Graduate Study—Past and Present

AMONG THE MANY important developments in Dartmouth's educational program during the administration of President Dickey, the enlargement of graduate study, leading in some cases to the revival of the Ph.D. degree, has been one of the most significant, with interesting implications for the College in the years ahead. In this article Prof. Leonard M. Rieser '44, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Director of Graduate Study, sets the graduate-level developments in their historical perspective, describes their present form, and gives an estimate of their future growth.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

AS Commencement proceeded last June, following award of the degrees of Master of Arts, the Dean of the Faculty announced: "Mr. President, the individual standing before you has fulfilled all requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics. On behalf of the Faculty and at their request, I now present him to you for the award of that degree."

What is the background of this action which had also occurred the previous June but before that only ten times in the 195-year history of the College? That the award of the Ph.D. degree did not represent sudden change in emphasis can be appreciated by recalling earlier manifestations of university functions at Dartmouth College.

By 1850 the Medical School was well established, enrolling 52 students as against 221 undergraduates in the College.

In the catalog of 1850-51 reference is made to the degree of Master of Arts which was evidently available without completion of rigorous educational requirements :

The degree of Master of Arts is conferred in course on every Bachelor of three years' standing on the payment of the usual fee. Graduates of longer standing may have the Master's degree upon the same condition. The fee is five dollars, payable in advance.

Ten years later, post-baccalaureate instruction was initiated by identifying a category of students as "Resident Graduates" with this description of their privileges:

Graduates of this or other Colleges, desirous of pursuing their studies in Hanover, are allowed, as Resident Graduates, to attend the Public Lectures of the College, and to use the Library and Scientific Collections subject to such rules as the Faculty may establish.

Meanwhile, doctoral study modeled on the European tradition was just appearing in several institutions in the United States beginning at Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard in the 1870's. In 1893 the first graduate scholarships were established at Dartmouth ". . . designed particularly for those who intend to teach, but... not limited to those who have this end in view."

Reference to the Ph.D. degree appeared in the catalog if only to indicate that the degree was not offered "at present." Curiously enough, three Ph.D. degrees had been awarded by that time, one in 1885 and two in 1887. One of these was to Owen Hamilton Gates for a thesis entitled The Gigantomachia Among theGreeks and Romans. Thus, doctoral study had its origin in the classics as did the undergraduate program at the time of the founding of the College.

The Faculty received a report in 1895 from its Committee on Instruction proposing rules in relation to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and the Trustees adopted them at its June meeting in 1895. This action was immediately apparent in the catalog of 1895-96 in which the Doctor of Philosophy degree was announced:

The degree of Ph.D. is at present offered in the departments of Biology, Geology, and Social Science only. Whenever other departments, singly or in groups, have sufficient teaching force and equipment to offer courses leading to this degree, announcement will be made in the catalog.

This was followed two years later by the award of the doctorate to two candidates in the fields of geology and chemistry. But the Ph.D. program did not flourish. After the turn of the century, only five more degrees were awarded. Two of these in biology went to Avery Lambert in 1906 and to Leland Griggs in 1908. "Doc" Griggs continued as a member of the Faculty until his retirement in 1949.

Three more Ph.D. degrees were earned in the field of physiological optics in the late twenties and thirties. This work was carried on in the Dartmouth Eye Institute under the gifted leadership of Dr. Adelbert Ames. Much of this was collaborative with members of the Physics Department and was significant work, bringing credit to the College. The three recipients were Dr. Gordon Gliddon, until his retirement a member of the Physics Department, and Doctors Kenneth Ogle and Henry Imus who went on to scientific careers elsewhere.

In writing of this relatively unproductive era, Professor L. B. Richardson in his history of the College published in 1932 observed the following:

In 1895 conditions were established for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, but only three departments considered themselves prepared to meet these standards. Very few of the degrees were awarded, and the College was saved from the danger of setting up a fullfledged graduate school in a place not geographically adapted to that type of work and with inadequate financial support.

