Category: Regulations

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Columbia Regulations

Columbia. Latin and Ancient Greek are too much of a good thing. Munroe Smith, 1891

 

A long time before economics graduate degree programs in the United States were to completely abolish requirements for demonstrating a basic competency in some language other than English [e.g. M.I.T. in 1969], there was a battle over the number of ancient languages expected. In this post we have a member of Columbia University’s Faculty of Political Science, Prof. Munroe Smith (legal historian), giving his opinion on the matter to President Low back in 1891.

I have included brief biographical material from an 1899 publication along with the Columbia University newspaper’s report of Smith’s funeral service in 1926.

Fun Fact:  Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard and unsuccessful candidate for Governor of California in 2010, happens to be a great-grandaughter of Munroe Smith.

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Letter from Legal Historian Munroe Smith to Columbia President Seth Low

Columbia College,
October 7, 1891

Dear Sir:

In reply to your circular letter of June 12, I have to say that I heartily endorse the plan proposed by the University Council—as far as it goes. I should prefer to see an election permitted in the entrance examinations also between Greek and some equivalent. But I accept the plan of the Council as meeting the immediate necessities of the situation at Columbia.

It is impossible longer to insist on both the ancient languages in our undergraduate curriculum. We have ourselves made it impossible. For the degree of Ph.D., two of our own University faculties already demand a reading knowledge of Latin, French and German. It does not seem possible for the student to acquire this knowledge in the School of Arts as long as he is held to Greek. At least, we constantly find graduate students who are obliged to give up the hope of attaining this degree, unless they are able and willing to go back into undergraduate courses and there make good their linguistic deficiencies. But this seems hardly fair to them.

I am opposed to the proposal to confine the A.B. degree to those who have studied Greek in college. It seems to me a reactionary suggestion. Whatever may have been the case a generation ago. A.B. does not now, in our most progressive and popular colleges, imply any knowledge of Greek. It does not even imply that the bearer has forgotten Greek. Even at Columbia we have broken with the older tradition as regards the higher degree of A.M. We have conferred the degree of A.M. upon men who not only have no Greek, but who have neither Greek nor Latin, or at least have not studied either language within the preceding five years. This I consider too great an innovation. I think we shall best combine healthy progress with sound conservatism by requiring for all academic (non-technical) degrees a good knowledge of one ancient language. But I do not think we can insist on two.

I am opposed to the suggestion that the degree of Ph.B. be conferred in all cases where Greek has not been studied in college, because in the common opinion this is an inferior degree. The distinction proposed casts a slur upon all other liberal studies and unduly exalts the older as opposed to the newer humanities.

Respectfully
[signed]
Munroe Smith

President Seth Low, LL.D.

 

Source: Columbia University, Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Columbia University Archives. Central Files 1890-. Box 339. Folder: “1.1.19; Smith, Munroe; 5/1891-11/1909”.

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SMITH, Munroe. 1854-[1926]

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. 1854 educated at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Amherst College (A.B. 1874), Columbia Law School, and Universities of Berlin, Leipzig and Göttingen (J.U.D 1880); Lecturer and Instructor at Columbia 1880-83; Adjunct Professor and Lecturer 1883-90; Professor 1890-; Managing Editor Political Science Quarterly 1887-92, 1898-99.

MUNROE SMITH, J.U.D., Professor of Roman Law and Comparative Jurisprudence at Columbia, was born in Brooklyn, New York, December 8, 1854, son of Dr. Horatio Southgate and Susan Dwight (Munroe) Smith. His ancestors were English and Scotch settlers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. Having acquired his preparatory education in the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, he entered Amherst College in 1870 and was graduated in 1874. After a year in post-graduate work at Amherst with Professor John W. Burgess, he spent the next two years (1875-1877) at the Law School of Columbia, and continued his studies in Germany, at the Universities of Berlin, Leipzig and Göttingen, for the three years 1877-1880, taking the degree of Doctor of Civil Law at Göttingen in the latter year. On returning  from abroad he became Lecturer on Roman Law and Instructor in History at Columbia, and filled that position for three years. In 1883 he was made Adjunct Professor of History and Lecturer on Roman Law, and after officiating in that capacity for seven years, was in 1890 transferred to the Chair of Roman Law and Comparative Jurisprudence, which he now holds. Professor Smith while filling his Chair with thoroughness and ability, has devoted some measure of his time to literary work, and besides being Managing Editor of the Political Science Quarterly, for several years, has been a contributor to various journals, and to Lalor’s and Johnson’s Encyclopædias. He published in 1898: Bismarck and German Unity, An Historical Outline. He married April 17, 1890 Gertrude Huidekoper, and has one daughter, Gertrude Munroe Smith.

 

Source: Universities and their Sons, Vol. 2 (1899), pp. 399-400.

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DOCTOR E. M. SMITH TO BE BURIED TODAY

Bryce Professor Emeritus Victim of Pneumonia—Funeral Services from St. Paul’s.

Dr. Edmund Monroe Smith [18]77 L, Bryce Professor Emeritus of European History, died at his home Tuesday, a victim of pneumonia. Professor Smith was a member of the Columbia Faculty since 1880. Funeral services will be held this afternoon at 2 P.M. from St. Paul’s Chapel. Dr. Smith was born in Brooklyn in 1854. He entered Amherst College in the Class of 1874, and after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree he enrolled in Columbia in the Class of ’77 Law. After graduation from Law School, Doctor Smith went abroad and studied at the University of Göttingen, where he was awarded a J.U.D. He also received the honorary degrees of Doctor of Law from Columbia, in 1904 and Amherst in 1916, and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Louvain University in 1909.

Author of Many Books.

From 1891 to 1922, during his forty-five years of teaching at Columbia, Doctor Smith was Professor of Roman Law and Comparative Jurisprudence. He was also a lecturer on Roman Law at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Doctor Smith was the author of numerous books, among which are, “Bismark and German Unity”, “Out of Their Own Mouths” and “Militarism and Statecraft” which was published during the World War. He edited several publications, one of the most important of which is, “The Political Science Quarterly”.

Dr. Smith is survived by his wife, formerly Miss Gertrude Huidkoper of Philadelphia, and a daughter, Mrs. Cushing Goodhue of Boston. The honorary pallbearers this afternoon will be President Nicholas Murray Butler, Frederick Coudert, Brander Matthews, Judge John Bassett Moore of the Permanent Court at The Hague, George A. Plimpton, Franklin H. Giddings, Lyman Beecher Stowe, Charles D. Havens, Rev. Dr. Willam Adams Brown, George Northrop, Algernoon S. Frissell, Carlton J. Hayes, B. M. Anderson, Howard Lee McBain, Frederick Keppel, Justice Harlan Fiske Stone of the United States Supreme Court, and President John H. Goodnow, of John Hopkins University.

 

Source:  Columbia Daily Spectator, Vol. XLIX, No. 135 (April 15, 1926), p. 1.

Image Source: Universities and their Sons, Vol. 2 (1899), pp. 399-400.

 

Categories
Columbia Regulations

Columbia. Economics Graduate Student’s Guide, 1957-58

 

The process of awarding a Ph.D. in economics is governed by rules, so every so often I add a program’s rule-book here. The following excerpt from the Graduate Student’s Guide even provides a bit of motivation and interpretation of the rules for economics graduate students at Columbia University in the mid 1950s.

Recently an exam for Gary Becker’s 1965 micro-theory course (already one of the most visited pages in the Economics in the Rear-view Mirror collection) revealed that either the rule for making no-allowance in exams for non-native English speakers  was suspended by 1965 or Gary Becker disregarded the rule, allowing non-native speakers extra time for their written examinations.

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Excerpt from Columbia University’s The Graduate Student’s Guide

ECONOMICS

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Carl S. Shoup, 503 Fayerweather

Office hours:Monday and Wednesday, 10 to 10:30 and 11 to 12. Thursday, 2 to 4
Telephone Extension:2171

DEPARTMENT SECRETARY: Carolyn M. Stedman, 502 Fayerweather

Office hours:Monday through Friday, 9 to 5
Telephone Extension:849

DEPARTMENT BULLETIN BOARD: outside 502 Fayerweather

 

The following remarks supplement or amplify the description of degree requirements found in two places in the Graduate Faculties Bulletin: on pages 14-18 for the Faculty Requirements and on page 37 for the Departmental Requirements. Have these pages of theBulletin at hand when reading the statement below.

GENERAL

The Department takes the view that each graduate student having his particular intellectual interests and methods of satisfying them, flexibility in the departmental procedures intended to assist him is necessary. Hence, no system of departmental advisers has been set up. During his first registration, the student will find all members of the Department available, at hours posted on the bulletin board, for consultation on his course program. Any member of the Department may sign approval of the student’s program card. If a study of the course offerings in the Bulletindoes not give the entering student a clear enough idea of the particular member of the Department by whom he would prefer to be advised on his program, he may obtain suggestions on this score from the Academic Assistant or Professor Shoup.

In succeeding semesters the student’s developing interests and his growing acquaintance with the members of the Department should enable him to select some one or two faculty members as his chief adviser or advisers.

Although no specified courses are required for either degree, all students in the Department are advised to attend Economics 101-102, the basic course in economic theory, unless they enter the Department with an exceptional background in that subject.

 

THE MASTER’S DEGREE

Candidates are expected to study the requirements listed in the Graduate Faculties Bulletinand to plan their work in the light of both A. M. and Ph.D. requirements in case they should later decide to work toward the higher degree.

Not less than six months before he desires to receive the degree, the candidate must select his Essay subject, submit it to the appropriate member of the Department, and, after approval, list the subject with the Academic Assistant of the Department. The Essay need not be completed until after the candidate has satisfied the course requirements for the degree.

The selection of a subject of importance within the field of his interests must be made by the student, and the ability to make a proper choice will 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 are to be filed with the Essay and Dissertation Secretary. The candidate should not 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 supervisor. An Essay is judged by the manner of its presentation and style as well as by its contents and the employment of original material.

Another foreign language may be substituted for French or for German, with the approval of the Executive Officer, if it is particularly useful for the student’s projected research; but another Romance language may not be offered with French. Failure to pass one of the language examinations or the mathematics examination, as the case may be, before registering for more than 30 points, or failure to pass the other examination before registering for more than 45 points, will result in denial of permission to register until the deficiency is removed.

In 1957-1958 the examinations in languages and mathematics will be held on the following days: Thursday, September 19, 1957, from 10 to 12; Friday, January 17, 1958, from 2 to 4; Friday, May 2, 1958, from 2 to 4 (room numbers will be posted outside Room 502 Fayerweather). At least one week before the examination the student must notify the Academic Assistant of the Department of his intention to take it.

Two years of intensive language work in one of Columbia University’s Institutes, with a grade of B or better throughout, are accepted in lieu of passing the regular language examination. Language examinations taken at other universities are not accepted for this requirement.

Foreign students are asked to bear in mind that a command of the English language is assumed, and that English consequently cannot be accepted as a foreign language satisfying the requirement. Nor can allowance be made in any examination, oral or written, for unfamiliarity with English.

 

THE DOCTORATE

The student must satisfy the Department that he has gained a thorough knowledge of several fields of economics (and, at his option, one field outside economics), to the point where he can demonstrate command of the material in a comprehensive oral examination and can utilize his knowledge in the writing of a doctoral Dissertation. To this end, the Department does not require course examinations of the Ph.D. candidate, nor are particular courses required. Instead, the student must, in addition to meeting the language and proficiency requirements stated in the Bulletin, (a) compete a seminar paper in one of the research courses offered in the Department, and (b) prepare an outline of his dissertation topic.

