College and Research Libraries B y E D W A R D A . H E N R Y Doctoral Dissertations Accepted— Ten Years of History A ten-year review of one of the notable projects of the Association of Research Libraries. " P OR M A N Y YEARS C l a r e n c e J . W e s t , o f t h e N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l , e d i t e d a n a n n u a l l i s t o f d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n s i n s c i e n c e . S o o n a f t e r t h e A s s o c i a t i o n o f R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s w a s o r g a n i z e d i n 1 9 3 1 it t o o k a s o n e o f i t s p r o j e c t s t h e p r e p a r a - t i o n o f a n a n n u a l l i s t o f s u c h d i s s e r t a t i o n s i n a l l fields. T h e A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o f L e a r n e d S o c i e t i e s , t h e S o c i a l S c i e n c e R e - s e a r c h C o u n c i l , t h e N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l , t h e A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o n E d u c a - t i o n , a n d t h e A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t i e s a l l a p p r o v e d t h e p r o j e c t . D o n a l d B . G i l c h r i s t , t h e n l i b r a r i a n o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f R o c h e s t e r a n d a l s o e x - e c u t i v e s e c r e t a r y o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n o f R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s , u n d e r t o o k t h e t a s k . H e h a d m u c h c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h D r . W e s t a n d m a d e s e v e r a l t r i p s t o W a s h i n g - t o n f o r c o n f e r e n c e s w i t h h i m . D r . W e s t w a s m o s t h e l p f u l a n d c o o p e r a t i v e i n e v e r y p o s s i b l e w a y a n d M r . G i l c h r i s t , i n h i s first " I n t r o d u c t i o n , " e x p r e s s e s " e s p e c i a l t h a n k s " t o D r . W e s t , w i t h o u t w h o s e c o r d i a l h e l p t h e p r o j e c t c o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n r e a l i z e d . A s a n a i d i n s t a r t i n g t h e p r o j e c t , D r . W e s t s e c u r e d a s u b s i d y f r o m t h e N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l a n d a i d e d i n s e c u r i n g s i m i l a r a i d f r o m t h e A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o f L e a r n e d S o c i e t i e s , w h i c h s u b - s i d i e s c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h t h r e e y e a r s a t a d e c r e a s i n g r a t e . M r . G i l c h r i s t s e n t c a l l s f o r r e p o r t s t o a l l d e a n s o f g r a d u a t e s c h o o l s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d C a n a d a w h i c h w e r e k n o w n t o be g r a n t i n g d o c t o r a l d e g r e e s b a s e d u p o n r e s e a r c h w o r k . T h i s s p e c i f i c a t i o n a u t o - m a t i c a l l y r u l e d o u t a l l h o n o r a r y d o c t o r - a t e s , a l l d o c t o r a t e s i n m e d i c i n e , v e t e r i n a r y m e d i c i n e , d e n t i s t r y , a n d t h e d o c t o r a t e i n l a w w h i c h is g r a n t e d b y t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a g o a n d s o m e o t h e r u n i v e r s i t i e s t o a l l t h e i r g r a d u a t e s i n l a w . