Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/99

* DEGREE. of it. Yale, Princeton, and the Universities of Pennsylvania, Western Reserve, Cliicago, Mielii- gan, Wisconsin, Colorado, anj California are among those that still maintain the old classic requirements for the A.B., while among those that no longer require Greek are Harvard, Co- lumhia, Cornell, and the Universities of Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and Xebraska. ilany -Vmerican colleges offer several parallel courses, leading to the degrees of Uachelor of Arts, of Let- ters, of Philosophy, and of Science; and in these institutions there are usually corresponding master's degrees — II.A,, M.Lit., M.Ph., and M.S. In the faculties of medicine, law, and theology there is not the variety of degrees found in the faculties of philosophy and science. The medical schools regularly grant the doctor's de- gree alone: while the divinity and law schools usually give only the bachelor's degree. The higher legal degrees, however, are granted by just a few law schools, such as Yale, which con- fers the degrees of LL.M. and D.C.L. as the re- sult of certain required studies, and the Uni- versity of Chicago, which already confers the de- gree of J.D. The indiscriminate and ill-advised bestowal of honorary degrees is another cause that contributes to lessen the value of American degrees. Xot only those degrees which are prop- erly honorary, such as the D.D. and LL.D., are often bestowed by smaller colleges upon insufH- cient groimds, but other degrees which should regularly be won only by a definite course of study are conferred as honorary degrees, such as the Ph.D.. the !M.A., and even the bachelor's degree. Recently, however, a reaction has set in, and steps are being taken to check the granting of degrees out of course excepting such as are generally recognized as honorary degrees. See B.chei.or'.s Degree: Doctor: Doctors of the Church : Elective Studies ; ^Master op Arts ; uxi^ersity. List of the Mobe Usual Degrees. X..K., .Associate of Arts. A.B. or B..., Barhelor of Arts. A.M. or il.A. (Artiuw Slaeister), Master cf Arts. B.C.L.. Baihelor of Civil Law. B.D., Bachelor of Divinirv. B.L. or Litt.I!.. Bachelor of Letters. B.LL. or LL.B. iLeffvm liaccilaarfius). Bachelor of Laws. B.P., B.Ph., or Ph.B., Bachelor of Philosophy. B.S. or B Sc, Bachelor of Science. C.E., Civil Enjtineer. CM. Khirurgiie .Va/rister), Master in Surgery. D.C.L.. Doctor of Civil Law. D.D., Doctor of Divinity. D.Lltt. or Litt.D.. Doctor of Literature. D.M., Doctor of .Medicine (Oxford). D.M.D. {DentahiE Medicittie Doctor), Doctor of Medical I)entiHtry. D.V.M,, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. D..S. or II. Sc, Doctor of Science. E.E.. Electrical Engineer. J-I>. f./urw 7>ocf or)." Doctor of Law. J.r.f). UlutiH Vtriusque Doctor), Doctor of Civil and Canon Low. L.H.D,. Doctor of Letters, or Humanities. I>L.B. iJ^ffrum HnecHlaurens), Ba<'helor of Laws. LL.D. iLt'ffnw Doctor), Doctor of Laws. LL.M. fir M.L. {Lepum MitgitttPr, Master of Laws. M.M. iMcfli</n,'e Itacratavretis). Bachelor of Medicine. M.C.E.. Master of Civil Enjrineerinp:. M.D. tMcflirinw Doctor), Doctor of Medicine, M.M.E., Master of Mining Engineering. Mufl B.. Bachelor of Music. MuH.D, D..,t<ir of Music. Ph.D. (Pltilosof)lii!p Doctor), Doctor of Philosophy. Ph.G., Graduate in Pharmacy. V.S., Veterinary Surgeon. The origin of a special costume to designate members and graduates of universities is obscure, and probably was not in the first instance at all Vol. VI,— 6. 75 DEGREE. formal or conscious, but a mere adaptation of monastic costume. In the days when it was first used, long and flowing rol«s were commonly worn by all classes of people; the university, like the Church, onlj- preserved a tradition "which died out in the world. The advantages of a dis- tinctive costume were probably recognized at an early date. Two of the most obvious are the equalization of rich and poor under a simple uniform gown, and the provision of a means of identifying students. This latter view probably counts for something in the rule still in force at O.vford and Cambridge, which forbids under- graduates to a])pear in the streets without aca- demic costume in the morning or evening. Gowns were at first all black, but distinctions of social rank were later expressed by them, and the sons of noblemen in England were ])ermitted in the thirteenth century to wear gowns of any color, A skull-cap was allowed to ecclesiastics to pro- tect the tonsured head, and, except the hood, this is the only headdress recognized by early univer- sity statutes. This j)ilcun soon assumed a pointed shape, and in this form was recognized as one of the insignia of the doctorate. The central point developed afterwards into the modern tassel. Bachelors wore no official headdress. The hood, which was worn by undergraduates until the six- teenth century, was originally attached to the gown, like the cowl of the monastic habit. Later it became a separate article of dress, which by its shape or color denoted the academic rank of the wearer. The English and Scotch universities have long maintained a definite system of hoods, which differ in each institution. Thus the bache- lor's hood in Oxford and Cambridge is trimmed with white fur; the ^LA. hood of Oxford is lined with crim.son, and at Cambridge with white silk; the Oxford D.D. is of .scarlet cloth, lined with black, the Cambridge of scarlet, lined with pink; the Oxford D.C.L. of scarlet cloth lined with crimson silk, the Cambridge LL.D. with pink silk. ClergA'nien who are literates — i.e. or- dained without an academic degree — are allowed to wear a hood or tippet of plain black silk over their surplices. Gowns are not worn by under- graduates in the German universities — in fact, they are practically apjiropriated to the rector and deans of faculties, and by them worn only on the most solonui occasions. The wearing of cap and govn in AmcTica was comparatively rare until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. A movement toward a gen- eral adoption of a uniform system resulted in the calling of an intercollegiate commission, which met in ISO-t at Columbia College, under the chairmanship of President Low, Yale, Princeton, and Xew York University being also represented. Their report, made a year later, was adopted by many colleges, as offering a simple, adaptable, and intelligible system. It provides for three types of gowns and of hoods — for bachelors, mas- ters, and doctors. The bachelor's gown has long, pointed sleeves; the master's a long, closed sleeve square at the end, falling below the knee: the doctor's resend)les the familiar pulpit or judge's gown, with full, round, open sleeves, and is faced with velvet, of which it also bears three bars on the sleeves. The two latter are of silk, the bachelor's of worsted stuff. These distinctions in gowns follow closely the English usage : the system of hoods is a piece of original construc- tive legislation, there being three distinct forms