In practice, the typical Ph.D. candidate does take examinations in a limited number of courses, both to test himself and to build a record on which recommendations for fellowships or employment can be based. Moreover, those doctoral candidates who wish to obtain an A.M. degree en route necessarily take examination in 21 points (seven courses). The student’s decision to earn this degree should be guided by his interests and aims, after consultation with the Executive Officer or other members of the Department. Although the Department approves of a limited amount of examination taking, it asks the doctoral candidate to keep in mind the possible disadvantages of devoting too much time to the preparation for such tests.

Before he registers for more than 45 points, and as soon as possible, the candidate should submit for the Executive Officer’s approval his tentative choice of the three subjects, from the list given in the Graduate Faculties Bulletin, to add to the three required subjects. To ascertain the requirements for obtaining the certifications of proficiency in two of the six subjects, the candidate should, during his first semester, consult those members of the staff in charge of the respective fields. Certification of proficiency is not given for economic theory or for any subject under No. 19 in the Bulletinlist. These subjects may be, and economic theory mustbe, offered only at the oral examination.

The prospective candidate may find it advisable to take Statistics 191-192 and either Economics 153-154 (Economic history of the United States), or Economics 155-156 (Economic history of Europe, 1740-1914), or Economics 151-152 (Economic history of Russia to 1917) during his first year of residence, if he wishes to obtain a certificate of proficiency in statistics, or in one of these three divisions of economic history. No more than one of the three divisions may be offered among the six subjects. The professors in charge of certifying in these divisions are: United States, Professor Goodrich; Europe, Professor Landes (in 1957-1958, Professor Hughes); Russia, Professor Florinsky.

The 6-point research-course requirement cannot be fulfilled by research courses taken in other universities or in other Departments. Students are advised to take a research course in the Department as soon as they have completed 30 points, if not before. The required paper may be written in either of the two semesters of the research course.

Some time before he plans to take the oral examination, the student should select the field in which he intends to write his Dissertation. This field should normally be one of the six chosen for proficiency and oral examination. With the assistance of a member of the Department interested in this field, the candidate should formulate a topic for his Dissertation. As soon as the topic has been approved by the staff member (henceforth the student’s sponsor), the candidate must report to the Academic Assistant the name of the sponsor and the subject of the proposed Dissertation. No change of sponsorship will be recognized unless the candidate notifies the Academic Assistant. Although the Executive Officer may authorize a joint sponsorship, the Dissertation is generally written under a single sponsor.

The candidate is expected to draft a three- or four-page memorandum outlining the proposed Dissertation, indicating also the chief sources to be used, and defending the feasibility of the project. No oral examination will be scheduled until the candidate has deposited with the Academic Assistant his project memorandum, bearing the approval of the sponsor.

Well before the time he expects to apply for the oral examination, the candidate should obtain advice on preparing for this examination from members of the Faculty in charge of the fields he is offering. The oral examination is not an examination on courses, but on subjects (fields).

The formal application for a date for the examination must be made to the Academic Assistant for approval by the Executive Officer. The application will not be received until the requirements discussed above have been met. No exceptions can be made to the rules governing the dates of scheduling the various departmental and faculty examinations.

The reference under No. 19 in the Graduate Faculties Bulletin (page 37) to “any other one subject…approved by the Executive Officer of the Department” may include a subject falling in one of the Departments under the Faculty of Political Science, or in philosophy, or psychology, or in some other discipline dealing with matters relevant to the student’s scholarly interests. A candidate proposing to offer a subject outside the Department of Economics must obtain the approval of the Executive Officer of that other Department in advance. In general, the Department encourages doctoral candidates to devote a part of their efforts to a subject outside the Department.

Candidates for the Ph.D. degree in other Departments who propose to offer a minor in economics at the oral examination must be examined on economic theory and any one other of the subjects listed under Nos. 1-19 in the Bulletin. Such candidates should consult the Executive Officer of the Department of Economics as early as possible.

Candidates in other departments offering a minor in economic history aat the oral examination will be required to show either (a) a knowledge of the economic history of two major regions, or (b) a knowledge of the economic history of one major region and of the field or fields of economics particularly relevant to the subject of the proposed Dissertation.

A few private studies are available in Butler Library for students who are writing their Dissertations in residence; application should be made to the Academic Assistant.

The doctoral candidate may find it advisable to start on a first draft of his Dissertation well before the oral examination, perhaps in one of the research courses. During the writing of his Dissertation, the candidate should not fail to keep in lose touch with his sponsor. Much time will be saved, more assistance will be obtained, and more of the intellectual stimulus that should develop from the writing of a Dissertation will be felt if the candidate remains on or close to the Columbia campus. The candidate is particularly warned against writing a Dissertation in absentia, out of touch with his sponsor, and usually in the unfounded expectation that what he considers his finished draft, suddenly deposited on the desk of the sponsor, will lead speedily to a defense examination and the award of a degree.

If the candidate leaves the campus and makes no progress on his Dissertation, he should in December of each year send an explanatory statement to his sponsor; or, alternatively, notify his sponsor that he has abandoned the project. If the candidate does not apply for an examination in defense of his Dissertation within five years from the time he passed his oral examinations, he will be regarded as having abandoned his Dissertation topic, unless he requests in writing an extension of time and receives written approval of such an extension from his sponsor and the Executive Officer.

The candidate will not be recommended by the Executive Officer for an examination in defense of the Dissertation until the candidate’s sponsor has notified the Academic Assistant that the Dissertation is in acceptable form for final typing.

 

GRADUATE ECONOMICS SOCIETY

Graduate students will enhance their efficiency in learning and their professional interests by frequent discussion among themselves. For this purpose, the Graduate Economics Society, which meets regularly in Fayerweather Lounge, will be found useful. The officers for 1957-1958 are as follows:

President:  Edwin Dean, 419 West 115thStreet, Apt. 52, New York 25.

Vice President: Paul Graeser, 517 Furnald Hall

Secretary-Treasurer: Louise Freeman, 45 East 80thStreet, New York 21.

Telephone: LEhigh 5-6375.

 

Source:  The Graduate Student’s Guide. Columbia University, Bulletin of Information. Series 57, Number 39 (September 28, 1957), pp. 114-119.

Image Source:  Butler Library, 1939. Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library blog. April 19, 2018.

Categories
M.I.T. Regulations

M.I.T. No general foreign language requirement in MIT Economics PhD program, 1969

 

While the general foreign language requirement for an economics PhD was officially abolished at M.I.T. in 1969, at least Charles Kindleberger (European Economic History) and Evsey Domar (Communist Economies) were free to require their thesis writers to demonstrate competency in a foreign language as needed for research.

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Carbon copy of letter from E. Cary Brown to William F. Bottiglia

May 14, 1969

Professor William F. Bottiglia
Head of Department
Modern Language
14N-207

Dear Bill:

The following statement describes our new language requirement. As you see, we hope that your Department will police it when it is needed.

*   *  *   *   *  *   *   *

“The Department has no general foreign language requirements. When a foreign language is essential for full access to the literature in the field of the student’s major interest (e.g., European Economic History, Communist Economies) or to his thesis research, a language requirement will be imposed by the Department upon the recommendation of the Thesis Superviosr or the Graduate Registration Officer. Such a requirement will be administered by the Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics, and can be met by satisfactory course work at M.I.T., at other schools, or by examination.”

Sincerely yours,

E. Cary Brown, Head
Professor of Economics

ECB/mr

Source:  M.I.T. Archives. Department of Economics Records, Box 2, Folder “Grad Curriculum”.

Image Source: Technology Review, February 1914.

Categories
Columbia Curriculum Regulations

Columbia. Economics graduate students’ memo of suggestions, 1939

 

The following memo with its cover letter was later attached as “Exhibit B” to a general statement submitted October 25, 1939 to Professor Austin P. Evans, Chairman, Committee on Instruction, Faculty of Political Science, Columbia University.

“There is appended a confidential memorandum submitted to the executive officer of the Department by a graduate student committee which contains interesting comment and suggestions. (Exhibit B).”

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Cover letter for the graduate students’ memo

Columbia University
May 9, 1939

Dean R. C. McCrea,
Columbia University,
New York City.

Dear Dean McCrea:
As we agreed at luncheon with you and Professor Mills the other day, we are sending you the typed notes of student suggestions to the Department of Economics. We believe that these represent the concurrence of general student opinion, plus the thought we have given these matters.
Hoping that the notes will prove useful to you,

Sincerely yours,

WYLLIS BANKDLER
DICKSON RECK
VON DUSEN KENNEDY
FRANK PIERSON

* * *  *

Notes on some student suggestions for the operation of the Department of Economics, Columbia Graduate Faculty. 5/7/39.

The suggestions concern chiefly gaps that are felt to exist in the offering of the department. There are also a few notes on the method of conducting various types of course, and on the requirements placed on students, and on the allotment of credits.

1) History of Economic Thought. Intrinsic interest in this subject is amplified by a) Oral requirement, and b) the fact that many students feel that they will some day be called upon to teach it. Some feel that the subject is already overemphasized. In any case, there is the feeling that students should not be held responsible for so large a topic unless it is offered.
Various treatments are possible. a) A mere recital of doctrines. b) A tracing of current ideas. c) A combination with Economic History, concerned with the influence of the times on the theories, and vice versa. Treatment (c) is that followed by Professor Mitchell in his former course, and in the extremely useful Lecture Notes made from it.
Student feeling is against being held for “all the doctrines, man by man, and all the men, doctrine by doctrine”. A combination of (b) and (c) above would probably be well received.

2) Economic theory. Statements in the first paragraph under (1) above hold here. This topic is understood to include (a) Systematic presentation of current schools of thought, and (b) in particular, the structure of Neo-Classical (and derivative) Theory. The material under (b) is very well handled by Milton Friedman’s Extension course. Convenience would be served by bringing this into the Graduate Catalogue, so that it would count, without special action, for the 15 central points for Master’s candidates.
Further particular large branches include c) Socialist Theory and d) Institutionalism. Student objection to the existing offering of Socialist Theory falls under two heads. First, it is claimed that the subject matter is not covered adequately in class, that the treatment is diffuse, incomplete and wandering. Second, it is protested that the treatment is not either so fair or so sympathetic as that given, say, Neo-Classical Doctrine.
Institutionalism is handsomely handled by Dr. Dorfman. There is some feeling that the material might be expanded to cover modern Institutionalists and their work and problems more intensively.

3) Economic History. Dr. Hacker’s treatment of American Economic History is very popular, as is Professor Burn’s course in modern capitalism. A course in Modern European Economic History, from the breakdown of Feudalism, would be very well received in addition, although the Burns course could be expanded to fill this need.
There is dissatisfaction with the existing Seminar. Auspices that would concentrate more closely on the material are rather widely held to be desirable. Professor Stockder’s seminar might fill this gap were it admitted to graduate economics standing. A suggestion for procedure should this prove impossible is included under “Catalog” below.

4) Labor. This may be discussed under two heads, a) Offering for the student specializing elsewhere, and b) Specialization in Labor Economics.

a) A General Survey Course in Labor Economics under capable, sympathetic auspices will be subject to very wide demand. Students whose major interest is elsewhere seem to feel quite generally that so important a branch of economics should not be left blank in their education. A large demand will also be forthcoming from first-year students who have not previously studied labor, either at all or adequately, whether or not they intend to specialize here. Such a course is of necessity a large lecture type, and requires in its instructor the specific technique relevant.
A counter-suggestion by the Faculty is that Professor Wolman expand the subject-matter of his course. A very wide and almost unopposed sector of student feeling would prefer bringing in an outsider more cordial to the material and more tolerant of the viewpoints and questions of the members of the class.
b) A Seminar in Labor Relations for the specialist would find many applicants. Student desires as to the auspices are in agreement with the above comments. No university adequately specializes in training labor economists, and it is suggested that Columbia might consider filling this more than local gap.

