Harvard University and College.

It is desirable to inquire from time to time what part Harvard College makes of Harvard University. The answer to this inquiry must always include two elements; first, the proportion which the number of students in the Harvard College bears to the whole number of students in the University, and secondly, the relation of the required period of residence for the degree of Bachelor of Arts to the periods required for the other degrees given by the University. In both these respects the relation of the College to the University has changed within the last fifty years. The percentage of Harvard College students in the whole University has fluctuated as follows: In 1844-45 the percentage of College students was 42. It then gradually rose till it reached 52 per cent in 1849-50. Then it remained in the neighborhood of 50 per cent till 1855-56, when it suddenly rose to 55 per cent. It then declined somewhat, and from 1859 to 1864 it was again in the neighborhood of 50 per cent; but after the Civil War it declined for four years to about 44 per cent. This decline was probably due to the return from the War of young men whose education had been interrupted. They naturally entered the professional schools. In 1868-69 the percentage of College students was again at 50 per cent; but from that limit it rose gradually, during a period of fourteen years, until in 1882-83 it reached 65 per cent. These fourteen years cover most of the changes by which the standards of our professional schools were raised, and the number of their students temporarily reduced. From that maximum it has since steadily declined, until in the year 1894-95 it is again at 50 2/3 per cent.

Turning now to the periods of residence, it appears that the normal residence for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity has remained constant; that a residence of one year has been required for the degree of Master of Arts since 1872, whereas before that period no residence was required for that degree; that the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Science, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Bachelor of Agriculture, Civil Engineer and Mining Engineer have been added at various periods between 1869 and 1886; and that the required term of residence has been increased for the following degrees: Bachelor of Science from a variable period averaging about three years to a fixed period of four years; for Bachelor of Laws from eighteen months to three years; for Doctor of Medicine from three terms of about four and one-half months each to four full years. It is clear, first, that the number of professional degrees has been greatly increased during the past thirty years, and secondly that the periods of residence for these degrees have been materially lengthened. This lengthening of residence is particularly striking in the case of the two large professional schools - those of Law and Medicine. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that the practice of admission to advanced standing in the College has lately increased; so that many degrees of Bachelor of Arts are now conferred upon persons who have not completed a residence of four years. This fact more than counterbalances the effect on the other side of the account of the short periods of minimum residence for the degrees of Master of Arts (one year) and Doctor of Philosophy (two years).