. So wages may be earned by writing libels against a rival candidate, or by setting fire to a competitor’s refinery. The test of economic productivity in a competitive society is the fact of private gain, irrespective of any ethical criteria.” [H.J. Davenport. Social productivity versus private acquisition. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol 25, No. 1 (Nov. 1910), pp. 96-118.]
    Would you agree? In which of the cases above-mentioned, if any, do you find economic productivity?
  2. Draw a diagram illustrating how the price of a commodity is related to its cost of production under conditions of diminishing return (i.e. increasing cost). Explain the diagram, and indicate rent on it.
  3. What is the influence of cost of production on value in the case of a copyrighted book? cotton seed? a bushel of wheat?
  4. Suppose prices to have been as follows: —
1909 1910
Wheat (bushel) $1.00 $1.20
Cotton (pound) 0.10 0.12
Iron (ton) 10.00 13.00
Copper (pound) 0.10 0.06
Quicksilver (pound) 1.00 0.50

(a) Construct an index number, using the simple arithmetic mean, to show how general prices in 1910 were related to prices in 1909.

(b) Next, weight the commodities,—

…giving to wheat a weight of 5
…giving to cotton a weight of 4
…giving to iron a weight of 4
…giving to copper a weight of 1
…giving to quicksilver a weight of 1

Construct a second index number, using the weighted arithmetical mean.

Which index number would you consider the more trustworthy!

  1. In spite of recent great increases in the world’s gold production, the price of an ounce of gold in the United States has remained steadily at $20.67; in England, at £3 17s. 10½d. How do you explain this steadiness? Has there been the same steadiness in the value of gold?
  2. Explain briefly: —

Free coinage.
Mint ratio.
Bimetallism.
Limping standard.
Subsidiary coin.

  1. In 1850 the United States coined silver and gold at the ratio of 16 to 1. The market ratio then was 15.7 to 1. Which metal would you expect to be brought to the mint for coinage, and why?
  2. Wherein is the regulation of note-issue for the Reichsbank of Germany similar to its regulation for the Bank of England? Wherein different? Which of the two plans of regulation has proved the more successful?
  3. Explain briefly: —

Legal reserves.
“The essential similarity of notes and deposits.”
“Deposits as currency.”

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1910-11.

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ECONOMICS 1
Year-end Examination, 1910-11

Arrange your answers
strictly in the order of the questions.
Answer all the questions.
  1. Suppose a great issue of inconvertible paper money (fiat money) in the United States: what would be the effects, temporary or permanent, on the rate of interest; the value of money; the rate of foreign exchange; imports and exports?
  2. Is it true that “rent does not enter into the cost of production of agricultural produce”?
  3. A shop-keeper, on a side street off Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, advertised: “We can sell at low prices because we pay low rent.” Do you think it probable that he could?
  4. A corporation is formed, with a capital (paid in) of $1,500,000. It buys a city site for $1,000,000, and erects on it an office building which costs $1,000,000; the sum of $500,000 toward the cost of the building being borrowed at 5%. By good management it succeeds in paying to its stockholders from the rentals of the offices (after meeting all expenses and interest on the money borrowed) dividends of 8%.
    What determined the price at which the site was purchased? Is the return received by the stockholders interest, rent, business profits, wages?
  5. A business firm is made up of three partners, A and B, active partners, and C, an inactive (or silent) partner. The firm has $150,000 capital, contributed in equal shares by the three partners. Its articles of agreement provide that the net earnings shall be divided as follows: first, a dividend of 6% on the capital; second, if net earnings permit, a salary of $4,000 to each of the active partners; lastly, any remainder to be distributed as further dividend on the capital. The firm’s net earnings in 1908 were $23,000.
    What were the “business profits” of the firm? What were its “profits” in the sense in which Mill used that term?
  6. Explain: —

non-competing groups;
“real” differences of wages;
“the forces of environment”;
social stratification.

  1. Would you regard a great extension of public ownership (to such industries as railways, street railways, gas works, coal mines) as “socialistic”? If so, in what sense? If not, why not?
    Would you regard a tax on the future increase of economic rent as “socialistic”? If so, in what sense? If not, why not?
  2. From a speech made in 1909 by a member of Congress: —
    “During the past few years the United States have imported from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 worth of antimony… largely from Japan, Mexico, China, and Labrador. Practically every ton of it is imported, notwithstanding the fact that in ten or twelve of the western states it is found in abundance…. I have no doubt that (with a proposed duty on antimony) within twelve months, instead of importing all our antimony, we shall produce every pound of it in the United States. We shall have the money and our antimony too.”
    What would you say of this reasoning?
  3. Can a country advantageously import a commodity in producing which its labor is more effective than labor is in producing that commodity in the country whence it is imported?
    Can a country (A) send exports to a country (B) if the current rate of wages is $2.00 a day in country A and $1.00 a day in country B?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 9, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1910-11 (HUC 7000.25) Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1911), pp. 38-39.

Image Source: From the cover of the Harvard Class Album 1946.

Categories
Columbia Economics Programs Faculty Regulations

Columbia. Graduate Degree Requirements in Economics for Faculty of Political Science, 1904-05

By the beginning of the 20th century the general structure of Ph.D. programs across the United States had gelled into a common form due to the demand for certification of college teachers and a desire to create the graduate research seminars of German universities. The relevant portions of the 1904-05 Ph.D. regulations for the Columbia Faculty of Political Science, within which the department of economics was housed, have been transcribed for this post.