5) Public Economic Policy. It is safe to say that no subject arouses wider interest among students. At present, public policy is dealt with piecemeal among the several courses, with by no means all the most important aspects being covered at all. (The most thoroughly considered section is monetary policy, both existing and proposed.) It is submitted that this is an important need which Columbia is well fitted to meet without much extra trouble.
Suggestions on this score represent the fusion of two streams of thought; a) The proposal of a joint seminar to explore specific areas of planning and policy, and to be conducted by academic experts in the various fields (Angell, Bonbright, Gayer, Orchard, Macmahon, Lynd, etc.); b) The feeling that contact with people actually engaged in forming and executing public policy would provide a realistic knowledge of problems actually faced (economically, politically, administratively, etc.), as well as valuable personal relations. The suggestion under (b) would involve the invitation to Columbia for one, several, or all meetings of the seminar such men as Berle, Ezekiel, Currie, Tugwell, Mumford, Wallace, etc. etc.
Experience with the mere importation of outside lecturers, as in an instance in the Public Law Department, seems to show that a course so built lacks continuity and depth in grappling with such problems as would be considered under (a) above.
Yet to define the benefits of (b) to the membership of a seminar of manageable size would be wasteful and otherwise undesirable. Two solutions have been advanced, which are not mutually exclusive. The first involves the holding of “public” and “private” meetings in the manner of the Banking Seminar. This could be assisted by co-operation with the Economics Club, that is, the visitors could partially be drained off into luncheon meetings. This solution suffers from several difficulties including the discontinuity of having each outsider only once. The second solution is embodied in the suggestion for Panel Seminars below.
Students would greatly like to co-operate in the organization of this seminar.

6) Agricultural Economics. While this is already a subject of inter-university specialization, a survey course is part of a rounded general offering.

7) Population. Students do not feel that this is ably handled. The suggestion has been made that Professor Goodrich’s course in Internal Migration could be expanded to cover this, and also Regionalism (see under (8) below).

8) Economic Geography. The offering in the School of Business is excellent, and needs only to be given graduate economics status. See also under (7) above and “Catalogue” below.

9) Method and Technique of Research. This includes a thousand little troublesome matters that each professor assumes that the student learns elsewhere. What are the Journals in economics and related fields? How do we keep up with current developments in economics? What are the basic sources in various branches? Where are all these things scattered in the library? How do we begin the investigation of a new topic? How doe we prepare a bibliography? And many others.
The suggestions here fall under three heads. First, it is felt that a booklet answering the above and related questions would prove extremely helpful. Second, instructors should keep this need in mind, and clarify the portions of techniques and bibliography that fall in their sphere. Third, careful bibliographies already existing for various courses, and others that may arise, could be assembled and sold at cost.

10) Panel Seminar. This refers to a method of conducting seminars that shows promise of solving the dilemma of the unwieldiness of large numbers on the one hand, and the wastes of exclusiveness on the other. The discussion is conducted by a panel, consisting of one or more instructors and visitors and a carefully selected small group of students. Where student reports are to be presented, the selection is keyed to guaranteeing excellence and pointedness. An “audience” of students interested in the topic may ask occasional questions from the floor, but does not act to lower the tone of the discussion nor to encumber its progress. The “audience” may be regularly enrolled, receiving attendance credit, or may vary with the particular meeting’s content. Large and varying “audiences” are probably too much for this structure to carry.
It is felt that this method would meet the need in several situations. It should operate to raise the quality of the reports, doing away with the boredom and consequent loss of enthusiasm and tempo that so often assails large seminars now. But at the same time, it would avoid the narrow exclusiveness that operates to keep interested students from an organized study of subjects offered only in seminars.
The seating arrangements suggested by the above description seem rather stiff and stilted and disruptive. In point of fact, they are not a necessary corollary of this division of labor. Ordinary seminar seating can be used, the only requirement being that there is a staff of students who are considered capable, intelligible and interesting, and who do the reporting.
The panel seminar method is especially suggested for the discussion of public economic policy advocated in (5) above, where it is felt that wide student interest would be aroused and should be encouraged.

11) Doctor’s Oral Examinations. Under existing conditions, orals engender a period of rather heavy strain in most students. This period is of the order of two weeks or so, and is not related to the quantity of work being done, but rather to the crisis quality of the examinations. No useful purpose is served by this strain, in fact it is generally considered a hindrance to efficiency.
The remedy seems to be a removal of some of the critical focus upon orals. This may be accomplished, with no loss of academic standards or relevant rigor, by the process of having the true examination take place informally with each of the professors involved before the formal oral is taken. The formal assembled examination then assumes the character of a more official formality, in which passing is nearly certain barring a strong reason to the contrary. This division between the investigation of proficiency and ability on the one hand, and the ceremonial opportunity to forbid the banns on the other, should not only relieve most of the strain on the candidate, but also afford the faculty a more intensive chance to satisfy itself as to the student’s competence.
There are some indications that the present situation approximates this suggestion more closely than appears on the surface. Insofar as this is true, all that is necessary is to let this true state of affairs become clear to the candidates. In any event, more could be done along these lines with benefit and relief to all concerned.

12) Training for Careers. It is important periodically to review the types of career for which students in economics at Columbia are acquiring training, and at the same time to survey the curriculum with respect to the kind of training it chiefly affords. The student body is divided in proportions unknown at present* mainly among those preparing for teaching, for research, and for government service. The curriculum is skewed in the direction of training research workers. This fundamental educational divergence is worth noting, and worth investigating in its effects upon the value of the Economics offering to the students.

*One of the questions on this year’s questionnaire will be directed to this problem.

Many of the curricular suggestions above are directed as much to the problem “what kind of work” as to the problem “research in what field”, and are worthy of reconsideration in this light.

13) Catalog. The arrangement of the catalog, and the standing given by it to various courses, can prove a powerful aid in broadening the area of endeavor for which preparation may be secured here, as well as filling many of the lesser holes mentioned above.
In regard to the standing given courses in other departments, particularly in the School of Business, the effort has been made above to mention fields in which benefit would accrue to Master’s candidates if Graduate Economics Standing were given to certain courses. Particularly does this apply to the offerings of Brissenden, Stockder, perhaps Morgan, and to the advanced courses in Economic Geography. Where this is not feasible, something can be done by way of the advisory committee, see below.
Positive encouragement rather than permission can be given to students to broaden the scope of their studies if the catalog, or if necessary a separate printed or mimeographed announcement, would list as fully as possible all courses in related fields, or isolated courses of interest, that would be profitable to economists. In this way many gaps that the Economics Department cannot hope to fill itself would be plugged, and the benefits of intra-University division of labor would be received.

14) Advisory Committee. This has proved itself useful this year, and should certainly be continued. Its mention here is in connection with the potentialities of cooperation between it and the administration and faculty.
Many of the suggestions in these notes that may prove impossible of fulfillment, particularly those which come together under “Catalog”, may be aided by the unofficial action of the advisory Committee. If the committee is in possession of information concerning related courses, for instance, then even in the absence of official action the broadening of courses of study can be advanced. In this and many similar cases, the worthwhileness of the Department to new students can be increased.

 

Source:  Columbia University Archives. Columbiana. Department of Economics Collection. Box 1 “General departmental notices, memoranda, etc. Curriculum material”, Folder “Committee on Instruction”.

Image Source:  Butler Library, 1939. Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library blog. April 19, 2018.

Categories
Pennsylvania Regulations

Pennsylvania. Rules for graduate degrees, 1897-98

 

The previous post provided the list of graduate courses in economics and related fields (Politics, Sociology, and Statistics) offered at the University of Pennsylvania in 1897-98. This post adds the regulations governing admission, residence requirements, degree requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. and tuition fees (plot spoiler: annual tuition was $100).

The graduate courses of instruction were arranged in sixteen groups that together constituted the Department of Philosophy. Hence, the doctoral degrees awarded for a major subject (e.g., economics) within one of these groups was logically called “doctor of philosophy”, i.e., Ph.D.

The unit of instructional account was the “standard course” which would be a lecture course of one hour per week for one academic year” so a two hour course for one term would be credited as one standard course and a one hour course for one term would be credited as 1/2 standard course. The overwhelming majority of courses offered in the group “Economics, Politics, Sociology and Statistics” were two-hour, one-term courses.

A Master’s degree required at least twelve standard courses, i.e. twelve hours of lectures  to attend per term for two terms, the normal load for one academic year. A doctoral student was required to complete at least twenty-four standard courses, so  two-years of course work.  A doctoral student was to declare three “branches of learning” in which proficiency was to be achieved. The choice of the three branches was subject to the approval of a Group Committee. The major subject would be the principal subject selected within the particular group and two minor subjects, one of which was recommended to be taken from outside of the group, presumably from history, philosophy, ethics or psychology if one’s major was, say, economics. “In every case the minor subjects shall be so related to the major as to conduce to some recognized and approved end.”  The minimum foreign language requirement was a good reading knowledge of two European languages besides English, at least one of which had to be “a modern tongue”.

Following the presentation of a thesis “upon some topic in the line of his major subject, showing high attainment or power of original and independent research” and its approval by the Group Committee in which his major lies, the candidate for the Ph.D. had to pass “a private written examination conducted by his instructors” as well as a public oral examination covering both the major and minor subjects.

__________________

Regulations for Graduate Degrees in the Department of Philosophy
University of Pennsylvania, 1897-98

The Department of Philosophy offers advanced instruction in the various branches of Literature and Science The instruction is intended primarily for persons who have profited by the advantages of a full college course, and who are desirous of continuing their studies upon lines more strictly defined and specialized. Others, however, may be admitted to study in the Department, under conditions hereinafter specified.

The session of 1897-98 will begin on Friday, October 1.

 

ARRANGEMENT OF COURSES.

The courses of instruction offered in this Department are arranged under the sixteen following groups:

  1. Semitic Languages.
  2. American Archaeology and Languages.
  3. Indo-European Philology.
  4. Classical Languages.
  5. Germanic Languages.
  6. Romanic Languages.
  7. English.
  8. Philosophy, Ethics, Psychology and Pedagogy.
  9. History.
  10. Economics, Politics, Sociology and Statistics.
  11. Mathematics.
  12. Astronomy.
  13. Physics.
  14. Chemistry.
  15. Botany and Zoology.
  16. Geology and Mineralogy.

All persons authorized to give instruction within a group constitute the Group Committee. To the several Group Committees are entrusted the arrangement of their respective courses, and the oversight of students taking majors within the group.

The instruction given within a group is subdivided into lecture courses, seminary courses and laboratory courses.

In stating the minimum requirements for residence and degrees a ”standard” course is used; this is a lecture course of one hour per week for one academic year. The lecture courses as actually given will be either multiples or fractional parts of this standard. The ratio of value of the several seminary and laboratory courses to the standard is variable, and will be set in each case by the Group Committee.

 

ADMISSION.

Students desiring to enter this Department must present themselves in person to the Dean.

Any person may be admitted by the Dean as a special student, not a candidate for a degree, upon the presentation of written statements from the instructors with whom he desires to work, certifying to his fitness and consenting to his admission.