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t i n c l u d e s n o t o n l y d o c - t o r a t e s i n p h i l o s o p h y b u t a l s o d o c t o r a t e s i n e d u c a t i o n , i n s c i e n c e , i n l i b r a r y s c i e n c e , i n t h e s c i e n c e o f l a w ( t h e g r a d u a t e r e - s e a r c h d e g r e e ) , a n d a f e w o t h e r d o c t o r a t e s w h e n e v e r t h e s e a r e b a s e d i n p a r t u p o n r e s e a r c h d i s s e r t a t i o n s . I n s o m e u n i v e r s i t i e s t h e g r a d u a t e d e a n s h a v e r e f e r r e d t h e c a l l s t o t h e r e g i s t r a r s , i n o t h e r s t o t h e l i b r a r i a n s , f o r r e p l y , b u t i n a b o u t h a l f o f t h e u n i - v e r s i t i e s t h e i n f o r m a t i o n is s t i l l s u p p l i e d b y t h e g r a d u a t e s c h o o l d e a n s . W e m e n - t i o n t h i s v a r i a t i o n i n s o u r c e b e c a u s e i n s o m e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h e l i b r a r i a n s r e p o r t o n l y t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n s r e c e i v e d b y t h e l i - b r a r i e s . T h u s t h e t o t a l s d o n o t a l w a y s a g r e e e x a c t l y w i t h t o t a l s c o m p i l e d e l s e - w h e r e — n o t a b l y b y t h e A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o n E d u c a t i o n . M r . G i l c h r i s t ' s first v o l u m e a p p e a r e d i n O c t o b e r 1 9 3 4 u n d e r t h e t i t l e Doctoral SEPTEMBER, 1944 309 Dissertations Accepted by American Uni- reports f r o m eighty-one universities. I n versities—1933-1934. (Number i) and arrangement it f o l l o w s the plan used by was published by the H . W . W i l s o n D r . W e s t in his science reports. T a b l e I C o m p a n y in N e w Y o r k C i t y . It carried herewith, by the zeros in earlier columns, TABLE I N u m b e r of Dissertations Accepted at C o n t r i b u t i n g Institutions, by Y e a r R a n k 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1 C o l u m b i a 179 207 191 203 1 7 8 203 198 199 187 145 2 C h i c a g o 159 153 168 167 161 1 7 9 163 1 7 4 197 143 3 W i s c o n s i n 125 127 1 1 8 130 147 147 160 196 163 133 4 H a r v a r d 148 1 3 2 155 126 129 107 153 155 129 89 5 C o r n e l l 88 136 124 125 130 130 131 167 1 1 7 128 6 Y a l e 1 1 7 128 1 1 8 135 105 1 3 2 1 1 3 137 1 2 2 49 7 C a l i f o r n i a , B e r k e l e y 1 1 2 1 1 2 98 106 1 1 3 94 122 136 130 1 1 4 8 N e w Y o r k 108 86 102 97 98 121 125 136 145 1 1 7 9 M i c h i g a n 1 1 3 90 94 107 i n 89 141 1 2 2 94 102 10 I l l i n o i s 94 90 94 h i 100 106 130 139 h i 83 11 O h i o 82 103 77 82 88 1 o 1 97 152 123 91 12 M i n n e s o t a 79 82 80 83 71 88 1 1 3 105 1 1 4 123 13 I o w a 76 81 100 85 97 91 86 86 108 91 14 J o h n s H o p k i n s 104 50 67 64 83 65 65 62 68 34 15 P e n n s y l v a n i a 62 50 63 54 54 54 71 42 66 60 16 C a t h o l i c 46 30 45 37 52 57 45 75 98 84 17 M a s s a c h u s e t t s T e c h 41 40 49 54 58 66 64 71 59 47 18 I o w a S t a t e 42 35 62 48 42 46 53 67 62 51 19 P r i n c e t o n 57 41 43 52 52 55 57 69 43 37 20 P i t t s b u r g h 49 38 37 44 46 62 43 60 64 49 21 N o r t h w e s t e r n 40 32 39 42 39 42 58 59 67 56 22 S t a n f o r d 38 45 42 38 23 56 42 59 38 45 23 T e x a s 23 29 21 32 33 42 46 53 45 37 24 P e n n s y l v a n i a S t a t e 19 23 27 19 33 31 40 56 38 56 25 T o r o n t o 36 27 36 35 34 32 35 38 36 18 26 C a l i f o r n i a T e c h 30 30 36 26 25 32 30 29 28 23 27 D u k e 22 29 25 24 29 31 23 46 34 24 28 M c G i l l 25 34 22 30 26 33 32 25 36 24 29 S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a 17 23 28 30 28 