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More Columbia Information from that time

Columbia University, Economics Courses with Descriptions, 1905-07

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Regulations for other economics programs

Chicago, 1904-05
Harvard, 1904-05
Wisconsin, 1904-05

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REGULATIONS
FOR THE UNIVERSITY DEGREES
1904-05

Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy
  1. Candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy must hold a baccalaureate degree in arts, letters, philosophy, or science, or an engineering degree, or an equivalent of one of these from a foreign institution of learning.
    Every candidate for a higher degree must present to the Dean of each school in which he intends to study satisfactory evidence that he is qualified for the studies he desires to undertake.
  2. Candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy must pursue their studies in residence for a minimum period of one and two years, respectively.* The year spent in study for the degree of Master of Arts is credited on account of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Residence at other universities may be credited to a candidate. In certain cases and by special arrangement, time exclusively devoted to investigation in the field will be credited in partial fulfilment of the time required. No degree will be conferred upon any student who has not been in residence at Columbia University for at least one year. The satisfactory completion, at not less than four Summer Sessions, of courses of instruction having in all a value of eight hours’ work a week for one academic year will be accepted as fulfilling the minimum requirement of one year’s University residence.

*In practice three years of University residence subsequent to the attainment of the Bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, are usually necessary to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

  1. Each student who declares himself a candidate for the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy, or either of them, shall, immediately after registration, designate one principal or major subject and two subordinate or minor subjects.
    Candidates are expected to devote at least one half of their time throughout their course of study to the major subject. In the case of laboratory courses this implies two days a week, or its equivalent, as determined by each department. Each minor subject is intended to occupy approximately one fourth of the time during one year for the degree of Master of Arts, and during two years for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
    Minor subjects may not be changed except by permission of the Dean, to be given only on the written recommendation of the heads of the departments from which and to which the change is desired; major subjects may not be changed except by a special vote of the Faculty in each case.
    Candidates for the degree of Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy may, with the consent of the Dean of the Faculty concerned and of the professor in charge of his major subject, select both minor subjects within the same department, and may divide a minor subject, taking parts of two subjects germane to his major subject.
  2. The subjects from which the candidate’s selection must be made are:

[…]

UNDER THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Group I.—History and political philosophy: 1. European history; 2. American history; 3. ancient history; 4. political philosophy.

Group II.—Public law and comparative jurisprudence: 1. Constitutional law; 2. international law; 3. administrative law; 4. comparative jurisprudence.

Group III.—Economics and social science: 1. Political economy and finance; 2. sociology and statistics.

In his choice of subjects under this Faculty, the candidate whose major subject lies within its jurisdiction is limited by the following rules:

A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must select one minor subject within the group which includes his major subject.

A candidate for the degree of Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy must select one minor subject outside of the group which includes his major subject.

The choice of subjects must in every case be approved by the Dean.

To be recognized as a major subject for the degree of Master of Arts, the courses selected must aggregate at least two hours per week throughout the year, and must also include attendance at a seminar; for a minor subject for the degree of Master of Arts the attendance at a seminar is not required.

To be recognized as a minor subject for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, courses must be taken, in addition to the requirements for a minor subject for the degree of Master of Arts, aggregating two hours weekly. All the courses and seminars offered in the major subject must be taken by candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

[…]

  1. Each student is given a registration book, to be obtained at the office of the Registrar, which should be signed by the professor or instructor in charge of each course of instruction or investigation at the beginning and end of the course. This registration book is to be preserved by the student as evidence of courses attended, and should be submitted to the Deans of the several Faculties at the end of each year that the proper credit may be given, after which the registration book becomes the permanent property of the student.
  2. —
    1. Students desiring to be examined for the degree of Master of Arts, Master of Laws, or Doctor of Philosophy shall make application to the Registrar of the University, on or before April 1 of the academic year in which the examination is desired, on blanks provided by the University.
    2. Immediately after April 1, the Registrar shall notify the Deans of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science, of the names of students applying for examination for higher degrees in each of these three Faculties, together with the subjects in which the candidate offers himself for examination and the degree for which he is a candidate.
    3. The examination shall be held under the authority and direction of the several Deans.
    4. The results of such examinations shall be reported as soon as possible to the Registrar, who shall transmit to the Secretary of the University Council the record of each successful candidate for a degree, as soon as such record is complete.
  3. Each candidate for the degree of Master of Arts shall present an essay on some topic previously approved by the professor in charge of his major subject. This essay must be presented not later than May 1 of the academic year in which the examination is to take place. The Faculty of Political Science requires the essay to be a paper read during the year before the seminar of which the candidate is a member.
    When the essay has been approved, the candidate shall file with the Registrar of the University a legibly written or typewritten copy of it. This copy is to be written on firm, strong paper, eleven by eight and a half inches, and a space of one and a half inches on the inner margin must be left free from writing.
  4. Each candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall present a dissertation embodying the result of original investigation and research on some topic previously approved by the professor in charge of the major subject. After the dissertation has been approved by the said professor, it shall be printed by the candidate, under the direction of the Dean of the Faculty, and one hundred and fifty copies shall be delivered to the Registrar of the University, unless, for reasons of weight, a smaller number be accepted by special action of the University Council. On the title-page of every such dissertation shall be printed the words: “Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of—, Columbia University.”
    Each dissertation shall contain upon its title-page the full name of the author; the full title of the dissertation; the year of imprint, and, if a reprint, the title, volume, and pagination of the publication from which it was reprinted; and there shall be printed and appended to each dissertation a statement of the educational institutions that the author has attended, and a list of the degrees and honors conferred upon him, as well as the titles of his previous publications.
    All dissertations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must be submitted for approval not later than April 1 of the academic year in which examination is desired.
    In case of excessive cost and delay in publishing a dissertation which has been approved by a department, and accepted for publication by a reputable journal or scientific or literary association, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy may be conferred before the publication is completed. The facts in every such case concerning the publication are to be certified to the Council by the Faculty concerned.
    In cases where advanced degrees are conferred before the copies of the dissertation are deposited with the Registrar, the diploma shall be withheld until such copies shall be received.
    In the Faculty of Political Science, the examination on the major and minor subjects and on languages, but not on the dissertation itself, may be held before the printed dissertation is submitted.