Thus by 1939 the programs initiated in 1895 had come to a decisive end and Richardson's admonition had been proved correct.

lET us turn now to the present era. Dur- _j ing the first fifteen years of the post- war period, the question of doctoral study had not arisen. Under the leadership of President Dickey, the College gave first priority to the recruitment of faculty, the development of undergraduate programs, the strengthening of the offerings in the sciences at the Master's level, and the "refounding" of the professional schools. It was only after substantial achievements had been made in all these areas that the Faculty addressed itself in 1959-60 to the possibility of reactivating doctoral studies. At that time 36 men were enrolled as candidates for the M.A. degree in the science departments of the College. In the Dartmouth Medical School the size of each class had been doubled for a to- tal enrollment of 96 students in the two- year program and more than 50 new members had been newly recruited to the medical faculty. It was from this group that discussion of doctoral study initially arose.

In April 1960 the Board of Trustees reviewed a series of proposals concerned with the development of a Ph.D. program in the Medical School and the limited extension of the M.A. programs within specifically designated departments of the College. President Dickey took the opportunity during these discussions to explain the need of today's teachers to pursue scholarly activities and he emphasized at the same time Dartmouth's determination to retain its sense of purpose as a college pre-eminent in under-graduate instruction. The new programs were approached initially in a pragmatic fashion. The Board at this meeting voted: that the development of a Ph.D. program in the Medical School be authorized provided:

(a) The program is open only to candidates possessing academic credentials of a caliber comparable to those accepted as candidates in leading Ph.D. programs elsewhere.

(b) The scope and character of the program shall be such as to permit and encourage collaborative participation by qualified members of the Division of the Sciences of the College faculty.

(c) The cost of the program shall not adversely affect the financial position of the Medical School or increase the commitment of College funds for Medical School purposes.

The way was now cleared for the development of specific proposals, but additional action was necessary. It was soon evident that the Ph.D. degree could not be offered by a professional school alone but had to come under the aegis of a body representing the entire institution and deeply committed to the philosophic tradition of the Sciences and Humanities.

An interim committee was established in October 1961 and one year later, upon recommendation of the several faculties of the College, the Council on Graduate Studies was approved by the Board. In addition to the Provost and Director of Graduate Study, its membership was to include a representative from each of the three divisions - the Sciences, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities - and from each of the professional schools of Engineering, Medicine, and Business Administration. This Council, now fully operative, is the first body representative of all faculty interests, responsible to the four faculties and to the Board of Trustees. All matters relating to graduate study, excepting professional programs in the associated schools, fall under its jurisdiction. These include policies on admission, requirements for the degree, and initiation of new graduate programs.

in the intervening year, between the fall of 1961 and before the establishment of the Council a year later, the interim committee took two important steps. First, it approved explicit proposals for the establishment of the graduate program in Molecular Biology, a collaborative program sponsored by some thirty members of the faculties of the Medical School and of the science departments. Secondly, it recommended to the Board of Trustees a Ph.D. program in Mathematics. Approval of this program in a single department of the College was perhaps the most decisive step taken in the reestablishment of doctoral study at Dartmouth. In proposing the new program the faculty in the Department of Mathematics stressed their concern for the broad education of college and university teachers. The Board of Trustees reflected this in its vote of January 1962 authorizing the new programs. The Board also stipulated for all candidates a liberal learning experience comparable to that required of a Dartmouth undergraduate and directed that the program should not adversely affect undergraduate instruction.

Thus, beginning in September 1962 the Ph.D. was offered to candidates in Mathematics and Molecular Biology. The initial financing was met by both private and federal sources. The Carnegie Corporation awarded a four-year grant of $250,000 for the Mathematics program, and graduate student fellowships were awarded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Education, and the National Institutes of Health. A number of students in the Mathematics program were awarded some of the forty Teaching Assistantships made available by the College to graduate students in the sciences.

In June 1964, in response to their request for an evaluation of the experience thus far, the Board of Trustees was informed by the Council on Graduate Studies that the experience was most satisfactory. Additional students of high caliber had been enrolled; new fellowships had been awarded by several federal agencies; and one candidate who had been in residence several years had completed all requirements for the Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology. The Board expressed its confidence in the two programs and voted: "To authorize the officers of the College to proceed with respect to graduate education on the assumption that it is the policy of the College to move forward in this area with the adoption of selectively conceived programs."