Any person holding the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science from some college or university whose degrees are recognized by this University as equivalent to its own may be admitted by the Dean as a candidate for a higher degree. In such cases the applicant’s diploma must be submitted to the inspection of the Dean.

Students who are allowed to become candidates for a higher degree are termed regular students. Those who are not candidates for a degree a.e termed special students.

If the degree has been taken five or more years before the date of application, the Dean may at his discretion require of the applicant further evidence of his ability to pursue with profit his studies in the Department.

Persons who do not hold a Bachelor’s degree may, in exceptional cases, be admitted as candidates for a degree; provided they satisfy the Executive Committee of the Faculty, by examination, or in such other way as the Committee may in each case determine, that they possess not only the knowledge necessary to the profitable pursuit of the subjects they may select, but also that general cultivation and training which is the result of a properly conducted college course.

Students already registered as candidates for a degree in other Departments of the University are allowed to pursue courses in this Department, and regular students of this Department are allowed to pursue courses in other Departments by the concurrent action of the respective Deans.

After admission, each student will be furnished with a matriculation card; no student who cannot show his matriculation card will be allowed to take any course. These cards are good only for the year in which they are issued, and must be renewed from year to year. For such renewal, personal application must be made at the office.

 

RESIDENCE.

All candidates for higher degrees are required to spend at least one year in residence at this University. To be construed in residence at this University, a student must pursue not less than six standard lecture courses or their equivalent, simultaneously. Work done at other universities may be accepted by the several Group Committees in lieu of a part of the work required for a degree.

When only one year is spent in residence at this University, it must be the last year of the student’s course.

 

DEGREES.

The degrees conferred in the Faculty of Philosophy are Doctor of Philosophy, (Ph.D.), Master of Arts, (A.M.), and Master of Science, (M.S.).

The right to recommend a candidate to the Board of Trustees for a higher degree is vested in a Board of Examiners, consisting of the Dean and three members of the Faculty, representing those branches of study in which the candidate has been working. Before a student can offer himself for examination, he must present to the Dean suitable written certificates from the Group Committees under whose supervision his work has been prosecuted, setting forth that he has not only complied with all conditions prescribed by the rules, but is also in the judgment of those committees fitted by his ability and attainments to receive the degree in question. No student can acquire a right to such recommendation merely by attending lectures, passing examinations, or by compliance with any prescribed conditions whatever. The requirements for degrees hereinafter specified must therefore be regarded as minimum requirements only, and it remains within the power of any Group Committee to refuse to grant any student a recommendation for the higher degree. All degrees are conferred at the annual commencement in June.

 

THE MASTER’S DEGREE.

Only those who have received the degree of Bachelor of Arts can proceed to that of Master of Arts.

Only those who have received the degree of Bachelor of Science can proceed to that of Master of Science.

The work for the Master’s Degree will occupy the student’s undivided time for at least one academic year. The candidate will be required to elect, with the consent of the Dean, not less than twelve standard courses or their equivalent, and to pursue them to the satisfaction of the committees offering them. He must then pass a private written examination under the direction of his instructors, and a public oral examination in the presence of the Board of Examiners, and of such members of the Faculty as desire to attend.

 

THE DOCTOR’S DEGREE.

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is conferred solely in recognition of marked ability and high attainments in some definite branch of learning.

The degree will in no case be granted before the expiration of two years after the date of the candidate’s baccalaureate degree, nor upon a candidate who has not completed twenty-four standard courses or their equivalent. A student of ability, who has already had a good undergraduate course and pursues in graduate work the same topics to which he devoted special attention as an undergraduate, will usually be able to attain his degree in three years; but students whose college training has been in any respect defective, or who cannot devote their undivided attention to the work, will require a longer period of time.

The candidate for the Doctor’s degree must, upon entering the Department, elect the group within which he intends to do the greater part of his work, and will then pass under the jurisdiction of the committee in charge of that group. He must designate, with the consent of the committee, three branches of learning in which he desires to become proficient. One of these, which shall be known as his principal or major subject, shall lie within the group; although the Group Committee may direct him to courses given in other groups, and may allow them to be accounted part of the major work. The other two shall be known as his subordinate or minor subjects. It is recommended that at least one minor be taken outside the group in which his major lies. In every case the minor subjects shall be so related to the major as to conduce to some recognized and approved end.

Every candidate for the Doctor’s degree must possess a good reading knowledge of those languages which are judged by the committee in charge of the major essential to the prosecution of his major work.

Under no circumstances may a candidate present himself for his degree before he can show a good reading knowledge of two European languages besides English, one of which must be a modern tongue.

He must also present a thesis upon some topic in the line of his major subject, showing high attainment or power of original and independent research. This thesis must be presented and approved by the Group Committee in which his major lies before he can be admitted to the examinations.

The thesis must be typewritten or printed, unless upon recommendation of the committee in charge the Dean authorize the acceptance of a written thesis. The committee may require the thesis to be printed before recommending the candidate for the degree. If the thesis is written or typewritten, one copy must be deposited in the Library of the University before the student can be recommended for his degree; if printed, fifty copies must be deposited.

The candidate for the Doctor’s degree must pass a private written examination conducted by his instructors, and a public oral examination. The final examination is conducted by the Board of Examiners as hereinbefore provided, representing the candidate’s major and two minor subjects respectively, in the presence of such members of the Faculty as may desire to attend.

 

FEES.

For regular students the tuition fee is one hundred (100.00) dollars per annum. The graduation fee is twenty-five (25.00) dollars.

For special students a fee is charged according to the number of courses taken The fee for a course is found by multiplying ten dollars by the number of hours of instruction offered per week throughout the year, and adding five dollars to this product. If several courses be taken with the same instructor, this five dollars is added only once. Fees are payable to the Registrar in two instalments, on November 1 and February 1, strictly in advance.

 

Source:  Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania. Fasciculus of the Department of Philosophy. Announcements for Session 1897-98, pp. 17-21.

 

Image Source:  University Library (built 1890, Furness, Evans & Co., architect; now Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library), interior, reading room, 1898. University of Pennsylvania Digital Image Collection.

 

Categories
Columbia Regulations

Columbia. Requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics, 1946-47

 

The following excerpts from the 1946-47 Announcement of Courses for the Faculty of Political Science at Columbia University provide a clear outline of the requirements and the sequence of thirteen steps an economics Ph.D. candidate needed to take to be successful in the quest for a doctoral degree. The rules and regulations are organized like a set of Matryoshka (nesting) dolls:  from a common set of requirements for the three faculties of Political Science, Philosophy and Pure Science, through those rules and regulations common for the departments within the Faculty of Political Science, to those specific to the Department of Economics. For 1946-47 I only have the last two dolls (now), but they are the two most relevant for understanding the structure within which graduate education in economics at Columbia was being conducted.

Favorite quote:

General Undergraduate Preparation. Since graduate study in economics necessarily entails a high degree of concentration in this field, a student planning to enter graduate work is advised not to specialize narrowly in economics during his undergraduate study. Basic training in economics and a knowledge of its general literature and methods are desirable, but for the purposes of more advanced work on the graduate level, there is a greater advantage in the study of history, philosophy, modern languages, and mathematics than in narrowly specialized courses in economics taken as undergraduates.

The previous post includes a 1946 memo regarding the conduct of the oral doctoral examinations.

__________________

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION AND FOR DEGREES

The general academic requirements for admission as a regular graduate student and the requirements for the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy are stated in the Graduate Announcement of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science. That Announcement should be consulted by every applicant for admission under those Faculties.

[…]

ADMISSION AND REGISTRATION
[THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE]

REQUIREMENTS

The requirements for admission as a graduate student to work toward an advanced degree in any one of the departments under the Faculty of Political Science are: (a) a Bachelor’s degree in arts, letters, philosophy, or science from an institution approved by Columbia University; (b) a thorough preparation for graduate study as evidenced by a good undergraduate record and a better than average performance on the Graduate Record Examination.

A prospective applicant who does not have a Bachelor’s degree, but who believes that he has had equivalent preparation, may present his credentials to the Director of University Admissions for evaluation.

PROCEDURE

Application and Records. An application blank may be obtained from the Office of University Admissions.

Every applicant must fill out the blank and file it with the Director of University Admissions, and must arrange with each of the colleges or universities he has previously attended to send to the Director full official transcripts of his academic record.

Graduate Record Examination. Before being permitted to register for courses to be credited toward an advanced degree in any of the departments of the Faculty of Political Science, each applicant for admission must file a report of his performance in the Graduate Record Examination. This examination is administered annually in a number of colleges and universities and at other centers throughout the United States. For information regarding time and place of the examination, the prospective applicant should consult the dean of his college or the Graduate Record Office, 337 West 59thStreet, New York 19, N.Y. This requirement is effective for students applying for admission to begin residence subsequent to September 1946.

Students will be admitted to study under the Faculty of Political Science in September 1946 without having taken the Graduate Record Examination, subject to the understanding that the requirement will be met immediately after registration. The Office of University Admissions will arrange one or more dates for the administration of the examination and will notify all students required to take it.

Students for whom English is not the mother tongue will be admitted on the basis of their school and university credentials. They are asked, but not required, to take the Graduate Record Examination as a matter of record.

Permit to Register. After the application and credentials have been examined and the English requirement satisfied, the applicant, if accepted, will be given a permit to register. This permit will grant admission as (1) a regular graduate student, (2) a probationary graduate student, or (3) an unclassified graduate student. (For explanation of these terms, see the Graduate Announcement, pages 14-15.)

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCED DEGREES

For a general statement of the regulations of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science consult the Graduate announcement, obtainable from the Secretary of the University.

Attention of students under this Faculty is directed particularly to the paragraph on page 15 of that Announcement to the effect that, while no time limit is set for the period of candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy, a student must satisfy the requirements that are in effect at the time of the award of the degree.