[…]

  1. Every candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must pass, besides such other examinations as the Faculty may require, an oral examination on all three subjects, and must defend his dissertation in the presence of the entire Faculty, or of so many of its members as may desire or as may be designated by the Faculty to attend. The ability to read at sight French and German, to be certified in each case by the Dean of the Faculty concerned, is required by all the Faculties. The Faculty of Political Science also requires the ability to read Latin at sight; and candidates are examined on Latin, French, and German as upon other subjects, in the presence of the Faculty.

[…]

  1. No student shall continue to be a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for a longer period than three years from the time he ceases to be in residence.

[…]

1904-05
FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

In its course of instruction the Faculty of Political Science undertakes to give a complete general view of all the subjects of public polity, both internal and external, from the threefold point of view of history, law, and philosophy. The prime aim is therefore the development of all the branches of the political and social sciences. The secondary and practical objects are:

(a) To fit young men for the public service.

Young men who wish to obtain positions in the United States civil service—especially in those positions in the executive departments at Washington for which special examinations are held — will find it advantageous to follow many of the courses under the Faculty of Political Science — especially the courses on political history, diplomatic history and international law, government (including the governmental organization of the territories and dependencies of the United States), statistics, finance, and administration. Candidates for appointment in the administrative service of our dependencies may obtain adequate preparation by adding to the general courses on public law and on political economy and finance the special courses now offered in the School of Political Science on colonial history and administration, colonial economics, modern civil law (German, French, Italian, and Spanish), and the courses on the Spanish language and literature offered in the College and the School of Philosophy.

(b) To give an adequate economic and legal training to those who intend to make journalism their profession.

(c) To supplement, by courses in public law and comparative jurisprudence, the instruction in private municipal law offered by the Faculty of Law.

(d) To educate teachers of history, economics, sociology, public law, and jurisprudence.

To these ends courses of study are offered of sufficient duration to enable the student not only to attend the lectures and recitations with the professors, but also to consult the most approved treatises upon the political sciences and to study the sources of the same.

The courses under this Faculty are divided as follows:

GROUP I — HISTORY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Subjects

1. European History
2. American History
3. Ancient History
4. Political Philosophy

GROUP II — PUBLIC LAW AND COMPARATIVE JURISPRUDENCE

Subjects

1. Constitutional Law
2. International Law
3. Administrative Law
4. Roman Law and Comparative Jurisprudence

GROUP III — ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

Subjects

1. Political Economy and Finance
2. Sociology and Statistics

A complete statement of the courses will be found in the bulletin of the Division of History, Economics, and Public Law the Announcement of the Faculty of Political Science) for 1903-05, which will be forwarded without charge upon application to the Secretary of the University.

Source: Columbia University, Bulletin of Information. Fourth Series, No. 11 (April 2, 1904). Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy and Pure Science, Announcement 1904-1905, pp. 7-12, 30-31.

Image Source: Roberto Ferrari, Unveiling Alma Mater [Sept 23, 1903]. Columbia University Libraries. July 15, 2104.

Categories
Economics Programs M.I.T.

MIT. Minutes of Visiting Committee. Freeman and Brown, 1947

 

Topic 2 in the following minutes of the March 3, 1947 meeting with the visiting committee for Economics and Social Science at MIT is a foreshadowing of the coming attack on Paul Samuelson’s textbook in September 1947. See: M.I.T. Wingnut inspiration for Du Pont’s crusade against Paul Samuelson’s textbook, 1947

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By 1958, the “Minutes”
seem like “Hours”

Cf. Minutes of the Vising Committee 1958.

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Economics and Social Science
Visiting Committee
(March 1947)

Present

Walter Jay Beadle (b. 1896). S.B. MIT (1917). Treasurer, Vice-President and Director at E. I. duPont deNemours & Co.

Beardsley Ruml (b. 1894). Ph.D. (Chicago, 1917). Chairman of the Board of R. H. Macy & Company, Inc. (formerly Chairman of the Federal Reserve of N.Y. City, a Director of NBER.

Charles Eldridge Spencer, Jr. (b. 1882). Chairman of the Board of the First National Bank of Boston. Life member of the Corporation of MIT. Began as clerk in a bank in his hometown New Brunswick, NJ at age 17.

Hugh G. Pastoriza, Sr. (b. 1886) . MIT Class of 1907, course VI. Was a representative of Coffin & Burr, investment bonds of New York City. Lived in Bronxville, NY, Board of Education

Samuel Sommerville Stratton (b. 1898). Ph.D. (Harvard 1930). Former member of Harvard School of Business. President of Middlebury College. [or his son as a recent alumnus, Hugh G. Pastoriza, Jr., B.S. MIT in Electrical Engineering, 1943]

Absent

Oscar Sydney Cox (b. 1905). Attended MIT 1924. PhB (Yale, 1927), LL.B. (Yale, 1929) Had been author of the Lend-Lease Act Member of the Law firm Cox, Langford, Stoddard & Cutler in Washington, DC.
Fun Fact: according to his obituary (Washington Daily News, 6 October 1966, p. 56) he was a friend of composer Paul Hindemith who put two of Cox’s poems to music.

