The War of Independence severely affected the Faculty's academic staff, some of whom emigrated, while others were imprisoned. The long-term development plans that had been conceived in 1848 had to be taken off the agenda for a long time. Nonetheless, some modernisation did take place during this reactionary period; from 1850 on, secondary school graduation became compulsory for admission to the university. Although practitioners were still being trained in nine departments, the surgical master's programme, which had previously been constantly filled to capacity, withered and was eventually discontinued. In 1872, the surgical guilds were also dissolved.