 

REQUIREMENTS OF THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

MASTER OF ARTS

  1. Preliminary Training.The prospective 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 accepted as a regular graduate student by the Director of University Admissions.
  2. Residence. Every candidate for the degree must register for and attend courses at this University aggregating not less than thirty points distributed over a period of not less than one academic year or its equivalent.
  3. Courses. From the courses for which he has registered to satisfy the residence requirements, the candidate must complete with a satisfactory passing grade courses aggregating not less than twenty-one points, of which at least fifteen must be selected from those offered by departments in this faculty under the heading “General Courses.”
  4. Essay. The candidate must present a satisfactory essay prepared under the direction of some member of this faculty.
  5. Departmental Requirements. Special departmental requirements appear [in] 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, matriculation as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, subjects, and dissertation.
  2. Preliminary Training. The requirement is the same as for the Master of Arts candidate.
  3. Residence. The prospective candidate must have pursued graduate studies for at least two academic years, one of which must have been spent at this University while registered under this Faculty, 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 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. Language. The prospective candidate must have demonstrated his ability to express himself in correct English and to read at least two languages beside his mother tongue; and he must be able to read 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.
  5. Matriculation. Upon the completion of not less than one year of graduate residence, after satisfying the department concerned that he is proficient in such languages as it prescribes for a candidate, and that he is prepared to undertake research under its direction, the prospective candidate will be recommended by the department to the Dean for matriculation as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
  6. Fields. The candidate must have familiarized himself with one field of primary interest and one field of secondary interest. The major and minor fields need not be under the same department.
    1. Field of primary interest. The field shall be chosen from the following list:

Ancient history
Medieval history
Modern history of western continental Europe
Modern history of eastern Europe
History of Great Britain and the British Empire
American history
Latin American history
East Asiatic history
History of European thought
Jewish history
Political and social philosophy
American political institutions (including constitutional law)
Foreign political institutions
Public administration (including constitutional and administrative law)
International law and relations
Roman law
Comparative jurisprudence
Economics (including economic theory, economic history, and statistics)
Public and private finance
Social economic problems
Sociology
Anthropology

    1. Field of secondary interest. The field of secondary interest may be either an adaptation of one of the subjects in the foregoing list or a special combination of studies selected with a view to the student’s peculiar interests and needs. Such a combination may involve work in more than one department in the Faculty, or work in more than one faculty, or may be wholly under some other faculty of the university. In any case, the choice of the field of secondary interest must be approved by the Executive Officer of the department in charge of the primary field, subject to review by the Committee on Instruction of the Faculty.
      The candidate’s competence in the chosen fields of primary and secondary interest is tested by an oral examination, which is scheduled by the Dean on recommendation of the department concerned. This examination is normally taken toward the end of the second year of graduate study. It must be passed before the student is admitted to the defense of the dissertation. To be examined in any given academic year the student must apply for examination prior to April 1.
  1. Dissertation. The main test of the candidate’s qualifications is the production of a dissertation that will demonstrate his capacity to contribute to the advancement of learning within the field of his selection. This dissertation must give evidence of the candidate’s ability to present in good literary form the results of original researches upon some topic approved by the department concerned. It may be completed either during the period of residence or in absentia. In advance of its being presented before the Faculty for defense, it must be approved by the professor in charge and by the Executive Officer of the department concerned. Such approval, however, is not to be construed as acceptance by the Faculty.
  2. Final Examination. Upon the recommendation of the department concerned the Dean will admit a candidate for the degree to final examination and will appoint a committee to examine him. The department will recommend a candidate for final examination if he has pursued graduate studies for not less than two academic years, at least one of them while a student under this Faculty, if he has satisfied such preliminary examinations or requirements as the Faculty and the department concerned may specify, and if he has prepared a dissertation, embodying the results of his researches, which has been certified by the department as being in form for defense. For the defense, the dissertation may be in galley proof or typescript. If in galley proof, eight copies must be available to examiners at least ten days prior to the examination; if in typescript, five copies must be available three weeks prior to the examination. After its successful defense, the Dean will issue to the candidate a certificate stating that all requirements for the degree except the deposit of printed copies of the dissertation have been met.
  3. Printing Requirement. After the examining committee has approved the dissertation and certified that the candidate has passed the final examination, the candidate shall deliver to the University Libraries seventy-five copies of his dissertation, printed in a form acceptable to the Faculty, before the degree will be conferred. In exceptional cases and as a temporary substitute, the Dean will accept a satisfactory guarantee of such delivery before a specified date, and the degree will then be conferred. (For fuller statement, see the Graduate Announcement, page 19.) The Faculty also requires that printed copies of the dissertation, not to exceed forty-five in number, be delivered to the office of the department concerned for distribution to members of the Faculty.
    In the printing of the dissertation certain options are allowed: (a) It may be printed from type and published in book form; (b) it may be published as an article or series of articles in a scholarly journal; (c) with the permission of the Executive Officer of the department concerned, it may be reproduced by an offset process approved by the Dean.
  4. Departmental Requirements. Special departmental requirements appear on succeeding pages of this Announcement. Departmental requirements are in addition to, not a substitute for, the faculty requirements.

 

[…]

DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

As soon as possible after deciding upon economics as the subject of primary interest for the degree of Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy, the prospective candidate should report through the secretary of the Department of Economics, in Fayerweather Hall, to the Executive Officer of the Department or his representative to receive fuller instructions.

General Undergraduate Preparation. Since graduate study in economics necessarily entails a high degree of concentration in this field, a student planning to enter graduate work is advised not to specialize narrowly in economics during his undergraduate study. Basic training in economics and a knowledge of its general literature and methods are desirable, but for the purposes of more advanced work on the graduate level, there is a greater advantage in the study of history, philosophy, modern languages, and mathematics than in narrowly specialized courses in economics taken as undergraduates.

Mathematical Preparation. The use of mathematics, including higher mathematics, has become important in several branches of economics and statistics. Much of the recent important literature of general economics is written in a language not easily understood without some knowledge of the differential and integral calculus. A student planning to work for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in economics will therefore find it advantageous to acquire familiarity with the calculus and with higher algebra before beginning graduate studies in economics.

 

Master of Arts

General Requirements. In addition to fulfilling the general faculty requirements the student must include graduate courses in economics aggregating not less than fifteen points among the courses aggregating not less than twenty-one points in which he is required to receive examination credit before being recommended for the degree.

Essay. The candidate must select his essay subject, submit it to the appropriate professor within two months after registration as a candidate for the degree, and list this subject in the office of the secretary of the Department.

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 weeksbefore the date on which copies of the approved essay are to be filed with the Registrar (see Academic Calendar, pages 77-78). 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 ability to use original material.

 

Doctor of Philosophy

Prospective Candidacy.  As soon as possible after the beginning of his graduate residence the student shall notify the Executive Officer of the Department of Economics of his intention to become a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics. A choice of subjects will be made in consultation with the Executive Officer or his representative.  A written examination, intended for students who have thus indicated their intentions, will be given near the end of each session. This examination must be taken before the student may register for more than thirty points of course credit for graduate work. (Students given credit for fifteen or more points for graduate courses completed at other institutions must take the examination before registering for more than forty-five points of course credit, including points credited from another university.) Upon passing this examination a student is classed as a prospective candidate. Prospective candidates are eligible to register for all courses designed for candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, for which they have specific prerequisites.

Students taking the examination for prospective candidacy will be required to indicate the field or fields of their research interests.

The Department may deny registration privileges to students who have completed graduate courses aggregating thirty or more points of course credit and who fail to pass the examination for prospective candidacy.

The examination for prospective candidacy will not be required of students who receive credit for 30 or more points of graduate course work completed before June 30, 1946, and who present themselves for oral examination on subjects prior to June 30, 1948.

Languages. The prospective candidate must satisfy the Department of Economics that he can read two modern languages besides his native tongue. The combination of French and German is preferred, but Spanish, Italian, or Russian and another language may be selected with the written permission of the Executive Officer of the Department in cases where it is of particular value to the student’s scholarly interests. The student must pass the test in at least one of the languages before registering at Columbia for courses that will bring the sum total of his graduate credit (for work done at Columbia or elsewhere) to more than thirty points. (Thus a student who already has thirty or more points of graduate credit for work done at another university must pass at least one of the language tests before his initial registration at Columbia for work leading to the doctorate.) The other language test must be passed before he may register for more than forty-five points of course credit (including points credited from another university). The examinations in languages will be held on the following dates: Monday, September 23, 1946 from 2 to 4; Thursday, January 30, 1947, from 2 to 4; Friday, May 2, 1947, from 10 to 12. Students are required to register with the secretary of the Department of Economics at least one week prior to the date of the examination their intention to take such an examination. In case of emergency, and by special permission of the Executive Officer of the Department, an examination in languages may be given at other times.

Matriculation. Upon recommendation of the Department’s matriculation committee a prospective candidate who has completed not less than one year of graduate residence, has met Departmental language requirements, and has satisfied the Department that he is prepared to undertake research under its direction, will be recommended by the Executive Officer of the Department to the Dean for matriculation. Matriculation constitutes formal admission to candidacy for the degree.

Examination on Subjects. The candidate who has fulfilled the preliminary requirements for this degree may make application, through the Executive Officer of the Department, to the Dean for examination in subjects. Such application may be made at any time, but must be made before April 1 in the academic year in which the examination is to be held. The applicant will be notified by the Dean of the date of his examination. This examination is oral 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 selected for this examination and of the literature pertaining thereto.

At the time the candidate applies for his examination on subjects he shall submit a memorandum outlining his dissertation project in some detail, analyzing it with respect to source material and the research techniques required for its successful prosecution, and setting forth his plan for carrying the project forward. This memorandum must be approved by the candidate’s adviser and by the Executive Officer of the Department or a committee designated by him before the candidate may be admitted to the oral examination.

The examination on subjects will be focused in part on the area of the candidate’s research interests and the candidate’s research project.

Every candidate for the doctorate must give satisfactory evidence of his grasp of six of the subjects listed below. Three of these subjects must be economic theory, economic history, and statistics. Four of the subjects listed below (among which must be included the three subjects specified in the preceding sentence) are considered to constitute the student’s field of primary interest. 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. 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 of economics in the Faculty of Political Science that he has done work which is adequate both in scope and in quality in two subjects (also chosen from those listed below) other than the four to be offered in the candidate’s 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. When the requirement has been met, the candidate must secure written certification to this effect from the professors concerned. Arrangements for certification will be made with the Executive Officer of the Department.

The subjects are as follows:

1. Accounting 13. Money and banking
2. Business cycles 14. Prices
3. Corporation and investment finance 15. Public finance
4. Economic geography 16. Public utilities (including transportation)
5. Economic history (required) 17. Socialism and types of national economic organization
6. Economic theory (required) 18. Statistics (required)
7. Industrial organization and control 19. Any other subject approved by the Executive Officer of the Department. Such an optional subject must be included among the four presented for the oral examination.
8. Insurance
9. International trade
10. Labor problems and industrial relations
11. Marketing
12. Mathematical economics

It is the policy of the Department of Economics to encourage students to devote part of their effort to studies outside the Department. The student’s field of secondary interest, to the extent of the equivalent of two of his six subjects, may fall in one of the departments under the Faculty of Political Science, in Philosophy, Psychology, or in another discipline dealing with matters germane to the student’s scholarly interests.

Economic Theory. The candidate will be expected to show acquaintance with the ways in which economic theorists have conceived and treated broader issues, as well as ability to apply economic theory to problems that interest him. The Executive Officer of the Department should be consulted before making a choice of emphasis in preparation for examination.

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 of Political Science independently of any course. Students working on dissertations must keep their advisers informed of the status of their work.

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.

The dissertation topic and plans for the prosecution of the study leading to the dissertation will be reviewed at the time of the candidate’s examination on subjects. It is desirable that a substantial start be made on the dissertation while the student is still in residence. If a candidate works on his dissertation in absentia an annual written report of progress will be required.

In summary, the following are the steps to be taken by a student seeking the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics:

  1. Submit to the Office of Admissions an application for admission to the graduate Department of Economics. Arrange to have transcripts of all previous academic records sent to the Office of Admissions by the institutions concerned.
  2. Notify the Executive Officer of the Department of intention to become a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
  3. Make a preliminary choice of subjects in consultation with the Executive Officer or his representative.
  4. Register with the secretary of the Department for examination for prospective candidacy. This examination must be taken before the student may register for more than thirty points of course credit for graduate work, but see fourth paragraph of “Prospective Candidacy” ([see] above). Students taking the examination are required to indicate the field or fields of their research interests.
  5. Apply for test in one foreign language. The test in one language must be passed before the student may register for more than thirty points of course credit for graduate work. (Language tests may be taken at any of the scheduled dates after admission to graduate status.)
  6. Apply for test in second foreign language. The second language test must be passed before the student may register for mort than forty-five points of course credit for graduate work.
  7. Apply through the secretary of the Department to the Matriculation Committee of the Department for Matriculation (i.e. formal admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree).
  8. Arrange with professors concerned for certification examinations on two of the six subjects offered. Certification examinations may be taken at any time, on consultation with the professor in charge, after admission to graduate status.
  9. Apply to the Executive Officer for permission to take examination on subjects. This application must be made before April 1 in the academic year in which the examination is to be held. At the time of application, the candidate must submit to the Executive Officer a memorandum outlining his dissertation project. This memorandum must previously have been approved by the candidate’s adviser and by the Executive Officer or a committee named by him.
  10. Submit dissertation to the professor in charge and to the Executive Officer of the Department. Obtain the Department’s assurance that the dissertation is in form for defense, and the Department’s recommendation to the Dean that the candidate is prepared for final examination.
  11. Apply to the Dean of the Graduate Faculties for admission to final examination for the Doctorate (defense of dissertation).
  12. Deliver seventy-five copies of the printed dissertation to the University Libraries.
  13. Arrange with the secretary of the Department for distribution of copies of the printed dissertation, not to exceed forty-five in number, to members of the Faculty of Political Science.