27 33 42 35 22 30 N o r t h C a r o l i n a 14 16 22 26 31 35 34 33 39 34 31 W a s h i n g t o n , S e a t t l e 18 27 26 27 27 35 33 30 17 24 32 V i r g i n i a 29 25 24 22 25 28 26 34 19 20 33 P u r d u e 10 16 22 20 1 2 14 28 51 43 25 34 M i s s o u r i 9 24 20 24 22 22 24 28 24 37 35 M a r y l a n d 15 21 20 1 7 1 7 16 18 29 30 29 36 N e b r a s k a 1 9 24 17 22 20 15 24 24 34 12 37 F o r d h a m 29 19 18 1 7 23 21 23 21 20 17 38 G e o r g e P e a b o d y 19 23 14 5 22 26 20 34 22 14 39 C i n c i n n a t i 16 16 14 1 5 16 30 27 21 18 20 40 B r o w n 20 15 25 1 7 14 15 19 25 24 15 41 I n d i a n a 20 1 2 18 17 24 17 n 19 21 20 42 W e s t e r n R e s e r v e 1 1 15 1 7 19 13 24 25 18 14 21 43 R o c h e s t e r 5 n 14 n 20 15 25 24 17 22 44 R u t g e r s 11 11 16 9 13 20 12 15 19 16 45 B o s t o n 7 6 9 12 16 22 20 25 12 8 46 S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t 22 13 n 10 12 10 4 16 22 14 47 C o l o r a d o 8 13 16 10 13 10 13 21 18 9 48 K a n s a s 19 18 8 11 n 8 8 18 10 8 49 B r y n M a w r n 14 3 16 9 10 1 2 9 19 14 50 R a d c l i f f e 10 13 13 12 14 1 2 11 14 10 8 51 W a s h i n g t o n , S t . L o u i s . . . . 8 14 12 13 13 1 7 4 13 16 4 52 L o u i s i a n a o 2 6 13 13 9 25 16 16 1 2 53 S t . L o u i s 1 2 1 2 8 14 15 n 8 9 1 1 10 54 C l a r k 10 12 8 9 9 10 6 14 1 4 S 55 N o t r e D a m e 18 2 6 4 6 n 12 14 14 10 56 V a n d e r b i l t 8 4 n 9 9 14 9 16 10 5 57 M i c h i g a n S t a t e 8 14 8 n 7 7 10 13 8 7 58 L a w r e n c e " 5 1 3 6 5 8v 13 r i 8 13 59 T e m p l e 2 i o 2 11 8 6 8 9 7 6 60 G e o r g e W a s h i n g t o n n 10 7 3 8 6 1 5 10 7 a T h i s is the I n s t i t u t e of P a p e r C h e m i s t r y at L a w r e n c e C o l l e g e . T o t a l s 1,890 1,664 1,446 1,323 1 , 2 7 6 1 , 1 5 6 i , i 3 7 i , i 3 5 1,063 1,058 996 9 3 8 901 662 5 7 6 569 5 4 9 508 506 4 9 2 4 7 4 426 361 3 4 2 327 289 287 287 285 284 264 252 241 2 3 4 2 1 2 2 1 1 208 199 1 9 3 189 1 7 9 1 7 7 164 142 1 3 7 1 3 4 131 1 1 9 1 1 7 1 1 7 " 4 1 1 2 n o 9 7 9 7 9 5 9 3 7 3 69 68 v 3 1 0 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES TABLE I—Continued R a n k 1 9 3 4 1 9 3 5 1936 1 9 3 7 1 9 3 8 1 9 3 9 1940 1941 1942 1 9 4 3 T o t a l s 6 1 S y r a c u s e 7 6 4 16 1 1 3 10 6 68 6 2 G e o r g e t o w n 1 9 1 9 1 0 6 9 6 2 5 67 6 3 O k l a h o m a 8 7 9 1 8 5 8 3 6 60 6 4 K e n t u c k y 1 2 7 7 7 7 4 5 7 5 5 6 5 R e n s s e l a e r P o l y t e c h . . . . 1 1 5 8 4 3 1 6 5 5 4 5 3 6 6 B o s t o n C o l l e g e 6 8 7 9 7 3 0 4 0 5 4 5 3 6 7 M a s s a c h u s e t t s 6 2 2 3 5 12 7 6 4 5 3 6 8 A m e r i c a n 8 8 5 4 1 6 2 6 0 4 9 6 9 H a r t f o r d T h e o l 4 6 4 5 3 5 5 4 5 4 9 7 0 B r o o k l y n P o l y t e c h 1 1 6 1 2 4 9 10 1 4 48 7 1 C a l i f o r n i a , L o s A n g e l e s . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 15 20 48 7 2 C a r n e g i e T e c h 6 3 2 6 3 3 5 6 9 4 4 7 3 F l o r i d a 3 7 3 4 6 1 7 5 6 4 4 7 4 R i c e 7 2 3 1 5 6 7 3 5 4 4 7 5 W e s t V i r g i n i a 1 3 4 2 2 3 4 4 3 3 3 8 7 6 O r e g o n S t a t e 4 1 1 5 3 4 8 6 5 3 7 7 7 W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e 5 4 1 1 4 5 2 3 0 6 3 1 7 8 N i a g a r a 2 5 8 7 1 1 4 2 0 30 7 9 M a r q u e t t e O 2 t 7 3 4 4 2 4 2 9 8 0 D r e w T h e o l 8 4 1 3 2 3 4 2 1 28 8 1 O r e g o n 3 I 2 7 2 2 3 1 4 27 8 2 L a v a l 0 0 0 0 0 O 0 0 23 23 8 3 U n i o n T h e o l 0 3 2 5 5 I 2 1 I 2 3 8 4 D r o p s i e 5 1 4 2 2 I 2 2 0 22 8 5 A r i z o n a 2 1 1 3 1 2 3 1 1 18 8 6 K a n s a s S t a t e 0 0 t 4 2 2 1 6 2 18 8 7 N o r