The University of Virginia record :: March 15, 1932

While the original organization of the Academic Schools of the University
by Jefferson contemplated instruction of graduate grade in each School, the
first "post-graduate department" in the modern sense was instituted in 185960
by Basil L. Gildersleeve, then Professor of Greek in the institution. The
degree of Master of Arts continued to be conferred upon graduates in all six
Schools of the University. Professor Gildersleeve conducted graduate courses
in the School of Greek; shortly after the Civil War a "post-graduate department"
was announced for the School of Latin. Graduate courses were offered
in individual Schools, but there was no general department organization for
graduate study until 1904. In that year the Department of Graduate Studies
was established as a regular co-ordinate division of the University, with
definitely prescribed regulations corresponding to the requirements of the
Association of American Universities, in which the University of Virginia
was the first Southern university to hold membership. The degree of Doctor
of Philosophy had, however, been offered by the University as far back as
1880, and the first doctor's degree was awarded in 1885. The present requirements
for graduate degrees, with certain modifications, have been in force since 1904.

THE GRADUATE HOUSE

The Graduate House, administrative headquarters of the Department of
Graduate Studies, is on West Lawn. Besides the Dean's office, this building
contains one large lecture-room for graduate classes and four seminar rooms
specially equipped for small groups of students and professors engaged in advanced
graduate work. At present the class-rooms are used for certain advanced
courses in the Schools of English and History. The Bruce Collection of books
for the use of graduate students in English is in this building. This departmental
library, endowed by the late Professor J. Douglas Bruce of the University
of Tennessee, an alumnus of the University, contains valuable source
material.

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LIBRARY FACILITIES

The University Libraries contain 192,383 volumes. Departmental libraries,
notably those of the Scientific Schools, the Classical, the English,
the Social Sciences, and the Heck Memorial Library of the Department of
Education, have about 50,000 volumes. The Medical Library, now in the
new Medical Buildings, is spacious and well equipped for graduate study.
Graduate students may, through the office of the General Library, get certain
books needed in research from other libraries on the interlibrary loan
system. Library facilities for graduate study, both in arts and sciences, are
steadily improving in books and other equipment.

GRADUATE CLUBS

An assembly of students and officials of the Graduate Department is
held early in the session for professional and social purposes. Addresses
are delivered by members of the Faculty or by visiting scholars. Besides
this general meeting there are regular weekly or bi-weekly conferences of
graduate students and professors for discussion of topics connected with
graduate study. In the various physical sciences, in medical science,
in the social sciences, and in humanistic studies, graduate clubs, composed
of students and professors, are actively engaged in stimulating investigation
and publication in their respective fields. The scientific society
of Sigma Xi is an important organization for the advancement of technical
knowledge. The University Committee on Research, while not specifically
an organization of the Department of Graduate Studies, is a valuable
auxiliary of the Department. This committee administers an annual appropriation
for promoting research in the various Departments of the University,
especially in the matter of the publication of the results of original
investigation, and so aids the general cause of advanced scholarship. An
annual volume, "Publications and Research," containing summaries of contributions
by professors and students of the Graduate Department, is issued
by the University.

SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES

Each Scientific School occupies a separate building with an extensive
laboratory and a select departmental library. Statements in regard to laboratories
and general scientific equipment in the Schools of Astronomy, Biology,
Chemistry, Geology, Physics, and the Department of Medicine may be
found under the announcements of those Schools. More detailed information
is contained in the General Catalogue.

ORGANIZATION

The immediate direction of the Department of Graduate Studies is vested
in the Dean and an Administrative Committee of eight professors, appointed
by the President, two of whom serve only during the Summer Quarter. The
Faculty of the Graduate Department consists of those professors in the
Academic Schools and the Medical School who offer graduate courses.

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Courses marked C are for graduates and advanced undergraduates; those
marked D are for graduates only. In the Department of Medicine the
regular courses are evaluated as C courses; elective, special and research
courses, and seminars as D courses. The prerequisites for each course are indicated,
varying from 6 to 12 session-hours of college work. The various
Schools, or departments, fall into four general divisions, or groups, as follows:

Group I—Languages, Literature, Fine Arts, and Music.

English, French, German, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, Biblical Literature, Architecture, Music.

Group II—Social and Philosophical Sciences.

Commerce, Economics, Education, History, Philosophy,
Psychology, Political Science, Sociology.

Group III—Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics,
Physics.

Group IV—Medical Sciences.

Anatomy and Anthropology, Bacteriology and Preventive
Medicine, Biochemistry, Dermatology and Syphilology, Histology
and Embryology, Neurology, Pathology, Pharmacology,
Physiology and Surgery.

