The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-24

He will be able during his undergradua
| days to cover good part OF the first year
of work formerly spent in a professional
school,
While this change does not shorten the
| college course it does remove the basis
of the criticism that has recently become
common that too much time is spent by
| young men fitting for a professional life
in the studies OF their college and pro-
| fessionaI course. This criticism has acted
at Yale in a peculiar way. In order to
save a year in college a good many stu
| dents have recently taken the scientific
course, which is only three years. in pref
erence to the four-year academic course.
AS the course of the scientific school is
not fitted for boys entering most of the
professions, the faculty has regarded this
as a mistake and has therefore favored
any change that would alter this.
The greatest change in the character Of
the courses offered at Yale is the increased
number of courses in the English lam
guage So many new courses in English
have been added, and they have been made
so attractive that they have become the
most popular of all the elective courses.
Five or six years ago the very opposite
was true. The English courses were the
most unpopular in the curriculum. This
year, out of a class of 800 sophomores, 259
N.
physics, 202 history, 157 mathematics. 1872
French, 17S German, 4S chemistry. These
figures siiysy a marked tendency among the
undergraduates to acquire more thorough
| knowledge OF the English language in pref
erence to sacrificing the study of English
in order to get a superficial knowledge Of
other and less useful branches
Another interesting change will be the
introduction into the department of polit-
l g. No.
have direct bearing upon business profess
sions. and of soms that have been intro
duced as the result of the acquisition Of the
new United States colonies. For example,
there will be offered this fall for the first
time courses in colonial government, in
the history of European colonies in Asia
and Africa, in speculation and modern
business methods in the industrial history
OF the United States, in American social
conditions. and in Industrial combinations,
or, in other words. course in trusts.
These courses will be conducted by some
of the new professors who will begin work
at Yale this fall. One of them is Henry
Crosby Emory OF Bowdoin College who
will, in a measure be the successor OF
President Hadley In the department of
political science. 1t is believed that the
opening of these new courses. some of
which are intended to At students for en-
States. will not only prove popular and
novel, but will be very useful to many
students. These are ideas that have been
introduced by President Hadley. They are
entirely new to Yale and the men who will
have charge of these courses will be new
to Yale.
Another radical change that Yale has
been slow to make is the changing OF the
study of philosophy in the junior and the
senior years from a required to an elective
course. The change has been opposed foi
years by the theological element in the
faculty. This element has been growing
smaller and smaller. and at last the op-
position has been overcome. 1t will be-
interesting to note the result Of the
change. The study Of philosophy and the
ethics of religion is dry timber and has
never been popular among the under,
graduates. They have always regarded it
as a bore and the great majority have got
little good from the study. Last year 1858
seniors and juniors took the courses OF
psychology and ethics because they had to
take them. This year. the courses being
elective. 116 seniors and thirty-eight
juniors have taken these courses. The
students who have dropped out of these
studies have as r1le. elected English
and rhetoric, which would seem to indicate
a more practical and a less Theoretical
turn of mind among the undergraduates.