t h D a k o t a 2 3 3 1 3 2 0 0 1 18 8 8 T u l a n e 1 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 2 18 8 9 L o y o l a , C h i c a g o 0 0 0 2 2 5 3 2 2 16 9 0 S t . J o h n s 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 8 1 1 5 9 1 C o l o r a d o M i n e s 3 0 O 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 9 9 2 B i b l i c a l S e m i n a r y 1 O 1 0 0 0 2 1 • 0 7 9 3 C l a r e m o n t 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 9 4 G e o r g i a 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 9 5 S m i t h 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 9 6 D u q u e s n e 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 9 7 F l e t c h e r 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 1 2 9 8 T e n n e s s e e 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 T o t a l s 2,649 2,683 2,709 2,768 2,928 3.088 3.526 3 . 2 4 3 2,689 28,913 shows the gradual increase in the number of universities reporting until today ninety- eight are reporting regularly, though some, like Tennessee, are no longer offer- ing work toward the doctoral degree, and others, like Smith College, only occasion- ally grant such a degree. M r . Gilchrist edited five annuals but died suddenly from a heart attack in A u - gust 1939 while the sixth volume in the series was in preparation. It was com- pleted by his secretary, M r s . Grace M . Bilhorn, and the present writer was named editor of the series at the time of the mid- winter meeting in December 1939. W e have continued the series through the bal- ance of the first decade without any ma- terial change from the precedents set by M r . Gilchrist. He added the subject of biochemistry in 1938. W e added speech and home economics in 1941. W e en- larged "Bacteriology" to "Bacteriology and Microbiology" and also enlarged "Slavic Literature" to "East European Literature," in order to avoid adding other new subjects. T h e editorial costs of the series have always been provided by the Association of Research Libraries. T h e publication costs have been carried by the H . W . Wilson Company, the subsidies for the first three years helping to keep the load from becoming too heavy. By 1940 the Wilson Company account with the Asso- ciation of Research Libraries was so nearly in black ink that we saw visions of sales SEPTEMBER, 1944 311 reimbursing a portion of our editorial Expressions from deans, reviewers, li- costs, but the war has put at least a tem- brarians, and others have provided ample porary end to that vision. M e a n w h i l e w e evidence that the volumes are filling a owe a debt of gratitude to the W i l s o n real need in the world of research. In Company, which has carried the financial 1942 the New York Times became inter- burden. T h e stock of back volumes on ested and published an editorial on hand, if and when sold, w i l l square all December 21 which was based upon the accounts. series. In the last f e w years orders have T A B L E I I N u m b e r s of D i s s e r t a t i o n s P r o d u c e d in V a r i o u s S u b j e c t F i e l d s , by Y e a r Rank S u b j e c t 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 T o t a l s 1 C h e m i s t r y 503 470 482 497 426 482 527 672 588 538 5.185 2 Education 265 287 294 290 311 289 309 342 344 318 3>°49 3 E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e " 150 142 162 165 183 174 183 192 164 148 1,663 4 P h y s i c s 121 150 147 158 148 165 148 191 146 124 1,498 5 M o d e r n H i s