REGISTRATION

Every graduate student, new or old, is required to register at the office
of the Dean of the Department, Graduate House, West Lawn, where he will
be advised in regard to a program of studies. All women students must first
register at the office of the Dean of Women, 20 East Lawn. The first three
days of the session are devoted to registration. Every applicant for admission
to the Graduate Department as candidate for a degree must file with the Dean
an official transcript of his college record. Admission to the Department does
not necessarily imply acceptance for candidacy for a degree. All applications
will be passed upon by the Committee on Rules and Courses of the
Department of Graduate Studies early in the first term, and each applicant
will be formally notified by the Dean of the tentative approval of his candidacy.
The final approval of his candidacy will depend upon his record
during the first term, or quarter, of his residence.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Admission to the Department.—For admission to the Department of
Graduate Studies a baccalaureate degree from a recognized institution of collegiate
rank is required, for men and women alike. For students in the
Medical Science Group, the M. D. degree will be accepted in lieu of a baccalaureate
degree. In order to become a candidate for a degree, the student
must be advanced to candidacy by the Committee on Rules and Courses
upon formal application, as set forth below.

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Advancement to Candidacy for a Degree.—Any graduate student who
wishes to become a candidate for a degree must file with the Dean of the
Department his application on a blank form to be secured from the Dean's
Secretary. This application must include a proposed program of work arranged
in accordance with the requirements for the several degrees as stated
below, and must be accompanied, in case the applicant does not hold an academic
degree from this University, by an official transcript of the applicant's
academic record made out by the Registrar of the institution from which the
baccalaureate degree was received, and by a catalogue of that institution,
marked to show the courses of study pursued. The application will be submitted
by the Dean to the Committee on Rules and Courses, who will consider
it in conference with the professors concerned. The Committee will
have the right to require that the applicant add to his program any courses,
undergraduate or graduate, considered necessary to supply his deficiencies,
or to enable him to pursue with profit the courses he has selected. When
the program has been finally approved, the Dean will report to the applicant
his advancement to candidacy for a degree.

It should be distinctly understood that graduate degrees are not conferred
merely upon the basis of the number of courses passed, or of the length of
time spent in resident or non-resident work, but upon the basis of the quality
and scope of the candidate's knowledge, and his power of investigation in his
chosen field of study. Candidates whose training and attainments are inferior
cannot expect to secure a degree in the normal length of time estimated below
for the respective degrees.

As a prerequisite to full candidacy for a Master's degree, at least 6 collegiate
session-hours of foreign language credit are required. A reading knowledge
of foreign languages may be attested by an examination.

REQUIREMENTS FOR DEGREES

Master of Arts.—The degree of Master of Arts will be conferred upon
the holder of a degree of Bachelor of Arts who has fulfilled the following
requirements:

(1) The successful completion, in not less than one full year of resident
graduate work, of the program of studies approved for the candidate by the
Committee on Rules and Courses, as embodied in his formal application for
advancement to candidacy. This application must be submitted early in the
session in which it is expected that the degree will be conferred. The program
must form a consistent plan of work, to be pursued with some definite
aim, and grouped around some one subject to be known as the candidate's
Major Subject, the name of which will be incorporated in the body of each
diploma conferring the degree. The program should be arranged in consultation
with the professors concerned, and must be approved in writing
by a professor of the candidate's Major Subject, who shall be designated by
the Dean of the Department of Graduate Studies, after consultation with the
candidate. Ordinarily, courses aggregating 12 session-hours, or 24 semester-hours,
are required of candidates for a Master's degree.

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(2) The preparation and submission of a thesis, to be accepted as satisfactory
by the professor of the candidate's Major Subject. Two copies of
the thesis, typewritten on paper of good quality, 8½ by 11 inches, and bound
in stiff board or cloth covers, must be deposited in the office of the Dean of the
Department of Graduates Studies not later than May 15 of the year in which
it is expected that the degree will be conferred. The back of the cover must
bear the title of the thesis and the writer's name, and the title page must carry
the author's name, degree, and the subject of the thesis, followed by the words:
A thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in
candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts.

(3) A final comprehensive examination, oral or written, after the acceptance
of the candidate's thesis, conducted by the candidate's major professor
and two or more of his departmental colleagues.

Master of Science.—The degree of Master of Science will be conferred
upon the holder of a degree of Bachelor of Science who fulfills requirements
corresponding to those stated above for the degree of Master of Arts. The
degree of Master of Science, like that of Master of Arts, is regarded as a
cultural rather than a professional degree and the prerequisites for candidacy,
including a reading knowledge of foreign languages, are estimated accordingly.

No extension or correspondence courses will be credited toward a Master's
degree.

Doctor of Philosophy.—The degree of Doctor of Philosophy will be conferred
upon the holder of a baccalaureate degree who has fulfilled the following
requirements:

(1) A reading knowledge of French and German sufficient to enable the
student to use these languages for purposes of research. This knowledge shall
be attested by examinations in those languages set by the candidate's major
professor, or by some one in his School designated by him. Examination
papers shall be read and marked by professors in the Schools of French and
German. The language examinations of candidates for the Ph.D. degree
should be held by October 1 of the session preceding the final academic year
of candidacy for the degree. Credit in this University for not less than 3 session-hours
in B courses in either language may, on the approval of the School of
the candidate's Major Subject, be accepted as satisfying the requirement in that
language. Upon recommendation of the professor of the Major Subject, and at
the discretion of the Graduate Committee, some other foreign language may be
substituted for either French or German.

