(33) BJERRUM, J., Kvl. Damke Videmkab. Sehkab., Mat. fga. Medd., 11, No. 5 (1931). G., AND L. G. SILLEN,A ~ k i vKemi, 5, 425 (34) BIEDERMANN, (1953). (35) S ~ O NJ.,, Nature, 169, 71 (1952). (36) YOUNG, T. F., Ann. Rev. Phya. Chem., 3 , 285 (1952). (37) LEDEN,I., Acta Chem. Scand., 6, 971 (1952). (38) BIEDERMANN, G., Arkio Kemi, 9 , 277 (1956).
0
(39) KING,E. L., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 71, 319 (1949). (40) ERIKSSON, L., Aeta Chem. Seadn., 7 , 1146 (1953). (41) VANDERZEE, C. E., AND H. J. DAWSON, 3. Am. Chem. Soe., 75, 5659 (1953). (42) K o ~ s ~ u ~I.o A,, v , N. I. MALYUGINA, AND 0. M. BALABANOVA, Zhur. obshchei Khim., 21, 629 (1951). (43) VASILEV, A. M., AND V. I. PROUKHINA, Zhur. Anal. Khirn., 6, 218 (1951).
CUMULATIVE EXAMINATIONS FOR THE PH.D. DEGREE' ARTHUR A. FROST and ALLEN S. HUSSEY Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
WITHIN
a rather broad framework of method, the first year of the doctoral program in chemistry in most American universities is so designed as t o perform the two functions of the screening of students and the laying of the foundations of their graduate training. The selection of students with a more than reasonable chance of completing the requirements for the Ph.D. actually begins with their admission t o graduate school but the process continues through this probationary first year. Usually a series of examinations or a sequence of required courses are involved, or sometimes a combination of the two. Although the screening process is inseparably interwoven with the pedagogic function, it is distinctly not pedagogic in purpose and not properly considered as such. This selection process is normally completed by the end of the first year of graduate studies and, although the examining of the students continues, the emphasis changes t o one which is entirely on training. Consequently, the later examinations are designed to measure the extent of knowledge and, development of a Ph.D. candidate who has been previously judged to be capable of meeting the requirements for the degree. Such examination procedures are the better the more effectively they serve as a stimulus for the self-education of the student involved in the art of research in his chosen area of chemistry. A number of such procedures have evolved and are in use in first class graduate programs. They may involve a single written examination of several hours' duration, a comprehensive oral examination often including defense of the thesis on which work is in progress, or an oral examination revolving about a set of propositions previously chosen and considered from a literature point of view by the candidate. I n some chemistry departments, a combination of these devices may be employed, but the purpose behind all of these
' This paper is the first of several to be prepared at the request of the Editor to describe the various examination systems in use at the graduate schools of chemistry in the United States. These are published with the hope that the information they contain will he useful to undergraduate chemistry majors who are planning to enter grsduate school. Other pertinent information will be found in the Report of the A.C.S. Committee on Professional Training, "Dootoral Training in Chemistry," C h a . Eng. News 35, 56 (Feb. 11, 1957). VOLUME 35, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1958
procedures is the same: the stimulation of the candidate to self-training in the art of research by practice in the library, in the laboratory, and in the continuous study of the current literature. Recently, there has come into use in a few institutions the cumulative examination system which, in most departments where it has been installed, is generally conceded t o have a net advantage in its favor over the older, more conventional systems. Cumulative examinations are a set of short, often single question, written examinations in the major field of the candidate. They are given at regular intervals during the year and the student is expected to pass a certain number of these examinations within a prescribed time limit, commonly a two to three year period. According t o the authors' knowledge, the cumulative examination system was first used at Harvard University in the late 1940's. It has since been adopted by a few other institutions, e.g., the University of California at Los Angeles, and for the past seven years has been employed at Northwestern University. The detailed description and discussion which follow refer specifically to the procedure used at this institution. I n the years intervening'since its adoption at Northwestern, there have been minor modifications in the system but it remains essentially in its original form. The examinations are given eight times during the calendar year, including once during the summer, on announced dates on Saturday mornings. The subject and the author of the examination are uuannounced. The time allowed to complete the examination is one hour. A student is considered to have passed the requirement of demonstrated proficiency in his major field of chemistry when he has accumulated seven passes out of twenty-one consecutive examinations. Students begin taking these examinations after they have passed the qualifying examinations a t the end of their first year of graduate work, or have entered Northwestern with a Master's degree from some other institution. I n the latter case, passes are provisional until the student has passed the departmental qualifying examination. An examination in a given field is prepared by one of the faculty or sometimes jointly by two or three. The set of examinations is read by the faculty member
