tees, and the character of degrees, diplomas, or certificates awarded is at the discretion of the heads of the institutions.

Being therefore free from civil control, each institution takes its own course and develops itself in its own way, adding the contribution of its own experience to the solution of the problem of women's superior education.

Variety of standard.-Hence is found among these institutions professing like aims and claiming like rank a great diversity of standards, the standards varying with sections and localities and with the intelligence and culture of communities in which they are found. Hence also the great freedom in selecting names. Of the 205 reporting, 107 are designated as colleges. But it is evident that but a small proportion, if any, of these exercise as yet functions strictly and appropriately academic or collegiate. Degrees, &c.-The annexed statement shows by States the number of degrees reported as conferred by these schools in 1873. The names of the degrees are almost as various as the names of the institutions conferring them. Of course their value must vary as the standard of culture in the schools.

It is noticeable that the New England schools for women included in this table, although ranking probably with the best in the country, only in one instance report academic degrees.

Institutions for the superior instruction of women, in Table VII.

Corporate property, &c.-It will be observed that a large number of the institutions did not respond to these inquiries. Of the 205 embraced in the table, only 66 schools gave the amount of corporate property; 147 reported value of grounds, buildings, and apparatus; only 15 reported amount of productive funds; only 13 reported income from productive funds; and 79 reported receipts from all other sources during the year.

New colleges for women.-The Sage College for Women, at Cornell, has not yet developed its plan of management; but from the hints given in the circular it may be supposed that it will be not unlike the one at Evanston. It will be opened in 1874.

Two new institutions in Massachusetts, the Smith College, at Northampton, and the Wellesley College, Needham, both having about $1,000,000 to begin with and both designed to afford to women the opportunity for a large and liberal education, with fair attention to the specialties of their sex and to good physical, as well as mental, training, will probably open in 1874.

Co-education. The foregoing summary, however, does not exhibit the total provision for the higher education of women. Several universities and colleges recently organized admit both young men and young women to their halls, while quite a number of colleges, which formerly admitted young men only, have now thrown open their doors to women. The number of these in New England is 5, which reported 25 women-stu

dents, all in regular collegiate courses; in the Middle States 8, with 632 students, of whom 370 were in preparatory departments, and 262 in regular college-course; in the Western States 67 institutions claiming collegiate rank reported 5,505 female students, of whom 4,223 were in preparatory and 1,282 in regular college-courses; and in the Southern States 17 such institutions reported 1,195 female students, of whom 817 were in preparatory and 378 in regular college-courses; making a total in these institutions of 7,357 female students, of whom 5,410 were reported in preparatory departments and 1,947 in regular college-courses.

Women are also admitted to several of the agricultural and mechanical colleges and other schools of science, (see Table IX of the appendix.) The number reported in these was 784, of whom 212 were in preparatory departments and 572 in the regular course; making a total of female students in mixed colleges in 1873 of 8,141, of whom 5,622 were in preparatory departments and 2,519 in regular collegiate courses.

Harvard examinations for women.—The admission of young women to their curriculumn on an equality with young men by several old and well-established colleges and the examinations for women recently instituted by Harvard University on the plan of the local examinations carried on by the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and London are destined to raise the standard as well as to modify in no small degree past theories and methods of woman's education. These examinations, the first of which is to be held in June, 1874, are of two grades: (1) a general or preliminary examination for young women who are not less than 17 years old; (2) an advanced examination for young women who have passed the preliminary examination and are not less than 18 years old.

I. Preliminary examinations.—The preliminary examination will embrace the following subjects: English, French, physical geography, either elementary botany or elementary physics, arithmetic, algebra through quadratic equations, plane-geometry, history, and any one of the three languages German, Latin, and Greek. Candidates for the preliminary examination must specify which of the elective studies (German, Latin, or Greek) they will take.

II. Advanced examinations.-The advanced examinations will be divided into five sections, in one or more of which the candidate may present herself. No person will be admitted to the advanced examination till she has passed the preliminary examination; but in 1874 candidates can pass both examinations in the same year. Candidates for the advanced examination must specify which section and which subjects they select. These sections are as follows:

(1) Languages.-Candidates may offer any two of the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Greek.

(2) Natural science.-Candidates may offer any two of the following subjects: Chemistry, physics, botany, mineralogy, geology.

(3) Mathematics.- Candidates must present solid geometry, algebra, logarithms, and plane-trigonometry, and one of the four following subjects: Analytic geometry, mechanics, spherical trigonometry, and astronomy.

(4) History.—In 1874, candidates may offer either of the two following subjects: The history of Continental Europe during the period of the Reformation, 1517-1648, or English and American history frig 1688 to the end of the eighteenth century.

