Fall in Littauer Applications Reflects Federal Job Unrest

Applications for admission to the Littauer School of Public Administration have decreased by almost one-third this year because of generally unattractive conditions in the Civil Service, Robert G. McCloskey, Littauer administrator and Associate Professor of Government, said last night.

The drop in number of candidates, however, will not tend to lower the school's admissions standards, but rather will decrease its enrollment, he asserted.

Speaking on the eve of today's application deadline, McClosky said that the number of admissions candidates is about 70 per cent of last year's number. He attributed this decrease to "the feeling that it's hard to build a secure, permanent future in public service."

"Senator McCarthy and people like him have something to do with this feeling," but are not its only cause. In some measure, the attitude is due to the wave of government job changes that accompanied the last switch in federal administration, he stated.

25 Percent Acceptances

McCloskey added, however, that he is "certain the present situation is only temporary."

Littauer, which last year admitted only one out of every four applicants, will decrease the present enrollment of about 100 for next fall, while it maintains the 25 per cent proportion of acceptances, McCloskey stated.

The quota of three women now enrolled in Littauer will not be substantially different next fall. The school has no maximum on the number of women it can admit, McCloskey said, but in almost all cases women applicants must have had previous public service experience. This requirement is due to a corporation ruling, intended to limit the female enrollment which provides that students must be Littauer fellows.

Same Courses at Radcliffe

But any woman who wants to prepare for a career in government administration can enroll in the Radcliffe Graduate School and take the same courses she would study at Littauer, McCloskey said.

Since most of Littauer's present 100 students are candidates for regular degrees in other parts of the University, there are no courses given exclusively at Littauer, McCloskey explained. A typical degree sought by public administration students is the Ph.D. in political science.