(2) The successful completion, in not less than three full years of graduate
work, of the program of studies approved for the candidate by the Graduate
Committee as embodied in his formal application. The application for advancement
to candidacy should be submitted to the Dean not later than October 15
of the session preceding the final year of candidacy for the degree, and must be
submitted by October 15 of his final year. The program of studies must include
a Major Subject, pursued for at least three years, and a Minor Subject, pursued
for at least one year. The Minor Subject must be closely related to the
Major Subject, and the program as a whole must contribute to the mastery of
some definite field of knowledge as an object of study and research. The name

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of the Major Subject will be incorporated in the body of the diploma conferring
the degree. At least one year of advanced graduate study, preferably the last,
must be spent in residence. By special permission of the Graduate Committee the
student may be allowed to complete his dissertation in absentia under the direction
of his major professor.

(3) A Dissertation exhibiting independent research in some branch of the
candidate's Major Subject, submitted in complete form to the Special Departmental
Committee, of which the candidate's major professor is chairman, not
later than May 1 of the last year of candidacy. The two copies submitted shall
be typewritten upon paper of good quality, 8½ by 11 inches, and substantially
bound. The cover shall bear the title of the dissertation and the name of the
writer; the title page shall also carry the subject of the dissertation, with the
author's name and academic degree or degrees, and in addition the following
words: A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of
Virginia in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Upon approval
of the dissertation the candidate shall arrange for the publication, at the earliest
practicable date, of the whole or such portions of the dissertation as the Departmental
Committee shall direct. With the consent of the department concerned,
the dissertation may be lithoprinted. If publication prior to the conferring of
the degree be impracticable, the candidate must deposit with the Bursar the
sum of One Hundred Dollars as a guarantee that 52 copies will be deposited in
the University Library when printed. This sum will be returned to the author
by the Bursar upon notification by the Librarian that this requirement has been
complied with.

(4) A final examination, oral, written, or both, in addition to all examinations
in course, upon such phases of the Major Subject and of allied subjects,
as the Special Committee (described below) shall prescribe. Ordinarily no
candidate may be admitted to the final examination until his dissertation has
been accepted. Preliminary examinations may, in addition, be required by individual
Schools, as stated under the announcements of these Schools.

Upon approval of the dissertation, the Dean will appoint, upon nomination
of the School concerned, a Special Committee of not less than three professors
under the chairmanship of the professor of the candidate's Major Subject, and
including a representative of the Graduate Committee. This Special Committee
may, through its chairman, invite other members of the departmental faculty
to take part in the examination of the candidate. The result of the examination
should be promptly reported to the Registrar.

Grade.—A graduate student's standing in a course is indicated by one of
the following symbols: A, B+, B, C. A, B+, and B are passing grades: A is
distinguished, B+ is very good, B is satisfactory, C is unsatisfactory. Failure to
attain the grade of B on any one term will invalidate candidacy for the degree
in the current session.

Only graduate courses may be counted toward a graduate degree.

Summer Session.—The Master's degree may be won by properly qualified
persons in three full Summer Quarters. In no case will this degree be conferred
without resident graduate study during three quarters, the equivalent
in time of the long session. Not more than two graduate courses each

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term of the Summer Quarter will be credited toward the degree except by
special permission of the Dean and the Committee concerned. At least 12 session-hours
of graduate work are required for the Master's degree.

A candidate for the Master's degree in the Summer Quarter must register
with the Dean of the Graduate Department and submit a program of studies
in accordance with the regulations prescribed for admission to candidacy for
that degree in the long session. In addition to the preparation of a thesis,
a final examination, written or oral, upon the program of study and acceptable
to the professor of the candidate's Major Subject in the long session
of the University, will be required. Candidates for degrees at the Summer
Quarter Convocation must hand in their theses by August 1 and take their final
comprehensive examinations as soon as their theses have been approved.

Graduate Students in the Summer Quarter are required to make their
Masters' degrees within five summers after admission to full candidacy. Graduate
students are strongly advised to continue their residence during one
or more terms of the long session. Candidates for degrees at the Summer
Quarter Convocation must notify the Graduate office of their intentions at the
beginning of the Summer Quarter.

Fellowships.—A list of Fellowships available for graduate students will
be found on page 174.

A special Bulletin of the Department of Graduate Studies is issued each year.
This contains detailed information as to courses and regulations of the Department,
and should be consulted by persons interested. This Bulletin and further
information will be supplied by the Dean of the Department of Graduate Studies.

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DEPARTMENT OF GRADUATE STUDIES

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