t o r y 130 148 129 124 144 138 135 163 145 115 1,371 6 Economics 109 103 1 1 7 127 143 150 141 176 181 114 1,361 7 P s y c h o l o g y 104 101 118 112 108 123 120 1 1 7 125 95 1,123 8 Z o o l o g y h i 1 1 3 132 98 102 102 112 125 n o 103 1,108 9 B o t a n y 1 1 7 110 108 88 106 108 112 102 120 89 1,060 10 M a t h e m a t i c s 87 77 84 76 62 91 103 95 85 44 804 11 Romance L i t e r a t u r e " 66 71 87 79 73 82 75 90 70 60 753 12 Biochemistry — — — — 101 127 130 1 1 6 138 129 741 13 P h y s i o l o g y 69 76 83 103 66 59 7° 77 66 49 718 14 Religion 62 56 54 60 68 67 54 89 115 84 709 15 E n g i n e e r i n g 97 63 48 70 59 44 77 76 47 22 603 16 Sociology 35 57 35 49 56 71 68 74 76 49 570 17 A g r i c u l t u r e 62 77 53 48 37 4« 58 78 55 61 569 18 Political Science 55 44 45 71 49 44 78 74 55 54 569 19 Philosophy 54 50 49 52 49 69 61 59 50 43 536 20 G e o l o g y 55 62 64 42 58 49 55 53 56 36 530 21 Bacteriology and Microbiology 51 38 41 46 40 56 59 7 i 69 56 527 22 Classical H i s t o r y and L i t e r a t u r e " 46 56 51 66 50 49 43 54 44 37 496 23 E n t o m o l o g y 34 34 30 51 33 47 48 46 44 32 399 24 Germanic L i t e r a t u r e " 25 35 40 33 51 37 44 39 32 26 362 25 Genetics 16 10 21 13 31 32 26 31 23 29 232 26 Pharmacology 15 10 18 14 19 23 23 31 31 29 213 27 H o r t i c u l t u r e 9 24 14 21 16 11 20 23 21 14 173 28 A n a t o m y 10 25 15 14 20 17 21 18 16 10 166 29 Anthropology 10 13 20 15 18 11 26 19 14 12 158 30 A r t and A r c h e o l o g y 11 10 12 14 12 20 15 19 27 17 157 31 G e o g r a p h y 17 15 8 13 13 17 18 16 16 10 143 32 International L a w and Relations 13 9 3 15 14 20 14 16 19 7 130 3 3 L a w 1 6 1 4 15 7 5 16 1 7 15 5 " 121 34 M e t a l l u r g y 14 11 16 7 7 9 " l 7 1 1 J 3 " 6 35 Medicine and S u r g e r y 18 14 12 1 7 9 19 18 15 10 114 36 M e d i e v a l H i s t o r y 11 10 7 14 18 12 8 21 5 5 m 37 Public Health 10 4 13 9 15 8 15 14 6 109 38 Oriental L i t e r a t u r e " 8 15 12 6 8 13 " 12 11 10 106 39 M u s i c 8 4 7 6 4 11 12 13 18 15 98 40 A s t r o n o m y n " 5 9 12 5 6 11 7 14 91 41 Paleontology 8 12 10 8 9 13 " " 6 3 91 42 Speech _ _ _ — — — — 17 30 27 74 43 General L i t e r a t u r e " 2 6 14 3 4 8 5 15 6 7 70 44 M i n e r a l o g y 6 1 5 3 5 1 4 3 6 4 38 45 L i b r a r y S c i e n c e 2 6 2 3 1 5 3 4 7 3 36 46 Meteorology 2 1 — 1 4 2 — 1 3 2 16 47 East E u r o p e a n L i t e r a t u r e " . — — 1 2 3 2 — 3 1 1 13 48 General History 2 2 — 6 — — — 1 2 — 13 49 H o m e Economics — — — — — — 4 3 3 1 0 50 Seismology 3 2 — — — — 2 1 1 1 10 T o t a l s 2,630 2,649 2,683 2,709 2,768 2,928 3,088 3,526 3,243 2,689 28,913 • L a n g u a g e is a l w a y s included with literature. v 312 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES c o m e t o u s f r o m s e v e r a l i n d u s t r i a l r e - s e a r c h l a b o r a t o r i e s , o r d e r s w h i c h w e h a v e f o r w a r d e d t o t h e W i l s o n C o m p a n y . F o r t h e p r e s e n t a r t i c l e w e h a v e p r e - p a r e d t w o t a b l e s w h i c h s u m m a r i z e i n f o r - m a t i o n f r o m a l l t e n c o m p i l a t i o n s . T h e y a r e a r r a n g e d d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m t h o s e i n t h e v o l u m e s , i n o r d e r t o b r i n g o u t d i f f e r e n t f a c t s . T a b l e I is a l i s t o f a l l i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h h a v e e v e r r e p o r t e d a n y d i s s e r t a t i o n s . I t is a r r a n g e d i n o r d e r o f t h e t o t a l n u m - b