Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 26.djvu/365

Rh who are usually adults and specialists? In their case most of the foregoing objections do not hold; in fact, the situation is nearly-reversed. We have no institutions which are the original fountains of scholarship, as are the German universities. The character, language, habits, of the men who study in them are in a measure formed. From observation I should say that the average age of Americans studying at the German universities is twenty-five, A graduate of one of our colleges or leading academies is ready to get and appreciate the best that the universities offer, as well as to observe and weigh the political and social elements in which he moves. His vacation travel is itself a delight and an education. The benefits of such study to men are so well understood that to point them out more in detail would be needless. But practical information as to the conditions of study, as to courses and degrees, is so vague, and in newspapers and magazines often so erroneous, that some facts may be given here. The graduate of any American college may matriculate, in full standing, at a German university on the presentation of his diploma and a passport. These take the place of the certificate of maturity (Maturitätszeugniss) from the gymnasium or real-school, which the German candidate must submit. Men who have no college diploma may attend lectures and have access to all privileges, but they may not become candidates for a degree. There is an impression that American students must encounter special difficulties in seeking a degree, and that few succeed in gaining it. This is an error. Many students do not choose to take the required subsidiary studies, lying perhaps outside of their special field, and hence do not try to get the degree. But it is a fact that fewer difficulties beset the American in this quest than the German himself. The university is the regular and essential avenue to the professions and many civil careers, and competition is very keen. But the faculties well know that the American does not seek promotion on German soil; they recognize the compliment of his long pilgrimage to their shrines, and they are willing to encourage him, avoiding the appearance of anything like a protective tariff. In the range of my acquaintance, as many as nine Americans have won the coveted title of Doctor of Philosophy, the degree now common to all departments; in some cases it has seemed that they met fewer difficulties than the German candidate, and in no case were the tests severer. The usual time necessary for this sort of graduation is six semesters, or three years. The student may spend each semester at a different university or all at the same one, if he chooses. And he may stand for a degree at any university he may select. The system is like that of a great society having many co-equal chapters. He must fix upon a special department of learning, and must follow two subordinate branches closely related to the main subject. During two or three years he "hears" lectures in the faculties dealing with his specialty. There are no examinations whatever before the final examination for the