Ellis Wethrell Brewster (b. 1892). B.S. (MIT, 1913). President and treasurer of Plymouth Cordage Co.

_______________________

M.I.T. Staff

Dean Robert G. Caldwell. (b. 1882). PhD (Princeton 1918).

Douglass Vincent Brown (b. 1904). PhD (Harvard, 1932). Alfred P. Sloan professor of industrial management, MIT.

Ralph Evans Freeman. (b. 1894). B.Litt. (University of Oxford). Head of Department of Economics and Social Sciences, MIT.

Douglas Murray McGregor. (b. 1906). PhD (Harvard, 1935). Associate Professor of psychology, MIT.

_______________________

Minutes of
the Visiting Committee Meeting
March 3, 1947

Department of Economics and Social Science

The Committee met at about 10:00 A.M. on Monday, March 3, in the Fabian Room of the Graduate House. The following members were present: Walter J. Beadle (Chairman), Beardsley Ruml, Charles E. Spencer, Jr., Hugh G. Pastoriza and Samuel S. Stratton. Absent were Oscar S. Cox and Ellis W. Brewster. In addition the following members of the Institute staff were present: Dean Robert G. Caldwell, and Professors Douglass V. Brown, Ralph E. Freeman, and Douglas M. McGregor.

  1. The first topic taken up by the Committee was a survey of the courses currently being offered by members of the Department and the number of students enrolled in each. Statistics were submitted to show that 1780 students were attending 27 classes. A number of publications by the Department staff were presented to indicate the type of research upon which they have been engaged.
  2. The next topic was the new undergraduate program (Course XIV). The content and objectives of this program were outlined. The point was made that the staff does not attempt to indoctrinate the students with the theories of any particular school of economists. They try to give a fairly general understanding of the major points of view In Economics so that students can adopt that philosophy and theory which they believe to be best.
  3. Dean Caldwell outlined the Institute’s humanities program and explained the part played by the Department in this program. Professor McGregor, referring specifically to the Psychology option of the third year, explained the somewhat novel teaching techniques which he and his associates have developed.
  4. The Chairman expressed a particular interest in the course in economic principles (Ec11) which is required of all students at the Institute. Professor Freeman explained that this subject is oriented around the general problem of full employment. This is a departure from the usual method. The analysis of demand and supply and other theories are introduced for their bearing on the central theme of maintaining a full employment national income. Such an approach seems to be more meaningful and interesting than the traditional one which had formerly been employed.
  5. Mr. Ruml raised two questions – one as to the content of the program, the other as to the size of classes. He suggested the inclusion of an examination to test the students’ general knowledge of human physiology and of the functioning of the body. He raised the question as to whether it is economically desirable to try to teach in small sections rather than in large groups. He made the point that under proper conditions, and with a really competent lecturer, the large class may be superior to the small discussion section.
  6. The Committee discussed the Research Institute for Group Dynamics and its program. The problems created by the sudden death of Kurt Lewin were discussed briefly. Mr. Ruml felt that it would be a mistake to close up the Research Center without very careful examination of possibilities for its continuance. The point was made that the activities of the Industrial Relations Section need to be supplemented by the kind of basic research on problems of group living which is being undertaken by the Research Center.
    The Chairman expressed the sense of the Committee that it would be unwise to drop the Group Dynamics Center entirely, and suggested that the Committee might undertake to consider the problem in greater detail.
  1. The activities of the Industrial Relations Section were briefly outlined to the Committee along with the current problems of its financial status. The Administration’s policy of maintaining the Industrial Relations Fund at approximately its present level, or at least of reducing it only very gradually, received general approval from the Committee. The long-range problem of financing the activity of the Section was briefly discussed but no conclusions were reached.
  2. The members of the Committee raised various other questions as to the content of courses, methods of instruction, textbooks, employment opportunities for graduates and so forth. In fact, so much time was taken up by the process of getting acquainted with the various activities of the Department, that the Chairman felt the Committee should meet again. It was, however, decided to postpone the question of a fall meeting and it was agreed that the Chairman, through correspondence with members, would submit an interim report.

The Committee adjourned at 12:30 to attend the Corporation luncheon.

Source: M.I.T., Institute Archives and Special Collections. MIT Department of Economics Records (AC 394), Box 4, Folder “V.C. 47-64”.

Image: From the cover of the MIT yearbook The 1949 Technique.

Categories
Chicago Economics Programs Faculty Regulations

Chicago. Requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees in Economics, 1934-35

The requirements for a graduate degree in economics at the University of Chicago in 1934-35 are transcribed below. First we have general Division requirements. These are followed by the specific requirements determined by the economics department.

Earlier, Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has transcribed the analogous requirements at Harvard University in 1934-35 and those for Columbia University in 1934-35.

Chicago, 1892.
Chicago, 1903.
Chicago, 1904-05 (with thick course descriptions)

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[DIVISION] REQUIREMENTS
FOR HIGHER DEGREES
UNDER THE OLD PLAN
[pp. 7-9]

In order to avoid misunderstandings, candidates for higher degrees should consult their Deans concerning all technical requirements for such degrees, including foreign language examinations, and requirements for the final oral examinations, before application is made for admission to candidacy. In all cases candidates should consult early with the chairman of the department of specialization.