e r o f d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n s a c c e p t e d d u r - i n g t h e t e n y e a r s c o v e r e d b y o u r s e r i e s . W h e n t h e t o t a l figures a r e i d e n t i c a l , t h e o r d e r is a l p h a b e t i c a l . T a b l e I I is a l i s t o f a l l t h e s u b j e c t fields u n d e r w h i c h d i s - s e r t a t i o n s h a v e b e e n a r r a n g e d . T h e t a b l e is a r r a n g e d b y t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f dis- s e r t a t i o n s i n e a c h field d u r i n g t h e t e n y e a r s a n d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y w h e n t o t a l s a r e i d e n t i c a l . T a b l e I is s l i g h t l y u n f a i r t o s u c h i n - s t i t u t i o n s a s U n i v e r s i t e L a v a l ( n o . 8 2 ) w h i c h m a d e i t s first r e p o r t , c o v e r i n g t w o y e a r s , i n 1 9 4 3 . L a v a l b e g a n g r a n t i n g d o c t o r a t e s i n 1 9 4 2 b u t d i d n o t k n o w o f u s o r w e o f it u n t i l a f t e r o u r 1 9 4 2 v o l u m e w a s in p r i n t . I f a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f d e - g r e e s w e r e t h e b a s i s o f a r r a n g e m e n t , L a v a l w o u l d r a n k s o m e w h e r e i n t h e f o r t i e s . T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a a t L o s A n - g e l e s ( n o . 7 1 ) b e g a n g r a n t i n g d o c t o r a t e s i n 1 9 4 1 a n d i n o n l y t h r e e y e a r s h a s s u r - p a s s e d t h e t e n - y e a r t o t a l f o r t h e C a l i - f o r n i a I n s t i t u t e o f T e c h n o l o g y . I n t e r m s o f a v e r a g e s U . C . L . A . s h o u l d a l s o r a n k i n t h e f o r t y g r o u p a l o n g w i t h W e s t e r n R e s e r v e , R o c h e s t e r , e t c . Number of Doctorates A s t u d y o f t h i s t a b l e r e v e a l s s e v e r a l f a c t s o f m o r e o r l e s s i n t e r e s t . T h e r e is a " b i g t e n " a m o n g u n i v e r s i t i e s i n t e r m s o f t o t a l d o c t o r a t e s . E x a c t l y t e n h a v e g r a n t e d o v e r o n e t h o u s a n d d e g r e e s i n t h e t e n - y e a r p e r i o d . O h i o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y w i t h 9 9 6 j u s t m i s s e d m a k i n g i t a " b i g e l e v e n . " M i n n e s o t a w i t h 9 3 8 a n d I o w a w i t h 9 0 1 a r e n o t f a r b e h i n d . T h e n c o m e s a b i g g a p , w i t h n o i n s t i t u t i o n f a l l i n g i n t h e e i g h t h u n d r e d s o r t h e s e v e n h u n d r e d s . O n l y J o h n s H o p k i n s w i t h 6 6 2 d e g r e e s s t a n d s b e t w e e n 9 0 1 a n d 5 7 6 . M o s t i n s t i t u t i o n s s h o w e d a f a i r l y s t e a d y i n c r e a s e i n d o c t o r a t e s u n t i l 1 9 4 1 ( w h i c h w a s t h e a l l - t i m e p e a k y e a r ) , a n d t h e n f o l l o w e d a d e c l i n e d u e t o t h e w a r c a l l i n g y o u n g m e n a w a y . A f e w i n s t i t u - t i o n s , c h i e f l y t h o s e c a r r y i n g o n m u c h s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h , l i k e C h i c a g o a n d M c - G i l l , r e a c h e d t h e i r p e a k s i n 1 9 4 2 , p e r h a p s b e c a u s e m e n e n g a g e d i n e s s e n t i a l r e s e a r c h w e r e d e f e r r e d u n t i l t h e i r w o r k w a s c o m - p l e t e d . M c G i l l h a s r e p o r t e d a n u n u s u a l l y l a r g e p e r c e n t a g e o f i t s d o c t o r s t o be e n - g a g e d u p o n " s e c r e t w a r r e s e a r c h . " M i n - n e s o t a a l o n e o f t h e l a r g e r i n s t i t u t i o n s h a s n o t s h o w n a n y d e c l i n e a s y e t . O n e w o n d e r s h o w it h a p p e n e d t h a t J o h n s H o p k i n s ( n o . 