(5) Philosophy.-Candidates may offer any three of the following subjects: Mental philosophy, moral philosophy, logic, rhetoric, political economy.

Pamphlets are printed containing full lists of books and specimen examination-papers on the work required.

Forms of certificate to be given by the university.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

Preliminary examination for women.

-of

A. B. has passed (passed with distinction) (passed with the highest distinction) the preliminary examination, held at , on the 1874, under the direction of the faculty of Harvard College, and is entitled to proceed to the advanced examination.

CAMBRIDGE, August 1, 1874.

President.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

Advanced examination for women.

A. B., having duly passed the preliminary examination on the

of

1874,

and

has been admitted to the advanced examination in the section (sections) of has passed (passed with distinction) (passed with the highest distinction) the prescribed examinations in under the direction of the faculty of Harvard

held at

College, on the

of- ―, 1875.

CAMBRIDGE, August 1, 1875.

TABLE VIII.-UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES.

President.

The following is a statement of the aggregate number of this class of institutions, with instructors and students, as reported to this Bureau each year from 1870 to 1873, inclusive.

It is believed that the table of the present report (Table VIII) embraces nearly all institutions claiming collegiate rank in the several States and Territories, with the exception of schools of science and colleges for women, for which see Tables VII and IX. Several of them are of recent establishment; others of older date do not appear to have thus far assumed full collegiate functions; in the case of several, these functions are for the present suspended. The following analysis presents some items serving to show the status of the institutions, by States and Territories.

Summary of universities and colleges.

Alabama..
Arkansas
California..

Connecticut..

Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana.
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky.

Louisiana..

Maine.
Maryland..
Massachusetts

Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi

Missouri..

Nebraska.

New Hampshire

5

5

2

3

2

1

1

2

4

1

It will be observed that of the 323 colleges in the table 41 do not report date of charter; 6 do not report the number of students; 28 report preparatory students only; 2 do not report students by classes; 34 do not report libraries; 37 do not report the number of years in the collegiate course; 17 report a collegiate course of three years, and 6 report a course of two years.

The number reporting academic degrees conferred in course in 1873 was 226, (see Table XIII, appendix.) The number of first degrees conferred in course was 2,432.

Catalogues and registers.-No annual catalogues or registers have been issued by 55 of these colleges; at least, such publications have not been received at this Bureau. Hence, assuming that official statements of this kind afford any criterion of the relative status of institutions,) no comparisons can be made between these and the wellestablished colleges, in respect either to requirements for admission, the character and extent of the course of studies, or the discipline and culture implied in the degrees conferred by them in the arts and sciences.

Number of colleges.-The above analysis, as well as other particulars as given in the table, would indicate that quite a number of the so-called colleges do not reach the standard. They assume the name, having as yet insufficient facilities for doing the work of a college. Hence the frequent remark of educators that many of our colleges in name are not to be compared for thoroughness and extent of discipline with our leading collegiate preparatory schools.

The number of institutions purporting to belong to this class embraced in Table VIII is 323. This would give on an average nearly nine colleges to each of the 37 States, not counting the colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts and colleges for

women.

When it is considered what is required in the way of professors and division of professorial work, endowments, buildings, libraries, apparatus, museums, &c., to equip

State or Territory.

a college to meet the demands of modern education and modern culture, the question is seriously suggested whether there is not great waste both of money and effort in the struggle to keep life in a large number of these institutions. It cannot be doubted that it would be far better for the interests of higher education if many of them were to convert themselves into thorough-paced preparatory schools. The multitude of such institutions creates competition and rivalry for mere numbers of students and degrades instead of advances the scholastic standard.

Concentration of means.-Do not the statistics clearly indicate that what is needed is concentration and combination of means and energies? A small number of vigorous colleges in a State, even in germ, would be of more value than a dozen or a score of feeble ones. They would not only raise the standard and character of collegiate training, but would also exercise a powerful influence for good on every grade of instruction, even to the lowest. Still, in all discussions of these statistics, due consideration should be had for the necessities and embarrassments of institutions in pioneer communities.

Table VIII of the appendix exhibits in detail the statistics reported by these institutions. The following summaries show for each State the number of professors and instructors in the colleges, the number of students, preparatory and collegiate, the number of volumes in college-libraries, the increase in libraries for the year, the amount of endowments, value of corporate property, &c. It will be noticed, however, that many of the colleges do not report any items under some of the heads above indicated.

Statistical summary of number of professors, students, &c., in universities and colleges, Table

Collegiate.

Preparatory.

Collegiate.

Number of postgraduates.