COMPLEXITIES OF GS AS PROBLEMS

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

I appreciate your interest in the problems of graduate education in the arts and sciences, and read with particular interest Mr. Ullman's article in today's CRIMSON.

One of the outstanding features of graduate work is its diversification, to the extent that generalizations covering all fields are bound to be misleading if not erroneous. Consequently, I hope you will provide your readers more information on the complex problems involved.

In my opinion, the problem facing a graduate school of arts and sciences is recruitment, rather than revision of admission procedures. If the several Divisions, Departments, and Committees choose to recommend admission of larger numbers of graduate students in order to provide for an increased number of college teachers to meet anticipated swollen enrollments, there might well be a lack of applicants of the quality we wish. At the present time, there is a variation from Department to Department. In some Departments there are large number of well qualified applicants and the problem is one of selection. In others, the numbers are not as large relatively and the problem is, even today, one of recruitment.

My answers to questions on placement had reference to the general area of the humanities, in which college teaching is the principal field of employment for Ph.D.'s. In the other areas there are, of course, additional opportunities.

As for the recommendations by the Faculty Committee on the Behavioral Sciences, I do indeed believe that Graduate School admission procedures should be studied and evaluated. However, I believe that a more important problem is the one of stimulating the submission of applications for selection committee to choose from.

In commenting on the desirability of re-examining student scholarship and loan policies, I pointed out that over the past several years a great need has existed for more first-year fellowships of a larger average stipend that had been available. The Committee on Fellowships and Other Aids for Graduate Students, the Harvard Foundation for Advanced Study and Research, and several Departments have worked hard to meet this need, with impressive results. I agree that a new look at policies is necessary and suggested that there may be Departments in which third-year fellowships, to speed a man toward the completion of his thesis research, would be most useful. Francis M. Rogers, Dean