Degrees will not be conferred under this plan after the Summer Quarter, 1935.

THE MASTER’S DEGREE

Two degrees are conferred, viz., Master of Arts and Master of Science.

  1. Candidacy. —Any student who has been in attendance one quarter or more, whose undergraduate course is equivalent to that required for a corresponding Bachelor’s degree in the University of Chicago,* and whose dissertation subject has been approved by the department of specialization, may, on recommendation by the department and approval of the divisional faculty, be admitted to candidacy for a Master’s degree. The student should consult his dean with reference to the requirements for admission to candidacy. The application must be on file in that office at least two months before the degree is conferred.
  2. Requirements.—-Students thus accepted as candidates will be given a Master’s degree on fulfilment of the following requirements:
    1. At least 8 courses of satisfactory advanced work taken in residence at the University of Chicago, of which not more than the equivalent of three courses may be taken as half-courses. These 8 courses need not be all in one department, but are selected from courses taken in residence at the University of Chicago according to some rational plan approved by the chairman of the department and by the Dean at least six months before the degree is conferred.
      At the discretion of the department concerned, and corresponding registration in advance with the Deans, wide reading or other special work carried out by the student under the supervision of the department and subject to such tests as the department may prescribe, may be accepted as one or more courses of the required work.
    2. A satisfactory dissertation on a subject approved by the head (or chairman) of the department at least three months (earlier at the option of the department) before graduation.
    3. The delivery of three printed or typewritten copies of the dissertation together with a certificate signed by the chairman of the department, that the work, as submitted, is accepted as the candidate’s dissertation for the Master’s degree to Cobb Lecture Hall, Room 203, at least two weeks before the Convocation at which the degree is to be conferred.
    4. Subsequent to admission to candidacy, a satisfactory final examination on the work taken for the degree. When the examination is oral, the candidate must file six copies of a summary of his dissertation and six copies of the list of courses submitted for the examination in the office of the Dean ten days before the date of examination.
    5. Additional qualitative and specific requirements for the degree may be prescribed by any department or faculty.

[Note]

*Attention is particularly called to the fact the term “equivalent” in this connection refers to quantity only. It does not affect the question of the specific Master’s degree (Arts or Science) to which a given student’s work would lead. In case the candidate did not obtain his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago, he will present to the Director of Admissions on blanks furnished for the purpose a detailed statement of his undergraduate work. The Director of Admissions cannot always report upon these statements during the opening week of the quarter.

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is given in recognition of high attainments and ability in the candidate’s chosen field, shown, first, by a dissertation evincing power of independent investigation and forming an actual contribution to existing knowledge; and, secondly, by passing an examination covering the general field of the candidate’s subject. It is to be understood explicitly that this degree is not conferred on the completion of a specified number of courses, or after a given period of residence.

  1. Candidacy.—Any student of graduate status in the University, who has been in attendance one quarter or more (one month, in the case of a student entering with two years of residence graduate credit from another institution), whose thesis subject has been accepted by the head (or chairman) of the department, and who has a reading knowledge of French and German, may, on recommendation of the department and approval of the divisional faculty, be enrolled as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. On recommendation of a department, approved by the Dean, any other Germanic language may be substituted for German and any other Romance language for French. A reading knowledge of the foreign languages must be certified by the appropriate departments and the application for admission to candidacy must be filed by the applicant at the Dean’s office on the blank provided for that purpose not fewer than eight calendar months before the final examination for the degree. Responsibility for admission at the proper time rests with the student.
  2. Requirements.—Students accepted as candidates will be given the Doctor of Philosophy degree upon the fulfilment of the following requirements:
    1. Normally three years of residence work in pursuance of an accepted course of study, at least three full quarters of which shall be in residence at the University of Chicago.
    2. The work offered in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in any department is outlined by that department and approved by the Dean, for each candidate, not later than the first quarter of his last year of residence work. The work required includes such courses in allied departments as may be deemed necessary by the department of specialization. The work is selected with regard to the needs of the individual student, with the double purpose (1) of giving him a knowledge of the relations of his subject to cognate branches of learning, and (2) of preparing him for productive scholarship.
    3. The presentation of a satisfactory dissertation upon a subject which has been approved by the chairman of the department.
    4. A satisfactory final oral examination on the subject presented for the degree.
  3. Dissertation.—
    1. Each candidate prepares a dissertation upon some topic connected with the subject of his specialization. This production constitutes an actual contribution to knowledge. Its subject is submitted for approval to the head (or chairman) of the department concerned at least twelve months before the date of the final examination.
    2. The dissertation is submitted to the Department in typewritten form at least one month before the date of the final examination, unless otherwise recommended by the Department.
    3. Three weeks before the Convocation at which the degree is to be conferred, unless the candidate is prepared to deposit 100 bound copies of the complete dissertation, he must deliver at the Dissertation Desk, Cobb Lecture Hall, Room 203, three printed or typewritten copies of the dissertation, together with a certificate signed by the chairman of the department that the work, as submitted, is accepted as the candidate’s dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and approved for publication without alteration.
    4. For details concerning the publication and distribution of dissertations, the candidate is referred to the Handbook of the Divisions and the Professional Schools, obtainable at the office of the Dean.
  4. Final examination. —After admission to candidacy the student may present himself for the final oral examination as soon as he has fulfilled the other general and departmental requirements. The candidate prepares a typewritten or printed brief of his work, including an analysis of the dissertation, and files six copies of the same with his Dean ten days before the time set for the examination.
    The examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall be taken at least ten days before the Convocation at which the degree is to be conferred
  5. Non-resident work.—After being admitted to graduate status, the student, in some cases, may be allowed to substitute non-resident work for resident work to a limited extent, under conditions to be arranged in consultation with the Dean and the heads of the departments concerned.
  6. Work done in other universities.—Graduate work done in another university will be accepted as equivalent to resident work in the University of Chicago, provided the institution in which the work was done is of high standing, and adequate evidence is furnished that the work done there was satisfactorily performed. Graduate work done in other institutions, and credit allowed for non-resident work, cannot reduce the residence requirement at the University of Chicago to a period of less than one year (three full quarters), during which the major part of the student’s time will be spent in the department in which he expects to take his degree.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