 

Source:   Columbia University Bulletin of Information, Forty-sixth Series, No. 37 (August 10, 1946). History, Economics, Public Law, Sociology, and Anthropology. Courses Offered by the Faculty of Political Science for the Winter and Spring Sessions, 1946-1947, pp. 2, 13-16, 19-23.

Image Source:  Columbia University graduation. New York, NY The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “”. The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1940 – 1979.

Categories
Columbia Regulations

Columbia. Memo on Doctoral Exams in the Faculty of Political Science, 1946

 

The subject of oral examinations has come up in earlier posts:  Columbia 1932-3, Columbia 1967, and Harvard 1958. This post takes us to the immediate post-WWII years.

For visitors to this page who are unfamiliar with the divisional organization of Columbia University earlier: the department of economics was located within the faculty of political science that also included departments of history, public law and government, sociology, and anthropology — a disciplinary spectrum similar to that of Harvard’s Division of History, Government, and Economics.

____________________

FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

23 April 1946

MEMORANDUM on the Conduct of Doctoral Examinations

TO:     Members of the Faculty of Political Science

Following are a few suggestions, occasioned by comments of members of the Faculty relative to our oral examinations for the doctorate, both on subjects and in defense of the dissertation. They are distributed to call attention of members of examining committees to procedures previously agreed upon but sometimes forgotten or overlooked.

  1. That our system of departmental representatives at examinations is breaking down furnishes the subject of most frequent comment. This was understandable during the war when the staff was depleted and overworked; and provision of representatives for all examinations by the smaller departments is always a difficult problem. But the Committee feel that the principle is a good one and should be maintained. It makes for the equalization of standards in examination throughout the Faculty and serves as a constant reminder that examining committees, more particularly for the defense of the dissertation, are committees of the Faculty. Since the Faculty has for long been too large for all members to attend all examinations, the system of departmental representatives affords the means of maintaining faculty solidarity in the examination.
  2. There is further question relative to examining committees keeping within the allotted time. This is particularly important during the crowded period in late April and May, when examinations are frequently scheduled with no interval between. Lack of promptness in ending the examination causes confusion and irritation and detracts materially from the dignity of the examination. Obviously if the examination is concluded promptly on the hour, the committee must have some time to decide on the performance of the candidate, with the result that the next committee is kept waiting during the deliberation. This matter has been discussed with Miss Neare of the Dean’s office. She will do her utmost to allow at least one-half hour between each examination. If the schedule becomes so crowded that this is impossible, some other locale for the examination will be sought.
    It should be noted that this arrangement may involve: (a) the commencing of some examinations on the half hour, and (b) the necessity of bearing in mind that some examinations will probably be scheduled in a room other than 304 Fayerweather.
  3. Your committee would like to call attention of all chairmen of examining committees to the desirability of rigid adherence to the faculty agreement that 15 minutes at the end of every examination should be reserved for questions by departmental representatives, or more general questions by any member of the committee. At the same time we should like to point out that this rule has validity only if departmental representatives accept the responsibility of posing questions.
  4. The examining committee for defense of the dissertation is a committee of the Faculty charged to act for that body in the matter of certifying candidates for the doctorate. Occasionally when a question relative to the dissertation, or some unusual circumstance in the examination, has arisen reference has been made to the Committee on Instruction. It is the feeling of this committee that the decision of the examining committee should be final and that in all cases involving an unusual decision full and accurate record should be made of such decision, either on the reporting blank or on a sheet attached thereto.

Respectfully submitted,

James C. Bonbright
Austin P. Evans, Chairman
Philip C. Jessup
Robert K. Merton

APE:v

 

Source:  Columbia University Archives.  Minutes of the Faculty of Political Science, 1940-1949.

Image Source: Fayerweather Hall from Columbia University Department of History website

Categories
Harvard Regulations

Harvard. Report on Graduate Economics Instruction, 1945

 

One interesting take-away is that the size of the graduate economics student body is discussed, given the faculty size, rather than the reverse. Also of interest is the proposal for a distinction to be made between a terminal Ph.D. exam failure and a failure meriting a second chance.

__________________

REPORT ON GRADUATE INSTRUCTION
December 10, 1945

TO: Professor H.H. Burbank
FROM: The Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Instruction

This committee was asked to consider the following three questions: (1) How can the increased burden of Ph.D. examinations best be met? (2) Should any limit be set to the number of graduate students in economics and, if so, what should be the limit? (3) How can inadequate graduate students be most effectively eliminated? After a consideration of these questions, the ad hoc committee wishes to make the following recommendations:

I. Ph.D. Examinations.

The committee is of the opinion that the total number of general and special examinations scheduled and to be scheduled for this academic year does not present a serious problem. The examinations already scheduled number thirty-nine and the total number, to the end of the year, may reach sixty. If equally distributed this would mean ten to twelve examinations for each officer between now and June. The burden of the examinations however is unequally distributed among the officers of the Department, and certain of the recommendations which follow are designed to lessen this inequality.

If the number of graduate students doubles, or increases to anything like that figure, the examination burden will become serious, and our recommendations are chiefly directed toward this contingency. We recommend that the Department give consideration to the following possibilities:

  1. Officers of the Department who are lightly burdened with examinations may in most cases be asked to examine in certain fields outside those in which they are now giving instruction.
  2. Since the examination load is now concentrated in the months of January and May, students should be encouraged to stand for examination in less crowded periods.
  3. Instructors should be asked to share the burden of examining as soon as they receive their doctor’s degree.
  4. In exceptional cases (but only in such cases) one examiner can be made responsible for two fields; for example, the same examiner could, in certain cases, be made responsible for money and banking and business cycles. In others, the examination in theory and international trade could be given by on man. If and when this expedient is followed, the officer examining in two fields should vote on these two fields. All three examiners should be responsible for a judgment on the examination as a whole.
  5. As the examining burden becomes heavier, two fields rather than one (but not including theory) might be written off and the examination shortened to an hour and a half.
  6. The last two measures are suggested as temporary expedients only—not as permanent policies.

The committee discussed the possibility of substitution written examinations and although a definitive view was not reached, the consensus of opinion was against the written examination on these grounds:

(1) Students are required to take extensive written course examinations and as far as their capabilities to satisfy such requirements are concerned they are already adequately tested. The oral examination constitutes a different and important kind of test.

(2) If the written general examinations were adequate to their purpose, and if at least a short oral were included as for the undergraduate divisionals, the committee doubts whether any time would be saved.

II. Size of the graduate school in economics.

The committee believes that if standards of graduate instruction are to be maintained a limit must be set to the number of students admitted to the graduate school and suggests tentatively about two hundred and fifty. This would involve limiting the number of first year students to approximately one hundred. Substantial increase in the number of students will increase markedly the amount of time which will have to be given to the direction of theses and to other forms of individual instruction. It is probable that with a graduate school of two hundred and fifty, less time will in any case be available for such instruction but the committee feels that no appreciable lowering of standards need accompany an increase to the suggested size.

A second major burden will be imposed on instruction in the fields of theory, statistics and economic history. In order to lighten this burden the committee recommends that the Department take the following steps:

  1. The basic graduate course in theory should be offered anew each term. The committee is of the opinion that the staff of theory instructors is adequate for this purpose.
  2. The Department should proceed forthwith to the appointment of its full quota of faculty and annual instructors and teaching fellows. We understand that the Department is entitled to six faculty instructors and we urge that the available positions be filled as soon as possible.
  3. In making the appointments, particular attention should be given to securing an adequate number of instructors and assistants in the field of statistics. One or more of the people appointed in this area should be Ph.D.’s in order that the examining burden on present officers may be lightened.
  4. It is imperative that an able young man be appointed in the field of economic history and he must have his degree if the very heavy examining load in this field is to be shared.

III. Weeding out incompetents.

The committee is agreed that to the greatest extent possible this weeding out process should begin with the raising of standards of admission to the graduate school. It urges on the Chairman of the Department that he throw his influence in favor of rejecting the lower fringe of candidates who in ordinary times would have been admitted and that he emphasize strongly to the Dean of the Graduate School the necessity of applying higher standards. With respect to students already admitted the committee recommends:

  1. that ordinarily the failure to receive an average of two B’s and two B+’s for the first year of work in the graduate school be considered reason for refusing students permission to continue their studies;
  2. that, in addition to raising the standard required to be satisfied in the general examination, failures be divided into two categories:

(1) Failed, but permitted to apply for re-examination.
(2) Failed, and prohibited from applying for re-examination.

Respectfully submitted,

Edward S. Mason, Chairman
Edward H. Chamberlin
Alvin H. Hansen

 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Department of Economics, Correspondence and Papers Department (UAV349), Box 13.

Categories
Columbia Regulations Research Tip Salaries

Columbia. Excerpts from annual faculty meeting. GRE’s, Math, Salaries discussed, 1951

 

 

The Department of Economics at Columbia University was a constituent element of the Faculty of Political Science from its earliest days. The Columbia University Archives have a long series of bound, typed minutes of the Faculty of Political Science and some of its committee meetings [Research tip: these bound volumes run from 1897 to at least 1957, when I approached the end of my project’s historical window].  I have somewhat randomly selected today’s transcription. The meeting had four items directly relevant to the greater project of chronicling the education of economists (i.e., about four items above the mode) and a relatively descriptive account of presentation and debate. When the discussion turned to a motion to replace a foreign language with a math requirement, the secretary of the Faculty, Professor Barzun, threw in the towel as keeper of the minutes: “From this point forward the discussion became at once so lively and so subtle that the Secretary was unable to keep up with it, and can provide only a feeble rendering of its reality.”

_____________________

FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
April 27, 1951

The annual meeting of the Faculty of Political Science was held on April 27, 1951, at 4:10 P.M. in the Trustees’ Room.

Roll Call
[p. 1035]

Present:

Vice President Kirk
Dean Krout
Professors Anderson, Angell, Barzun, Bergson, Bonbright, Burns (A.F.), Burns (A.R.), Clark, Dorfman, Davis, Evans, Florinsky, Fox, Goodrich (Carter), Goodrich (L.M.), Greenberg, Hunt, Lazarsfeld, Lerner, Mattingly, Mills, Miner, Merton, Macmahon, Nurkse, Orchard, Peffer, Scheffé, Shoup, Strong, Steward, Stigler, Vickrey, Wagley, Wallace, Wilbur, Wolfowitz, Wuorinen.

Absent:

Professors Abel, Aly, Barghoorn, Baron, Berle, Brebner, Brunner, Carman, Clough, Commager, Dowling, Einaudi, Gellhorn, Haig, Hart, Haas, Hazard, Ho, Holborn, Jessup, Kroeber, Lehmann, Lipset, Lissitzyn, Lynd, MacIver, McNeill, Malone, Millett, Moley, Morris, Mosely, Neumann, Niebuhr, Nevins, Odlozilik, Pearden, Pennock, Polanyi, Robinson, Rogers, Saulnier, Sayre, Schuyler, Shapiro, Szeftel, Tannenbaum, Thomson, Truman, Westermann, Wolman.

