 | The University of Virginia record March 15, 1930 |  |
DEPARTMENT OF GRADUATE STUDIES
EDWIN ANDERSON ALDERMAN, Ph.B., D.C.L., LL.D.
President of the University
JOHN CALVIN METCALF, M.A., Litt.D., LL.D.
Dean of the Department of Graduate Studies
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
The Dean and Professors Manahan, Mitchell, Benton, Snavely, Balz,
Jordan; for the Summer Quarter, The Dean and Professors
Faulkner and Kepner.
HISTORICAL STATEMENT
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. The present requirements for graduate degrees, with minor 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 three seminar
rooms on the second floor specially equipped for small groups of students
and professors engaged in advanced graduate work. Each seminar room has
a small library for the use of advanced graduate students in the courses
conducted in that room. The building is therefore the administrative office
of the Department and the workshop of part of its humanistic section. At
present the class-rooms are used for certain C and D courses in the Schools
of English, History, Philosophy, Economics, Biblical Literature, and Political
Science. The central location of this house and its proximity to the
General Library make it particularly adapted to departmental use.
LIBRARY FACILITIES
The University Libraries contain 163,162 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 both in books and equipment.
GRADUATE CLUBS
Several general meetings of the students and officials of the Graduate
Department are held during the session for professional and social purposes.
Addresses are delivered by members of the Faculty or by visiting
scholars. Besides these general conferences there are regular weekly or biweekly
meetings 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.
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, Biochemistry,
Dermatology and Syphilology, Histology and Embryology,
Neurology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Public Health and
Hygiene, 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.
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.
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.
(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 prescribed quality and size, and substantially
bound, must be deposited in the office of the Dean of the Department
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 bear the words:
A thesis presented to the Academic 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 one 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) The successful completion, in not less than three full years of graduate
work, of the program of studies approved for the candidate by the Committee
on Rules and Courses, as embodied in the student's formal application
for advancement to candidacy. This application must be submitted not later
than October 1 of the session preceding the final year of candidacy for the
degree. The program of studies must include a Major Subject, pursued for
at least three years, and one 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 of the Major Subject
will be incorporated in the body of the diploma conferring the degree.
At least two years of graduate study must be spent in residence. By special
permission of the Committee on Rules and Courses the student may be allowed
to complete his dissertation in absentia under the direction of his major
professor.
Upon advancement to candidacy the Dean will appoint 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
Committee on Rules and Courses. This committee will conduct the candidate's
final examinations, and pass upon his dissertation.
(2) 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
shall be held by October 1 of the session preceding the final academic year
of candidacy for the degree. Upon recommendation of the professor of the
some other language may be substituted for either French or German.
(3) A final examination, written, oral, or both, in addition to all examinations
in course, upon such phases of the Major Subject and of allied subjects,
as the special committee shall prescribe. No candidate can 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.
(4) A Dissertation exhibiting independent research in some branch of
the candidate's Major Subject, submitted in complete form to the Special
Committee not later than April 15 of the last year of candidacy. The copy
submitted shall be typewritten upon paper of prescribed quality and size, and
shall be substantially bound. The cover shall bear the title of the dissertation
and the name of the writer, and the title page shall bear the words: A
Dissertation presented to the Academic Faculty of the University of Virginia
in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Upon approval of the
dissertation the candidate must arrange for the publication, at the earliest
practicable date, of the whole or such portions of the dissertation as the
Special Committee shall direct. If publication prior to the conferring of the
degree be impracticable, the candidate must deposit with the Bursar a sum
of money sufficient to cover the cost of 50 copies, which shall be the property
of the University Library. Two copies, in addition, must be placed in the
office of the Dean of the Graduate Department.
Grade.—A graduate student's standing in a course is indicated not by
a numerical grade, but by one of the following terms: Distinguished, Satisfactory,
Unsatisfactory. Failure to attain the grade of "Satisfactory" on any
one term will invalidate candidacy for the degree in the current session.
Only those courses marked C and D 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 regular session. Not more than two graduate courses each
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 regular 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 regular session
of the University, will be required. Candidates for degrees at Summer
Quarter Commencement 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
or more terms of the regular session.
Fellowships.—A list of Fellowships available for graduate students will
be found on page 178.
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.
| The University of Virginia record March 15, 1930 | |