ECONOMICS, HIGHER DEGREES
[ DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS]
[pp. 282-284]

The Department expects that students who are candidates for the Master’s or the Doctor’s degree in Economics will observe the special departmental requirements set forth below, in addition to the general regulations of the Division, stated on pages 274-75 of the Announcements.

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

Candidates for the Master’s degree should file with the Departmental Examiner, on or before the opening of their second quarter of residence, a complete statement of the work they intend to offer. The Examiner will submit this schedule to the Department for approval.

The specific requirements for the Master’s degree are:

  1. A minimum of 8 courses, or their equivalent (of which at least 6 must be in Grades II and III above). At some previous time the candidate should have covered the substantial equivalent of the requirements for the Bachelor’s degree in Economics. This equivalence may be shown by courses taken or by examination. The candidate must also have the preparation in the other social sciences required for the Bachelor’s degree at the University.
  2. A thesis involving research of at least semi-independent character. The thesis should be completed and three copies delivered to the office of the Department for examination at least six weeks before the Convocation at which the degree is to be conferred.
  3. A final examination. This may be either oral or written as decided by the Depart-ment. The examination will be on the thesis and its field; and one other field proposed by the candidate and approved by the Department.
  4. All candidates for the Master’s degree, whether or not courses in general economic theory are included among the courses specifically offered for the degree, are expected to show, in examination and throughout their work, ability to think clearly and effectively on abstract economic questions, and familiarity with the terms and common concepts of economic science.
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

A candidate for the Doctor’s degree in Economics is expected to have a reading knowledge of French and German, or one of these languages and a second modern language approved by the Department, the preparation in the other social sciences required for the Bachelor’s degree at the University, and such grounding in other technical, scientific, or philosophical subjects as may be necessary for an intelligent pursuit of the studies in which he proposes to specialize. He should have covered the substantial equivalent of the requirements for the Bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University, and must be able to deal on a graduate level with the range of material covered in the sequence for that degree. The following courses or their equivalents should be included as part of his preparation: 209, “Intermediate Economic Theory”; 210, “Introduction to Accounting”; 211, “Introduction to Statistics”; 220, “Economic History of the United States”; 221, “Economic History of Classical and Western European Civilization”; and 230, “Introduction to Money and Banking.”

The candidate is expected to have general training in the important fields listed below and to specialize in three fields, one of which must be Economic Theory, including Monetary and Cycle Theory, and another must be the field of his thesis. The fields to be chosen (in addition to Economic Theory) may be taken from (1) Statistics; (2) Accounting; (3) Economic History; (4) Finance and Financial Administration; (5) Government Finance; (6) Labor and Personnel Administration; (7) Trusts and Public Utilities; (8) International Economic Relations; (9) some other field proposed by the candidate. A field proposed by the candidate may be in Economics or in another social science, the arrangement in either case being made with the Department of Economics. It is desired to develop that program of work which best meets the needs of the individual student. This usually involves the election of some courses in other departments and possibly the development of a field in another social science as a substitute for one of the fields in economics.

The candidate’s grasp of his three fields of specialization is tested by preliminary written examinations which must be passed to the satisfaction of the Department before admission to candidacy. The final oral examination is on the field of concentration and on the thesis. The written examinations can be taken in one quarter or they can be divided between two quarters, not necessarily consecutive quarters, at the option of the candidate. The written examinations are given in the sixth, seventh, and eighth weeks of the Autumn, Spring, and Summer quarters. The written examination in general economic theory, including monetary and cycle theory, is in two parts and will require five hours in all. The written examination in each of the other fields requires from three to four hours. Notice of intention to take any written examination must be filed with the Department at least three weeks before the examinations begin. In written examinations for the doctorate the questions cover both the theoretical and administrative aspects of the field.

The thesis must indicate power of independent investigation and form a significant contribution to existing knowledge.

The final examination for the Doctor’s degree is an oral examination in the field of the student’s special work and on the thesis. The purpose of this examination is to test the quality of the candidate’s scholarship as evidenced by his mastery of his special field and by his ability to deal originally, critically, and authoritatively with problems in that field. He is expected to show a discriminating acquaintance with the literature and with both the historical and theoretical aspects of his subject, and to have intelligent opinions on current events within the range of his special knowledge. He will not be expected at the final examination to answer detailed questions on subjects not immediately related to his specialty.

It is the desire and policy of the Department that advanced students, in planning their studies, should not confine their attention to courses of formal instruction. Students of proved ability are so far as is practicable relieved from the routine requirements of ordinary courses of instruction and given large opportunities for individual reading and inquiry in connection with special courses of research.

Source: The College and the Divisions for the Sessions of 1934-35 in Announcements [of] the University of Chicago, Vol. 34.

Image Source: Coat of arms of the University of Chicago.

