Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/780

 T66 OXFOED UNIVERSITY and studies of the unattached students. The colleges and halls examine applicants for ad- mission previous to matriculation, but the examination is generally not at all difficult. A student whose name has been inscribed on the books of a college or hall, or of the dele- gates of the unattached students, and has paid the necessary fees, is a member of the univer- sity. No university examination is required. The academic year is divided into four terms. Michaelmas term extends from Oct. 10 to Dec. 17; Hilary or Lent term, from Jan. 14 to the day before Palm Sunday; Easter term, from the Wednesday after Easter day to the Friday before Whitsunday ; Trinity or Act term, from the day before Whitsunday to the Saturday after the first Tuesday in July, but may be continued by congregation. There is no vaca- tion between the last two terms. To obtain the degree of B. A. it is necessary to pass three distinct examinations. The examiners are ap- pointed by the university. The examinations are partly in writing and partly viva voce. The first examination, called responsions, or in the language of the students the little go, is con- ducted by the " masters of the schools," six in number, who are nominated yearly in convo- cation. Eesponsions are held three times a year. Every candidate is examined in Latin and Greek grammar, Latin prose composition, one Latin and one Greek author, arithmetic, and either Euclid or algebra. A considerable range of choice is allowed to the candidate in regard to the authors in which he wishes to be examined. Every candidate who passes re- sponsions satisfactorily receives a certificate called a testamur. A candidate who fails to pass the examination is said to be " plucked." Having passed responsions, the student chooses whether he will try for a " pass " or a " class ;" that is, whether he will simply try to get his degree of B. A., or will also try for honors. If he " reads for honors," he will find it neces- sary to employ a private tutor. The second examination, called the first public examina- tion, is held twice a year. It is conducted by ten moderators, and is called moderations. Candidates for a pass must offer portions of at least three Greek and Latin authors of the best age (two Greek and one Latin or two Latin and one Greek), one at least being a portion of a historical or philosophical work, and either logic or the elements of geometry and algebra. Candidates for honors in mathematics are ex- amined in every branch from algebra up to the integration of differential expressions and the elements of the calculus of finite differences. Conic sections and geometry of three dimen- sions must be treated both geometrically and analytically. The second public examination, if passed successfully, entitles the candidate to his degree. It is held twice a year, and is con- ducted by 22 public examiners, divided into six schools. No student can offer himself for ex- amination in classics before his 12th term, un- less his llth happens to be Easter, in which case he may offer himself in that term. Ex- cept in certain cases, he cannot be a candidate for honors after his 16th term. For candidates for a pass merely, this examination is compara- tively easy, but for honors it takes a very wide range. Candidates for honors are examined in chronology, geography, and antiquities, and they may be called upon to compose in Latin, Greek, and English. Logic is indispensable with candidates for the highest honors. In mathematics it may be said that it is as severe as the examiners know how to make it. It embraces every branch of pure mathematics from algebra to the calculus of variations, and in mixed mathematics mechanics, optics, and astronomy. After the examinations for hon- ors the successful candidates in each school are arranged in four classes, and the names in each class are arranged alphabetically and published. To be named in the first class is the highest honor. Peers, sons of peers, and certain others of the nobility, are by statute entitled to cer- tain advantages over other students ; but these are always waived, and in some colleges a re- fusal to waive them would be considered suffi- cient ground for denying admission. To obtain the degree of B. A. at Oxford is perhaps quite as easy as at most of our American colleges ; to obtain the honor of a "first class" is extremely difficult. The total amount of college and uni- versity fees payable by each student from ma- triculation to graduation is about 65. The expense of living for an economical student is about 250 a year, or 300 if he employs a private tutor. The number of " members on the books" in 1873-'4 was 8,532, and of un- dergraduates 2,392. The number of the latter in actual attendance cannot be exactly ascer- tained, but was probably about 2,000. The number of matriculations in 1872, the last year reported, was 632, and of degrees of B. A. con- ferred, 396. Previous to the year 1874 no au- thentic information in regard to the aggregate revenue and expenditure of the university col- leges and halls was accessible to the public. In 1872 a royal commission was. appointed " to inquire into the property and income of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and of the colleges and halls therein," &c. The report of the commission, published in 1874, exhibits the condition of affairs as it existed in 1871, and it has not since been essentially changed. Besides its copyholds of inheritance, the university of Oxford owns 7,683 acres of land, and the colleges and halls 184,764 acres, situated in different parts of England and Wales. The total income of the university proper in 1871 was 47,589, and of the col- leges and halls 366,254 ; total, 413,843. The sources of this income were as follows : from lands, 183,074 ; from houses, 29,996 ; from tithe and other rent charges, 39,609; from stocks, shares, &c., 37,201 ; from other prop- erty, 15,070 ; and from members of the uni- versity, 110,893. This income was expended as follows: payments to heads of colleges,