walks of life. The list of eminent Englishmen, whose names are familiar even on this side of the ocean, who made such a start, is remarkable.

As a consequence, the Doctorates survived as badges of the clerical and medical professions. On the other hand, when not able naturalists or humanists were "doctored," it was a matter of honorificundability-they had probably done their perfect work, and were nigh ready for the shelf. Very naturally, then, Oxford was inclined to smile at the Ph.D., with more than a suspicion of irony. The Herr Doktor was viewed as a curious, amusing or interesting specimen of Teutonic formalism. While the American Doctorate did not become known till yesterday, and our notorious weakness precisely in disciplines where Oxford is strongest tarnished its repute. Obviously, circumstances being what they were, the Oxford man could see little or no meaning in the Ph.D. Rather, he was prone to thank God that the First Class could be neither Potsdamned nor vulgarised. So the Ph.D. seemed unnecessary, when it was not suspect. Besides, it could not be made to fit promotion from the B.A. thru Mastership.

II

Towards the end of the nineteenth century-in the later eighties, to be precise-the question of Doctorates attainable by postgraduate study was agitated, mainly in the Scottish universities. As a result, the Scottish Universities Commission of 1888 instituted three Doctorates which, by Statute, must be earned and can not be conferred causa honoris tantum. They were the D.Phil., D.Litt., and D.Sc., awarded for eminence in philosophy, the humanities, and the sciences respectively. The requirements, which do not concern us here, were so drawn as to be difficult of fulfilment by nongraduates of the Scottish universities; and the degrees, in Philosophy and Letters particularly, have been gained almost exclusively by men of more or less established reputation. In many respects, they present an interesting parallel to the French Doctorat. I may say in passing that I have urged the Scottish universities to make provision for a Doctorate under

conditions that Americans might meet. But, so far, nothing has been done. Following the lead of the Scottish universities, Oxford and Cambridge instituted the degrees of D.Litt. and D.Sc. (Litt.D. and Sc.D. at Cambridge). To this point, they have been awarded to distinguished graduates of these universities and, as honorary degrees, to eminent foreigners. They are earned exclusively by Oxford and Cambridge graduates, so far as I can discover. Consequently, foreign graduate students were left out in the cold.

Incredible as it may seem to Americans, Oxford proceeded to fill the gap by instituting two baccalaureate degrees, in Letters and Science respectively (B.Litt. and B.Sc.). This move was probably due to the medieval tradition, that one must enter the corporation by way of a Bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, the B.Litt. (B.L.) degree, familiar in the United States, is a survival from the transition period of the nineties, when the A.B., Ph.B., and B.L. were conferred by the Literary College, the two last being held inferior to the A.B., the B.L. emphatically the "lame duck." Similarly, the B.S., thanks to professional or technical associations, had no connection with graduate work so far as we were concerned. Naturally, then, the Oxford postgraduate awards possest little attraction, because their implications were not evident on the face of them to the American public. Indeed, our reference was entirely different. I take it that a gradual appreciation of these facts, due to the presence of the Rhodes scholars, led the Oxford authorities to recognise the need for the Ph.D., if American advanced students were to be attracted in any numbers.

III

In so far as they affect American candidates, the Statutes for the Ph.D. contain the following essential provisions:

1. Age must not be less than twenty-two at the time of admission.

2. Possession of a degree to be approved, and from a university to be approved by the Committee for Advanced Studies. 3. An undergraduate course of at least four years.

4. Production of evidence of fitness to engage in research such as to satisfy the Committee for Advanced Studies.

5. A minimum residence of two academic years as a matriculated member of the University of Oxford. A minimum period of study of two years and nine months. Thus, part of the course may be pursued away from Oxford and, specifically, six months of it may be pursued at the university where the candidate obtained his first degree. (But, on the whole, a candidate should calculate upon a period of three years.)

6. The minimum total of fees payable to the university is fifty-two pounds ($245). These include matriculation, terminal, examination and diploma fees. For every term (three terms in the academic year) beyond the two years' minimum, add $30 to this total. (These fees cover no living expenses.)

IV

It is quite evident that Oxford means to exact a high standard alike in the dissertation and the examination. The importance of the examination system in the Honour A.B. course will maintain the latter; the great part played by "essay-writing" in the ordinary conduct of tutorial instruction will maintain the former. It is evident, too, that the examination will play a larger part in the humanistic than in the scientific subjects. The dissertation must be approved before the candidate can be admitted to examination. It must be published and a copy placed in the Bodleian Library, or arrangements for such publication and deposit must be guaranteed to the satisfaction of the proper authorities. As to teaching: Advanced Students (the Oxford name for postgraduates) will be relegated to the care of a "Supervisor," whose "duty shall be to direct and superintend, but not to give systematic instruction." In other words, the authorities anticipate that Advanced Students will be sufficiently advanced to work on their own account. At the same time, it is well for Americans to remember that the Oxford tradition of personal attention to students is so strong that, even without "systematic instruction," they may expect careful oversight. In any case, they must expect to be

"sized up," and thoroly. Personal bearing and character will affect the final reckoning without doubt.

On all counts, then, Americans may look forward to the Oxford Ph.D. as an award indicative of real merit, certain to carry weight. It may take them some time to realize that this is likely to be as true of a degree earned in the sciences as of one earned in the humanities. It may also take them some time to realise that Oxford has much to give thru association with men and customs, and thanks to a perspective from which fancies and delusions have been eliminated by the chastening influence of splendid memories. Above all, they may learn in the grey, old city what they so much need to learn-that

Otio qui nescit uti, plus negoti habet,
Quam cum est negotium in negotio.

For the man himself ought to be a product incomparably more important than any dissertation, his personal equation far more significant than any degree. Indeed, if Oxford remain true to herself, we may hope that her new Doctorate will be impossible of attainment by anyone who, despite external marks, continues to evince so little intellectual experience as to be, in the things of the mind, no better than an industrious peasant.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

R. M. WENLEY

IV

OUTSIDE PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF PROFESSIONAL FACULTIES1

In order to economize time for the fuller discussion of matters about which we may differ, I shall assume at the outset that we all substantially subscribe to the following seven propositions:

1. That professional faculties for the purpose of this discussion shall be limited to the professional faculties of universities, and that extra-university medical schools are not in consideration.

2. That the essential distinction between a university teacher and a teacher in a secondary school or college resides in the obligation which rests upon the former to advance knowledge in his subject, in addition to imparting knowledge.

3. That the essential distinction between a university student and a school boy or college student lies in the fact that the former aims to become a worker in his chosen subject and, therefore, seeks training in methods, whereas the latter, if he has any interest in learning at all, seeks knowledge about the subjects studied as a means to general culture. In this aim students in technical schools and professional schools are one with the Ph.D. students of philosophical faculties. On the other hand, in American institutions with graded courses of instruction and rigid separation of students into classes, the professional student can not choose his teacher in each individual subject, but can only choose a group of teachers in the subjects taught in one or more years of the course. In this respect the professional school is midway between the undergraduate and the graduate school, whatever its requirements for entrance. Only after he has obtained his professional degree can the student of medicine choose his own masters.

4. That the inclusion of a member of a medical faculty in this discussion is evidence of a consciousness that, in the medical schools of the United States, professors have in the past far too

1 A paper read at the annual meeting of the Association of American Universities, at Iowa City, Iowa, November 10, 1917. Dr. Janeway died after a brief illness on December 27, 1917.