The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-06-23
new DEPARTMENTS
At UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON STATE INSTlTU-
TIoN TAKES IMPORTANT
STEP FORWARD.

Will Be Conferred by coIiege-Poli-
cies Announced include Development
Along Civic and Federal Lines.
Seattle, June 19.-After several years
of preparation, the University of Wash
ington has reached that point where it
now can confer doctors degrees, &C
cording to President Thomas F. Kane.
who has outlined the policy and pro-
posed changes of the state institution
tor next year. Departments will be
SO constituted beginning next Septem-
Der. that advanced students will be
able to work towards the. degree of
Doctor of Philosophy, and the various
other honorary degrees will be rapidly
added. Heretofore nothing but bache-
lors' and masters degrees have been
accredited at Washington.
The policies announced by the uni
versity's head include opportunity for
development along civic and federal
lines. Under DR.. Kane's administra-
ton attention has been paid to those
branches that will turn out specialists
in problems peculiar to the Northwest
and this work will be much broadened
in 1911-1912.
Courses in Graduate Work.
"At this time," said President Kane,
"the university is adopting policy
that will mark distinct epoch in its
development This is the policy of Civ.
ing complete courses of graduate work.
The university has been preparing for
this for several years, and has insti-
tuted in it's preparation three distinct
lines. First is the regular work of
training such as every cOllegian re-
ceives; second is the professional, en-
cheering and practical schools; and
third is the direct service rendered by
university men with the state and ma
ton.
1--WE have now seven men who also
are connected with the state in various
departments, and we also are co-operat-
ing with the federal government in a
Oxen or more lines. Recently we were
notified that the United States Forest
Service will place one of two great
laboratories at Washington, the other
going to Wisconsin. Phis will mean
the removal to the university of ma
chinery and other valuable additions.
Closely related to all these three
lines of work will be the graduate
work leading to degrees. We had this
year at Washington sixty-five students
who previously had taken the bache-
lors' degree and who were working in
nineteen different departments. Many
of them desire to work beyond the
masters degree. A necessary back
ground is research work and investi-
cation. A solid foundation for this
has already been laid.
Original Investigation.
Original work of investigation is
being carried on at this time in twenty
four different departments, and the
men are working on 1O9 different prob
lens. Among them may, be mentioned
the pressure of aeroplane wings, the
influence of sunlight on tuberculosis,
the mollusks of San Juan islands, the
effect of sunlight on reinforced con-
crete, the types, cause and effect Of
goitre.
THE Independent work being done
by the faculty may be shown by the
publications. The results of it's work
measured in this way is now repre-
sented by forty different books of thir-
teen departments, and by 256 publish
ed articles from seventeen depart
mentS.
"The plans for the work are conser-
vative and safe. A department will
not offer graduate work until its plans
for the work have been approved by
the faculty, and further, no doctors
degree will be conferred before 1914.
This means that this course contem-
plates three years solid work, and this
somewhat arbitrary rule means that
all candidates are expected to go
through the regular courses of work.
Varsity Well Equipped.
=. ! e
Il believe that the university is well
equipped to do this work There are
on the faculty as made up for next
fall, forty-three men who have COM
plete training represented by the doc
tors degree. Besides this is the fact
that some of the best equipped men
that we have and the most devoted to
their work are men who have not had
the formal training that leads to the
doctors degree.
1T must be kept in mind that the
training for many departments Of our
work Is not such training as leads to
the doctors degree. In schedule our
instructors have not had the time that
they would need for graduate work,
but the schedule has been considerably
improved for the coming year and
allowance can be made in most depart:
mentS where graduate work il r. ho