[…]

Re-admission of graduate students
[p. 1036]

Dean Krout proposed the resolution of the Joint Committee on Graduate Instruction concerning the readmission of graduate students, as follows:

RESOLVED, That any former graduate student who seeks re-admission for work in residence at a date more than five years following his latest residence, must have his earlier academic work re-evaluated and his essay or dissertation subject reconsidered, either prior to readmission, or during the first semester of renewed residence. The credit which such students shall receive shall be determined by the Admissions Office on the recommendation of the Department concerned.

In the case of a former graduate student who makes application for the final examination in defense of his dissertation, at a date more than five years following his latest residence, the department concerned may require a similar re-evaluation.

It was passed unanimously without discussion.

[…]

Salary Report (of Committee of Six)
[p. 1038]

Speaking for the Committee of Six representing the three Graduate Faculties, Professor Stigler spoke briefly about the Report on University Salaries, copies of which had been previously sent to all members of the Faculty. He again stressed the fact that the role of the Committee was not to recommend a salary schedule, nor to cope with the difficulties of financing, but simply to report comparative findings. He pointed out the inadequacy of data for the period 1914-1930, but expressed confidence in the statistical results for the period 1930-1950. “We have now reached”, he said, “the lowest point of the entire stretch, and a remedial rise, to be significant, would have to be about 20% generally, and relatively higher for the lower ranks”.

Professor Carter Goodrich moved approval of the general thesis of the report, namely, that it is of the utmost importance to the academic standing of the University that our competitive position expressed through our salary scale be maintained.

The motion was unanimously approved.


Requirement of Graduate Record Examination for admission rescinded
[p. 1039]

Professor Carter Goodrich offered a resolution for the Committee on Instruction regarding the Graduate Record Examination. In discussion he gave a brief history of the requirement and referred to published survey showing that college grades offer a better means of predicting success in Graduate Studies than the examination. Moreover, the Examination costs the student $13.00 and three afternoons, which seems a lavish expenditure for an uncertain measure of prophecy. The Faculty unanimously voted to rescind the requirement.

 

Proposal of Dep’t. of Sociology to substitute Mathematics for one foreign language as a Ph.D. requirement
[pp. 1039-1040]

Professor Lazarsfeld offered a resolution to permit students in Sociology and Economics to substitute Mathematics for one of the two foreign languages normally required for the Ph.D. degree. In the discussion Professor Wuorinen asked to be enlightened on the tendency of the motion. The answer was that Mathematics is a language and one far more necessary to the statistical student of society than any of the languages that consist of words.

Professor Evans opposed the motion on two grounds: first, the principle that all Doctors of Philosophy in Columbia University are rightly deemed able to use the literature of their fields in two foreign languages besides their own; second, the technicality that any change in the requirement must be approved by all three Faculties.

From this point forward the discussion became at once so lively and so subtle that the Secretary was unable to keep up with it, and can provide only a feeble rendering of its reality. Professor Angell urged the far greater range of ideas available in his field through mathematical formulations; Professor Bonbright uttered the suspicion that our language requirement was not really effective, and implied that a mathematics requirement would be. Dean Krout rose to reinforce Professor Evans’ point that we could not take separate action as a Faculty.

Professor Evans introduced an amendment of which the effect was to reduce the requirement to one language for all fields. The amendment was not accepted by the first mover and Professor ANGELL called for a test vote on the original motion. It was carried 25-10; but given the Faculty lack of power to act independently on this matter, Professor Angell moved the appointment of a committee to reconsider the language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. This suggestion was powerless to stem the debate. Professor Stigler urged that all departments be treated equally. Professor Wuorinen questioned the relevance of mathematics to the purpose served by the linguistic equipment. Professor Davis wondered how much mathematics would equal one language. Dean Krout likewise wished to know what would be meant by “mathematics”. Professor Lazarsfeld replied that a committee exists and has expressed itself on the nature of the mathematical equipment required by social scientists. Professor Angell revealed that the Department of Economics has the specifications all worked out. Professors Macmahon and Shoup both agreed in considering mathematics a language and raised the spectre of a three-language requirement.

Finally the question was called for, and Professor Angell’s motion to appoint a committee was passed 26-9.

[…]

The meeting adjourned at 5:35 P.M.

Respectfully submitted
[signed]
Jacques Barzun
Secretary

 

Source: Columbia University Archive, Minutes of the Faculty of Political Science, 1950-1962. pp.1035-1042.

Categories
Harvard Regulations

Harvard. Economics Ph.D. Regulations, 1968

 

Besides the general university regulations governing the award of a Ph.D. degree, specific departmental rules evolve as a matter of case-law decided committee meeting by committee meeting and/or departmental meeting by departmental meeting. In the summer of 1968 the Harvard chairman of economics, Professor Richard Caves, offered the following codification of specific economics practice. Caves’ cover letter and memo that I have transcribed below were found in personal departmental files kept by John Kenneth Galbraith.

___________________________________

1968 Codification of Harvard Economics Ph.D. Regulations

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN

M-8 LITTAUER CENTER
CAMBRIDGE 38, MASSACHUSETTS

September 13, 1968

To: Members of the Department of Economics
From: R. E. Caves, Chairman

Attached is a memorandum prepared this summer which seeks to codify the department’s regulations concerning the Ph.D. program. It is restricted to information not contained in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, General Announcement, 1968-1969 (“The Red Book”) and the leaflet “Higher Degrees in Economics,” Supplement to the General Announcement.

For some time I have felt the need for a memorandum of this type, for distribution both to graduate students and members of the department. A number of changes have been made during the last few years in the administration of various phases of the PhD. program, and it is difficult to bring these to the attention of the students. Furthermore, some regulations rest on oral traditions that I have found to vary depending on whose mouth they come from. This memorandum has been prepared following a search of the minutes of Department and Executive Committee meetings, and in consultation with the chairman of the Committee on Graduate Instruction. Please bring any inaccuracies to my attention.

This document will be distributed to the returning graduate student at the annual meeting held with them during the first week of classes. (It seems best to spare the first-year students until a psychologically more propitious time.)

Let me take this opportunity to remind members of the Committee on Graduate Instruction that they will be in charge of advising first-year graduate students this year, superseding our previous practice of assigning them to all professors and associate professors in the Department.

___________________________________

DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE Ph.D. IN ECONOMICS

SUGGESTIONS FOR COURSE REGISTRATION

First year graduate students in economics with an ordinary undergraduate background should usually enroll in 201a, b, 221a, b, and 233a, b, plus some other course (or pair of half courses) relating to one of the fields that they expect to present on the general examination. Those who have not passed the mathematics exemption exam should substitute 199 for 201a and 221a during the fall term; either 200a or some other graduate course not requiring advanced prerequisites may be included. 201a and 221a are then begun in the spring semester and their continuations (201b and 221b) completed in the following fall. The mathematics placement examination is advisory, so that students who feel its results do not accurately reflect their abilities may consult the instructors in 201a or 221a.

Four courses per term is the standard load, and full-time students are not permitted to take less. There is no tuition charge for additional courses.

First year students may proceed on their own to arrange reading courses where they seem appropriate. Representative cases would be where the student is preparing an optional field for the general examination for which no regular course is currently given, or where his previous study covers a substantial portion but not all of the first-year theory, history, or statistics courses. (None of these courses is required, although they are recommended for most students.) It is also possible for first year students to sign up for “Time,” although this is normally used primarily to cover study for the general examination, and should not be substituted for a reading course without good cause.

The same general rules pertain to registration for the second year. Economics 202a is normally a second-year course, and students who still need to complete 221b or 201b or both should do so during the fall term. Other courses should be chosen to complete the preparation of the fields which the student plans to present on the oral examination.

The department expects that students will normally take at least one working seminar before the end of their second year. This may be taken during the first year, but ordinarily comes in the second. The Graduate Instruction Committee maintains an up-to-date list of working seminars. Second-year students may then wish to register for “Time” for a substantial part of their program. They are not permitted to do so unless the working seminar requirement has been or is being fulfilled. Exceptions to this requirement are given by the chairman only in rare cases to students who are still carrying a heavy load of regular courses during their second year.

In the third year, or after the residence requirement and general examination have been completed, students do not need to be registered if they are not taking courses. Those in residence, however, will ordinarily wish to register in order to use the university’s facilities, and Teaching Fellows must be registered. Registration at this stage may be either for thesis supervision (Economics 301) or “Time” unless the student wishes to take some regular course.

Students who have done graduate work in economics elsewhere before coming to Harvard may wish to apply for transfer credit. This has the sole effect of reducing their tuition obligation to the University. Since none of our courses is required of graduate students, it has no formal implications for either course registration or for the grade average compiled at Harvard. Credit for work done elsewhere is granted at the discretion of the Graduate Instruction Committee. The number of courses for which credit is granted depends on grades earned at Harvard, the nature of courses taken elsewhere and the quality of the student’s performance in them. The maximum credit that may be given for work done other than at Harvard is eight half courses, and students will be granted all or part of this, depending on the record compiled in the Department. Petition forms for requesting credit for work done elsewhere may be secured from the Graduate Office (Littauer M-13) at the end of the student’s second semester in residence at Harvard.

 

THE GENERAL EXAMINATION

The Department of Economics has prepared a number of handouts describing such topics as writing off fields for the general examination, the written theory and statistics examinations, and fields of concentration; these are available in Littauer M-13.

Composition and Timing of the General Examination. The General Examination is given in three parts: a four-hour written examination in economic theory and its history, a four-hour written examination in statistical methods, and a one-and-one-half hour oral examination in three specialized fields.

General examinations are given twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. In the past, the fall theory examination has occurred about November 7 and the spring theory examination the week after spring vacation, around April 11. The statistics examination is ordinarily given a few days after the theory exam. Two to three weeks are allowed for grading, so that the fall oral examinations commence after Thanksgiving vacation and the spring orals at the end of April. Exact dates are posted on the bulletin board outside M-13 as soon as they are available. All parts of the examination must ordinarily be taken at the same time, i.e., a student may not take and pass the theory written exam in one “season” and defer the balance until the next. Students will, however, in some cases be permitted to take the written statistics exam prior to the other two parts.

In the past, it was possible for students to request a particular date for the oral examination. With increased number of students to be examined, this is becoming less and less feasible, especially in the spring. Requests to be first are much more likely to be entertained than requests to be last. In the final analysis, the Department feels that the composition of the board is a great deal more important than the actual exam date, and we consequently give this factor priority in scheduling.

Application for the General Examination. Students are invited to apply for the fall exam after October 1 and for the spring exam after March 1. Application may be made in M-13.

The Written Examination. Copies of past exams are available in M-12. It should be understood that the Department is in no way committed to the format or contents of past exams. Because Business Economics Ph.D. candidates are not responsible for the portion of the written theory examination dealing with the history of economic thought, they are given an optional alternate question.