1 4 ) h a d i t s l a r g e s t n u m b e r o f d o c t o r a t e s i n 1 9 3 4 a n d h a s n e v e r s i n c e a p p r o a c h e d t h a t figure. G e o r g e t o w n U n i v e r s i t y ( n o . 6 2 ) h a d p e a k figures i n 1 9 3 5 a n d 1 9 3 6 a n d h a s n e v e r s i n c e a p p r o a c h e d t h e m . W e s t V i r - g i n i a ( n o . 7 5 ) w a s o v e r l o o k e d i n 1 9 3 4 a n d r e p o r t e d a d o u b l e y e a r i n 1 9 3 5 b u t h a s n e v e r a g a i n r e a c h e d e v e n h a l f o f t h a t figure. T h e r e a r e p r o b a b l y i n t e r e s t i n g e x - p l a n a t i o n s b e h i n d a l l o f t h e s e u n u s u a l c a s e s . H o w e v e r , e v e n m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g is t h e g e n e r a l u n i f o r m i t y o f t h e figures f o r m o s t s c h o o l s . T a b l e I I is a l s o v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g s i n c e it r e v e a l s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e v a r i o u s fields o f s t u d y o r a t l e a s t t h e i n t e r e s t w h i c h r e s e a r c h s t u d e n t s t a k e i n t h e m . F r o m it o n e c a n h a r d l y e s c a p e t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t SEPTEMBER, 1944 313 w e a r e l i v i n g in a n a g e w h e n c h e m i s t r y is t h e q u e e n o f t h e s c i e n c e s a n d t h e k i n g o f a l l s u b j e c t fields. A l m o s t 1 8 p e r c e n t o f a l l d i s s e r t a t i o n s a c c e p t e d d u r i n g t h e l a s t t e n y e a r s w e r e i n c h e m i s t r y . O r if w e a d d b i o c h e m i s t r y ( t h e y w e r e g r o u p e d t o - g e t h e r u n t i l 1 9 3 8 ) o v e r 2 0 p e r c e n t h a v e b e e n in c h e m i s t r y . E d u c a t i o n , in s e c o n d p l a c e , h a s o n l y 6 0 p e r c e n t a s m a n y a s c h e m i s t r y , a v e r y p o o r s e c o n d . E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e a n d l i t e r a t u r e is a p o o r t h i r d , w i t h o n l y a l i t t l e o v e r h a l f as m a n y a s e d u c a t i o n . T h e n e x t s i x s u b j e c t s f a l l c l o s e b e h i n d E n g l i s h , m a k i n g a l i s t o f n i n e s u b j e c t s e a c h o f w h i c h w a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y o v e r o n e t h o u s a n d d i s s e r t a t i o n s in t h e t e n - y e a r p e r i o d . N o s u b j e c t a t t a i n e d a figure in t h e n i n e h u n d r e d s , a n d o n l y m a t h e m a t i c s , w i t h 8 0 4 , f e l l b e t w e e n t h a t c l a s s a n d t h e s e v e n h u n d r e d s , in w h i c h f o u r o t h e r s u b j e c t s a r e g r o u p e d . O f t h e s e first n i n e s u b j e c t fields, f o u r — e d u c a t i o n , E n g l i s h , m o d e r n h i s t o r y , a n d e c o n o m i c s — f a l l o u t s i d e t h e s c i e n c e field. T o g e t h e r t h e y r e c e i v e d 7 4 4 4 d i s s e r t a t i o n s , a g a i n s t 9 9 6 5 in t h e five s c i e n c e fields. T h i s p o i n t s u p m y r e p o r t t o Science/ w h i c h s h o w s t h a t o v e r t h e t e n - y e a r p e r i o d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 6 p e r c e n t o f a l l d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n