The University Coat of Arms, a shield displaying the phoenix below and the book and motto above, was adopted by the Board of Trustees on August 16, 1910. The University motto Crescat scientia; vita excolatur was adopted by the Board on January 17, 1911 and added to the Coat of Arms on the pages of the open book.
The Coat of Arms was designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose, a heraldic specialist in Boston working under contract to the Board of Trustees. No surviving documents make clear precisely why the phoenix was adopted as the central element on the Coat of Arms, but the most probable assumption is that the phoenix can be seen as a symbol of the city of Chicago, which was seriously damaged by the great Chicago Fire of 1871 and then was successfully rebuilt, or reborn, within just a few years.

Categories
Columbia Economics Programs Faculty Regulations

Columbia. Requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees in Economics, 1934-35

The requirements for a graduate degree in economics at Columbia University in 1934-35 are transcribed below. First we have the common requirements of the Faculty of Political Science (of which Economics constituted one of four departments). Next we have the specific requirements set by the economics department.

Earlier, Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has transcribed the analogous requirements at Harvard in 1934-35.

Columbia. Organization of Graduate Education, 1908-10
Columbia Requirements for Ph.D., 1916
Columbia Requirements for Ph.D., 1920
Columbia Requirements for Graduate Degrees, 1946-47
Columbia Requirements for Ph.D., 1954-55

_______________________

FACULTY REQUIREMENTS
[pp. 11-13]

MASTER OF ARTS
  1. Residence. Every candidate for the degree must register for and attend courses aggregating not less than thirty tuition points distributed over a period of not less than one academic year or its equivalent.
  2. Courses. The candidate must satisfactorily complete, from the courses for which he has registered to satisfy the residence requirements, courses aggregating not less than twenty-one tuition points, of which at least fifteen must be selected from the general courses listed in this Announcement.
  3. Essay. The candidate must present a satisfactory essay prepared under the direction of some member of this faculty.
  4. Departmental Requirements. For special departmental requirements see Appendix, pages 46–52, of this Announcement. Departmental requirements are in addition to, not a substitute for, the faculty requirements.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
  1. General. The degree will be conferred upon students who satisfy the requirements as to preliminary training, residence, languages, subjects, and dissertation.
  2. Preliminary Training. The candidate must have received a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University or from some other approved university or college, or have had an education equivalent to that represented by such a degree, and must have been regularly accepted as a graduate student by the University Committee on Admissions.
  3. Residence. The candidate must have pursued graduate studies for at least two academic years, one of which must have been spent at this University, and the other of which, if not spent here, at an institution accepted as offering courses of similar standard. A year’s residence at this University is defined as registration for and attendance upon courses aggregating not less than thirty tuition points distributed over a period of not less than one academic year or its equivalent. Those desiring credit for graduate work completed elsewhere should send to the Director of University Admissions as soon as possible a request for the evaluation of such graduate work.
  4. Languages. The candidate must have demonstrated his ability to express himself in correct English and to read at least one European language other than English and such additional languages as may, within the discretion of the Executive Officer of the appropriate department, be deemed essential for the prosecution of his studies. Normally, the language requirements for each subject are as indicated in the following paragraph.
  5. Subjects. The candidate must have familiarized himself with one subject of primary interest and at least one subject of secondary interest, chosen from the following list of subjects:

• Ancient history (French, German, Latin, and Greek)
• Medieval history (French, German, and Latin)
• Modern European history (French and German)
• American history (two modern foreign languages — normally French and German, but substitutions may be made with the approval of the Graduate Chairman)
• History of European thought (Latin, French, and German)
• Jewish history, literature, and institutions (Hebrew and two from the following: Greek, Latin, Arabic, French, German)
• Political and social philosophy (French, German, and Latin)
• European governments (French and German)
• American government and constitutional law (French and German).
• International law and relations (French and either German or Latin)
• Roman law (Latin and either French or German)
• Comparative jurisprudence (French and German)
• Economic theory, history, and statistics (French and German)
• Public and private finance (French and German)
• Social economic problems, including labor, industrial organization, trade, transportation, etc. (French and German)
• Sociology
• Social legislation (French and German)

With the approval of the Committee on Instruction of the Faculty, the candidate may offer as a subject of secondary interest a subject not contained in the foregoing list, such as statistics, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, etc.