In order to take the Oral Examination, a student must pass both the written theory and written statistics examinations. In most cases, students will not be examined orally on economic theory and statistical methods material covered on the written examinations. However, candidates who receive a grade of Fair Minus on the written theory examination will take a separate oral examination in economic theory and its history, which will be conducted by at least two members of the committee responsible for the written theory examination. This examination will be given as soon as possible after the theory examinations are graded, and the candidate must pass this separate examination in order to present himself for the general oral examination. The oral theory examination will last about forty minutes and will cover the same subjects, but not necessarily the same questions, as the written theory examination. If the candidate fails the oral theory examination, he will also be considered to have failed the written theory examination; if he passes the oral theory examination, his grade on the written theory examination will remain Fair Minus, and he may proceed to the remainder of the general examination.

The procedure for the statistics examination is somewhat different. A student who performs marginally on the written statistics examination will be examined orally in statistics at his general oral examination along with his other three fields. A student who had planned to present General Analytic Ability plus two specialized fields may therefore find he must present statistics orally. If so, he will continue to present General Analytic Ability, but will have a four member board. A student with no write-off will present four specialized fields: economic history, two selected fields, and statistics.

About two or three weeks after the theory and statistics examinations, students are told whether or not they have passed via sealed envelope distributed by the Graduate Secretary in M-13. Students who must present either statistics or theory orally are informed at this time. Except for any Fair Minuses, letter grades are not given out and no grades are posted.

Write-offs. Although the general examination normally consists of three parts, the written theory examination, the written statistics examination, and the oral examination, it is sometimes possible for students to waive either the statistics examination or one field of the oral examination. The theory examination may never be waived and students may not write off more than one field.

Normally the write-off requirement will consist of distinguished grades in either one full course or two half courses indicated for that field. “Distinguished grades” are defined as A or A- for a full course, or at least an A- average for two half courses, obtained by one of the following combinations: A and A; A and A-; A and B+; A- and A-. The following do not qualify: A- and B+; A and B. The order in which the grades are obtained is not important.

Because the spring general examination is given before the end of the second semester, the questions of conditional write-offs may arise. If a student has completed the first semester of a pair of half courses for the write-off and is taking the second semester course at the time he wishes to present that field on his general examination, he may do so only if he obtained an A in that course first semester. If, at the end of the second semester, he does not have at least a B+ in that course, he will be required to take an oral examination in the field.

The courses usable for a write-off change somewhat from year to year, and students should check with the Graduate Office before taking two halves of a write-off in different years. However, if a student completely fulfills a write-off requirement his first year and does not take his general examination until his second year (the most usual case), he may still waive a generals field with his first year work, even though the write-off requirements may have changed substantially by the time he takes his generals.

The sheet on write-off requirements that is available each fall in the Graduate Office contains a list of fields in which a write-off is automatically granted for candidates with the requisite grades. Occasionally, a student will wish to write off a field which is not listed. In this case, a student has the right to petition, in writing, the Committee on Graduate Instruction.

Final jurisdiction on all matters pertaining to write-offs rests with the Committee on Graduate Instruction. Students who wish a write-off that deviates from the normal procedure should check with the Graduate Secretary in M-13, who will supply instructions on petitioning the Committee. To allow the Committee ample time to meet and discuss petitions, and to allow a student to revise his program of study if his petition is rejected, a student should present his petition as soon as possible, certainly no later than the beginning of the semester in which he wishes to take his Generals.

The Oral Examination. The identity of the board members remains a secret until twenty-four hours before the oral. (Those with Monday exams are informed by a Sunday phone call.) The board will usually consist of three faculty members, at least one of whom is tenured.

Students who have no write-off, or who write off statistics, will be examined in three fields. All others will be examined in two regular fields, but a third examiner will be present on the board to evaluate the student’s General Analytic Ability.

The final grade on the General Examination is a composite of three other grades: the theory exam grade, the statistics exam grade, and the grade on the orals. The only grade that is recorded on the permanent record is the final grade. Students are informed within an hour or so of their oral examinations of their final grade for the general.

As in the past, if a student fails any portion of the general oral examination, he fails the entire oral examination, and must again present the same three specialized fields (or two specialized fields and General Analytic Ability). If a student who must present statistics orally fails this portion of the general examination, he will have to retake both the written statistics examination and the entire general oral examination.

Students who receive a grade of at least Good Minus on the general are not required to take a final examination in any fields which were presented at the oral.

Master of Arts Degree. Students who have passed all portions of the general examination may apply for an M.A. degree. There is no fee for this. However, students who have received credit for work done elsewhere should check before applying for an M.A., as this may jeopardize having the necessary sixteen half courses for the Ph.D. residence requirement. Since there is a December 1 deadline for the March degree and an April 1 deadline for the June degree, degree applications may be submitted by the optimistic before generals are taken.

As far as the Department has been told, applying for an M.A. in no way affects one’s draft status, unless the MA. is a terminal one.

 

SUPERVISION OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

A student is expected to begin active work on his doctoral dissertation as soon as he has completed his General Examination. At that time, he will ask two faculty members from the Department to comprise his thesis committee and to supervise his thesis until it is completed. One of the committee members should be either a professor or an associate professor in the Department (or comparable visiting faculty member), but the second committee member may be chosen from among the lecturers and assistant professors. In some cases it has been possible for students to choose as one committee member a professor from either another department at Harvard or from the economics department of another university. The student will ask one of the committee members (which need not be the tenure member) to serve as principal director of his thesis and chairman of his thesis committee. (A different procedure applies optionally to students who passed the general examination before 1968.)

Having secured approval from two faculty members, a Ph.D. candidate shall register his thesis topic with the Graduate Office within one term after completing the General Examination. On the appropriate form, he shall propose to the Department Chairman a thesis topic and suggest the two faculty members who have agreed to supervise it. The Chairman of the Department will consider the suitability of the proposed thesis committee. Unless they hear otherwise, students may assume approval has been given.

Throughout the time he is writing his thesis, a student is expected to keep in touch with both members of his dissertation committee on the progress of his work. In case a member of the dissertation committee leaves the university for more than a semester, the student is responsible for suggesting a replacement. Department members who are on leave from the university are expected, however, to continue to supervise theses begun under them whenever practicable.

Every student who has passed his General Examination since February 1, 1966, is required to present at least one report on his thesis project to a working seminar. Each year a list of working seminars is issued by the committee on Graduate Instruction. If no working seminar in the field exists, arrangements shall be made for presenting the thesis to another seminar in the presence of at least one member of the thesis committee. Students who plan to be out of residence while writing their dissertations would contact the Department Chairman regarding special arrangements for fulfilling this requirement.

Students are reminded that five years after the general oral examination has been passed, there is a deadline for submitting the thesis. Because the special examination is an investigation of a student’s knowledge of his particular field, not merely a thesis defense, it is imperative that a student maintain an up-to-date knowledge of his field. Students who spend many years writing their dissertations may tend not to keep in touch with current literature and may find themselves handicapped at the special examination. Therefore the Department is quite strict about enforcing this five-year rule, and extensions of time are by not means automatic.

A limited amount of computer time is available each year to students writing theses. Unfortunately, the funds available have been increasingly less adequate in recent years, but the Department is able to allow each student one-half hour of time for writing his thesis. However, we are sufficiently constrained that it is impossible for us to give thesis-writing students additional time beyond the thirty minutes except in a few special cases. Students must plan their programs very carefully and take advantage of the services of the IBM fellows in order to cut costs. Anyone planning a thesis which will involve considerable use of the computer should be all means establish how it will be financed before beginning work on it. While it is unfortunate that students must sometimes pay for their own computer time, this avenue is nevertheless always open. Computer time on the 7094 costs $2.50 a minute and students whose fellowships or personal finances permit the outlay may always purchase time. Computer time is arranged through the Graduate Office in M-13.

Some seminars and courses have funds to finance computing needs for term papers, etc. Slightly more lenient rules than those quoted above apply to holders of NSF Fellowships.

 

THE SPECIAL EXAMINATION AND COMPLETION OF THE THESIS

When a candidate has nearly finished writing his doctoral dissertation, he shoud see the Graduate Secretary in Littauer M-13 about typing and binding the thesis and taking the Special Examination.

In order to take the Special Examination, it is required that a candidate first submit two bound copies of his thesis to the Department.* At this time he will fill out an application for the Special Examination. A third reader will be chosen and an examination date fixed. (Should a second reader not already have been chosen, he will also be selected at this time.)

*In spite of past leniency, the Department will be adamant about enforcing this rule, and exceptions to it will not be automatic.

            Contrary to the extract “Higher Degrees under the Department of Economics,” from the Supplement to the General Announcement, the thesis does not have to be submitted by December 1 for a March degree or March 1 for a June degree. However, candidates must file a degree application with the Graduate Secretary by December 1 for a midyear degree or April 1 for Commencement, and must pass the Special Examination before either February 1 or June 1 for the appropriate degree to be conferred. A degree application may be filed before the thesis is submitted, as degree applications may be withdrawn if the thesis is not completed in time.

Special examinations may be arranged at any time of the year. Students are warned, however, to allow ample time for the readers after the final draft is completed and before the special exam is scheduled. Furthermore, a serious traffic jam develops at the end of every summer, when most faculty members are away and many students wish to finish in order to take fall jobs. The department cannot guarantee prompt scheduling of specials at this time.

Candidates are reminded that the Special Examination is now formally an examination in the field, or parts of fields, in which the thesis lies. Students are referred to a memorandum dated September 12, 1966, which explains this further.

Physical Requirements for the Thesis. “The Form of the Doctoral Thesis,” taken from the Supplement to the General Announcement, explains procedures for finishing the thesis, but the following points should be noted.

Number of Copies. Unless specifically told otherwise by his advisor, a student may assume the Department requires only two copies of his thesis.

Paper. The first copy of the thesis must be typed on Crane’s thesis paper, which is available in the Coop. The second copy may be Xeroxed. As twenty pound paper does not travel successfully through most Xerox machines, it obviously cannot be required for the second copy. If the second copy is a carbon, it should be done on thirteen pound (or heavier) paper. Any deviation from this format should be cleared through Mr. Elkins, Archivist at Widener Library.

Summary. Although a summary is no longer required by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, two copies of a four to ten page summary are required by the Department of Economics. The summaries are initialed by the two supervising members of the thesis committee when the thesis is accepted and are inserted in a pocket in the back of each copy of the thesis. In addition, the Department would like a 75-word summary of the thesis to be published in the September issue of the American Economic Review.

Binding. The New England Book Binding Company, 24 Blackstone Street, Cambridge (located parallel to Memorial Drive and one block north, between Western Avenue and River Street, phone 868-7220), can bind theses in five working days for about $9.00 per volume. They will also pick up and deliver in Cambridge. Candidates should be sure to tell the bindery to put a pocket for the summary in the back of each copy of the thesis, as this is not done automatically. The thesis may be bound in any reasonable color.

Footnotes. Unless a student is informed otherwise by his advisor, he may follow the editorial recommendations on page 4 of “The Form of the Doctoral Thesis.” Footnotes may be at the bottom of the page, within the text, at the end of chapters, or at the end of the thesis.

Thesis Acceptance Certificate. The Thesis Acceptance Certificate is signed by the first and second readers at the Special Examination. The Department will take care of pasting it in the thesis.

Caveat. Once a thesis has been taken to the Registrar’s Office, it cannot be retrieved.

Special Examination. The special field or fields in which the Special Examination shall be taken are designated by the chairman of the dissertation committee. The exam also constitutes a defense of the thesis.

The two supervising members of the thesis committee agree on a grade on the thesis itself. A separate grade on the special examination is given by the three-man examining committee.

 

Source: John Kenneth Galbraith Papers. Series 5. Harvard University File, 1949-1990. Box 526, Folder “Harvard University Department of Economics: General correspondence, 1967-1974 (3 of 3)”.

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