EXPERIMENTING WITH THE A. M.

The somewhat incongruous place now occupied by the A. M. degree has recently occasioned' much discussion among educators. Unlike the situation at English universities where it forms the crown of undergraduate study the master's degree has never had any definite standing among American universities. And since the widening scope of scholarship has intensified specialization, extended research work has come to be considered a necessity. Consequently the Ph.D. has superseded it as the general goal of graduate study. Because of this the master's degree has been reduced to the dubious position of a half-way house between dilletantism and scholarship.

In the current number of the Alumni Bulletin, Eidon Griffin '16 suggests that the prestige of this degree could be restored by reserving it for those who wish to secure a command of their subject for intellectual rather than professional reasons. In order to enhance its distinction, he would require two years of graduate residence instead of the single one now prescribed. The work of these two years would be cultural rather than technical. The aspirant for this degree, though left more to his own resources than he had been in his undergraduate career, would still have access to lectures and the tutorial system. At the end of his term of preparation, the student would submit an essay, roughly corresponding to but much less exhaustive than the thesis for the doctorate, which would show his fitness to be considered a master of his field.

As a means of supplying the deficiencies which have handicapped liberal education in this country under the reign of the bachelor's degree, there is much to be said for Mr. Griffin's plan. Its weakness lies in the fact that very few men can afford the time necessary to secure an A.M. before entering the professional schools. Naturally such a course of study would appeal most, as well as olier the greatest value to those intending to become instructors. But as long as universities insist upon the Ph.D., as the indispensable credential for membership in their faculties, the broader curriculum suggested by Mr. Griffin will have no place in the teacher's preparation.