  1. Dissertation. The main test of the candidate’s qualifications is the production of a dissertation which shall demonstrate his capacity to contribute to the advancement of learning within the field of his selection. Such dissertation must give evidence of the candidate’s capacity to present in good literary form the results of original researches upon some approved topic. The dissertation must be printed in a form acceptable to the Faculty before the degree will be awarded.
  2. Departmental Requirements. For special departmental requirements see the Appendix, pages 46-52, of this Announcement. Departmental requirements are in addition to, not a substitute for, the faculty requirements.
[FACULTY] PROCEDURE
FOR FULFILLING PH.D. REQUIREMENTS
  1. Notice of Prospective Candidacy. As soon as possible after the beginning of his graduate residence the student shall give notice of prospective candidacy to the Executive Officer of the department in which the subject of his primary interest lies, and in consultation with him make a choice of subjects.
  2. Languages and Written Work. As soon as possible after giving notice of prospective candidacy, the student shall submit to the Executive Officer of the department concerned an essay or other paper giving satisfactory evidence of his ability to make researches and to express himself in correct English. At the same time the student shall be tested, by some officer of instruction designated by the Executive Officer of the department, as to his ability to read the required languages.
  3. Examination on Subjects. Having pursued graduate studies in this University, or in some other institution approved by it, for the equivalent of at least six months after the satisfactory completion of the tests on languages and written work, the student, upon the advice of the professor in charge of the subject of his primary interest or of his researches, shall make application, through the Executive Officer of the department concerned, to the Dean for examination in subjects. Such application may be made at any time, but to secure the examination in any given academic year the application must be made before April 1. The applicant will be notified by the Dean of the date of his examination. This examination is an oral examination, which may be supplemented by a written examination when required by the department concerned, and is conducted by a committee of the Faculty appointed by the Dean. By it the applicant will be expected to demonstrate an adequate knowledge of the subjects of his primary and secondary interest and of the literature pertaining thereto.
  4. Matriculation. Upon the successful passing of the required examination in his subjects, the applicant will be recommended by the Executive Officer of the appropriate department to the Dean for matriculation, which is admission to candidacy for the degree.
  5. Dissertation. Investigations and researches for the dissertation may be pursued either in connection with the work of some research course or under the direction and supervision of some member of the Faculty independently of any course. In either case a very considerable part of the time of the candidate or prospective candidate for the degree should be devoted to work upon his dissertation. The dissertation may be completed either during the period of residence, or in absentia. In advance of its being printed for presentation to the Faculty it must be approved by the professor in charge and accepted by the Executive Officer of the department concerned. Such acceptance, however, is not to be construed as acceptance by the Faculty.
  6. Final Examination: Defense of the Dissertation. At least one month in advance of the time at which he wishes to present himself for the defense of his dissertation, but not later than April 1 in any academic year, the candidate must make application therefor to the Dean, who will thereafter notify him of the date of the final examination. This examination is an oral examination conducted by a Committee of the Faculty appointed by the Dean. By it the candidate will be held to a defense of his dissertation in respect of its content, the sources upon which it is based, the interpretations that are made, the conclusions that are drawn, as well as in respect of the candidate’s acquaintance with the literature and available sources of information upon subjects that are cognate to the subject of his dissertation.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

ECONOMICS
[ DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS]
[pp. 49-50]

As soon as possible after deciding upon economics as the subject of primary interest for the Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy degrees, the prospective candidate should report through the secretary of the Department of Economics, 508 Fayerweather Hall, to a designated member of the Committee directing the work of graduate students in economics to receive fuller instructions. Before being permitted to matriculate for a graduate degree in economics, the prospective candidate must satisfy the committee that his prior preparation in economics has been adequate.

MASTER OF ARTS
  1. General Requirements. Students whose subject of primary interest is in the field of economics must include graduate courses in economics aggregating not less than fifteen points among the courses aggregating not less than twenty-one points, which they are required to complete before being recommended for the degree. Of these twenty-one, not less than eighteen points must be chosen from the general courses listed in this Announcement. It is also desirable, when the candidates’ own qualifications permit, that they should attend research courses aggregating six points.
  2. Essay. The candidate must select his essay subject and submit it to the appropriate professor within two months after registration as a candidate for the degree. The selection of a subject of importance within the field of his interests must be made by the student himself, and the ability to make a proper choice will normally be regarded as an essential qualification for the degree. The completed essay must be submitted for approval not later than four weeks before the date on which copies of the approved essay are to be filed with the Registrar. Under no circumstances should the candidate proceed beyond the preparation of his detailed program of investigation and the completion of a preliminary chapter or section without submitting his work to his adviser. In the approval of an essay attention will be paid to excellence of presentation and to expression in correct English as well as to specific content and to ability to use original material.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Every candidate must satisfy the Department of his grasp of seven of the subjects listed below. The candidate will be expected to show a thorough knowledge of the facts, principles, and literature of the subjects. Three of these subjects must be economic theory, economic or industrial history, and statistics. The procedure for meeting this requirement is as follows :

  1. The candidate must offer himself for oral examination in four of the subjects listed below. Of these four, one must be economic theory. The examination will be on subjects, not on courses;
  2. Before making formal application for this oral examination on subjects, the candidate must satisfy the appropriate professors that he has done work which is adequate both in scope and in quality in three other subjects, also chosen from those listed below, and different from the four subjects which the candidate proposes to offer in his oral examination. This requirement may be met in any manner satisfactory to the professors concerned — by taking courses, by formal or informal examination, or in other ways ; but when the requirement has been met, the candidate must secure corresponding written certification from the professors concerned. It will be noted that if the candidate does not propose to offer economic or industrial history on his oral examination, he must satisfy the requirement for that subject in the manner specified in this paragraph; and that the same requirement also applies to statistics

The subjects are as follows :

1. Accounting
2. Agriculture
3. Corporation and trust problems
4. Economic or industrial history
5. Economic theory
6. Insurance
7. International trade
8. Labor problems and industrial relations
9. Marketing
10. Mathematical economics
11. Money and banking
12. Public finance
13. Socialism
14. Statistics
15. Transportation
16. Any other approved topic within the field of economics. Optional subject may be outside of the Department. In such case this subject must be one of the four presented for the oral examination.

The candidate will be expected to show acquaintance with the main trends in economic thought, as well as intimate acquaintance with the writings of one prominent economist, the candidate’s selection to be approved by the Committee directing graduate work in economics. Before applying for the oral examination on subjects, the candidate must again consult the Committee.

Except when special permission has been granted by the Department, the candidate must satisfy these requirements on subjects before proceeding with the preparation of a dissertation.

Source: History, Economics, Public Law, and Social Science: Courses Offered by the Faculty of Political Science for Winter and Spring Sessions, 1934-1935. Published as Columbia University, Bulletin of Information (34th series, No. 33) May 19, 1934.