Additional programs which had been under review by the Faculty for some time were approved by the Board during the 1964-65 academic year. The first was proposed by the Department of Physics and Astronomy reflecting a fifty-year tradition of graduate work at the Master's level and a broad commitment implied by the inclusion of Astronomy in the department. The second program was established within the Medical School by the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology involving a joint curriculum in the first year and separate tracks thereafter. In June 1965 the Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences was added to complement the graduate offerings in the Thayer School which had earlier inaugurated a professional curriculum leading to the Doctorate of Engineering. Most of the students initially enrolled in this Ph.D. program are pursuing their studies in the Radiophysics Laboratory.

Only five years have passed since the recent decision was taken to admit candidates for doctoral study. In this period enrollment for advanced degrees has risen from 36 M.A. candidates in 1960 to 100 today — of whom 70 are in programs leading to the Ph.D. degree. In all likelihood, four will receive the degree in June. The College has been successful in obtaining fellowship support for all the students - much of it from such federal agencies as NASA, NSF, the Department of Defense, and the Office of Education. A number of the students have competed independently for fellowship support. During the last few years several students have transferred from outstanding institutions to complete their studies at Dartmouth. A summary of enrollment and fellowship support is given in the table opposite.

Of the 100 students, forty are newly enrolled this year. Ninety are men, 35 are married, ten are from foreign countries.

WHAT of the future? Proposals to advance the level of graduate study are at various stages of development in the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Geology. Should these come to pass and the existing programs grow to the expected levels, the graduate student body in the sciences is likely to increase to 175 in the next five years. It is also reasonable to expect increasing flexibility whereby a student can shape his doctoral studies outside the confines of a particular department, perhaps under the direction of two or three faculty members. The selective conception of his graduate program may become part of the student's own intellectual and creative experience. This will not be limited to the obvious areas of chemical physics or environmental studies, but in more diverse fields combining, for example, engineering, physiology, psychology, and computer science to study artificial intelligence.

It would be misleading to end without reference to programs under study in the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions. Although the long tradition of graduate study has been in the natural sciences, there is little question but that exciting programs will develop in other areas. The Department of Government is considering a program at the Master's level, and the Department of Psychology, which some years ago considered a program leading to the M.A., is likely to propose a Ph.D. program in the near future. The possibility of a collaborative endeavor between members of the Tuck School faculty and those in the Social Sciences Division is being explored.

Discussion in the Humanities is just beginning and the relation of graduate to undergraduate study and to faculty scholarship is less clear. There is an opportunity for a fresh approach and, as was the case five years ago, we must again be pragmatic in selecting the areas where the College can make a significant contribution.

It is certainly appropriate for Dartmouth to offer training at the graduate level in a context of deep commitment to liberal learning. The obligation to provide teachers for colleges and universities is an important reason for the new programs and is consistent with the earliest purposes in Wheelock's time when men went out to fulfill their calling with a Dartmouth A.B. degree. There has been a great change in the interim - both in the demand for graduate education and in Dartmouth's ability to meet this challenge. The inclusion of doctoral candidates in appropriately selected areas on the scale presently envisaged should be a source of continuing strength to the College. Since the time of L. B. Richardson's warning much has happened, not the least of which is an effective change in the geographical adaptation and greatly improved financial strength of the institution.

No. of Source of Support: Graduates,Program Students Federal Dartmouth June 1965 Biological Sciences 10 0 10 0 Chemistry 10 1 9 5 Geology 9 4 5 6 Molecular Biology 15* 14 1 0 Mathematics 25* 15 10 9, 1* Physics 21* 12 9 8 Physiology-Pharmacology 3* 3 0 0 Engineering Sciences 6* 6 0 0 Totals 99 55 44 29 * in Ph.D. programs

President Dickey speaking to graduate students at a get-together last month at theDOC House. Dean Rieser, author of this article, is in the left foreground.

President Dickey with the Dartmouth Board of Trustees at the annual October meeting of the Board. Seated (left to right) JohnL. Sullivan '21, Dr. Ralph W. Hunter '31, Harvey P. Hood '18, President Dickey, Governor John W. King, Dudley W. Orr '29,Lloyd D. Brace '25, Charles J. Zimmerman '23; standing: Frank L. Harrington '24, Thomas W. Braden '40, William E. Buchanan 24, Robert S. Oelman 31, John D. Dodd '22, John C. Woodhouse '21, and F. William Andres 29. CongressmanThomas B. Curtis '32 was unable to attend the meeting.