s h a v e b e e n c l a s s i f i e d i n t h e s c i e n c e s e a c h y e a r a n d a b o u t 4 4 p e r c e n t in t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s a n d h u m a n i t i e s . T h e m a x i m u m v a r i a t i o n f r o m t h e m e d i a n i n a n y o n e y e a r h a s b e e n l e s s t h a n 2 p e r c e n t . T h i s u n i f o r m i t y w a s a l m o s t s t a r t l i n g t o u s w h e n i t a p p e a r e d o n o u r c h a r t s , e s p e - c i a l l y w h e n c o m p a r e d t o t h e v e r y u n e v e n d i s t r i b u t i o n o f d i s s e r t a t i o n s a m o n g t h e v a r i o u s s u b j e c t s . ( O b s e r v e t h e g a p s i n t h e " t o t a l s " c o l u m n f r o m 1 0 6 0 t o 7 5 3 , 1 Science 9 9 : 4 0 1 - 0 2 , M a y 26, 1944. w i t h o n l y o n e , 8 0 4 , i n b e t w e e n ; f r o m 7 0 9 t o 5 7 0 , w i t h o n e , 6 0 3 , b e t w e e n ; f r o m 4 9 6 t o 3 9 9 a n d t h e n 3 6 2 , 2 3 2 , e t c . ) Total Dissertations by Years F i n a l l y , w e c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o t h e t o t a l s a t t h e f o o t o f t h e c o l u m n s . T h e s e r e v e a l t h e f a c t t h a t t h e n u m b e r o f d i s s e r t a t i o n s a c c e p t e d r o s e s t e a d i l y e a c h y e a r u n t i l 1 9 4 0 , t h e n j u m p e d v e r y s t e e p l y t o a n a l l - t i m e h i g h o f 3 5 2 6 in 1 9 4 1 . S e v e r a l l i b r a r i a n s c o m m e n t e d u p o n t h e l a r g e n u m b e r s t h e y w e r e r e p o r t i n g f o r 1 9 4 1 a n d e x p l a i n e d i t b y s a y i n g t h a t b i g d e f e n s e w a g e s h a d p e r - s u a d e d m a n y y o u n g m e n , e s p e c i a l l y in t h e s c i e n c e s , t o h u r r y u p a n d finish t h e i r dis- s e r t a t i o n s . A s a r e s u l t , s a i d t h e y , t h e 1 9 4 1 w a s a l m o s t a t w o - y e a r c r o p o f s c i e n c e dis- s e r t a t i o n s . T h e y p r e d i c t e d a s h a r p d e c l i n e i n n u m b e r s f o r 1 9 4 2 . B u t in 1 9 4 2 t h e t o t a l r e p o r t e d , w h i l e s m a l l e r t h a n 1 9 4 1 , w a s a l m o s t e x a c t l y t h e n u m b e r p r e d i c t e d b y t h e c u r v e o f i n c r e a s e f r o m 1 9 3 4 o n . T h e n c a m e 1 9 4 3 w i t h a v e r y s h a r p d e - c l i n e , a figure a l m o s t i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e 1 9 3 6 figure. T h i s w a s , o f c o u r s e , t o b e e x p e c t e d . B u t i t r a i s e s s e v e r a l d i s t u r b i n g q u e s t i o n s . W e r e w e t u r n i n g o u t t o o m a n y d o c t o r s in r e c e n t y e a r s ? ( P r a c t i c a l l y a l l h a v e f o u n d p l a c e s . T h e New York Times e d i t o r i a l m e n t i o n e d a b o v e d e c l a r e d t h a t w e n e e d e d a l l . ) I s t h e 1 9 4 3 t o t a l b e l o w t h e figure n e c e s s a r y t o p r o v i d e a n o r m a l s u p p l y o f f a c u l t y m e m b e r s t o o u r u n i v e r s i t i e s ? W i l l o u r g r e a t i n d u s t r i a l r e s e a r c h l a b o r a t o r i e s h a v e t o f a c e a s h o r t - a g e of y o u n g e r c h e m i s t s a n d p h y s i c i s t s as a r e s u l t o f t h i s d e c l i n e ? W h o is w i s e e n o u g h t o a n s w e r t h e s e q u e s t i o n s ? M e a n - w h i l e w e a r e l o o k i n g f o r w a r d w i t h i n t e r e s t t o d i s c o v e r w h a t r e t u r n s 1 9 4 4 w i l l s h o w . v 314 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES