265.

Institutions Represented in the Survey

Auburn University Mississippi State University Brigham Young UniTrersity Montana State University Clemson University Ohio State University Colorado State University Oklahoma State University Cornel1 University Oregon State Vniversity University of Connecticut Furdue University Fresno State College Rutgers CAES - Food Science University of Guelph South Dakota State University University of Idaho University of Tennessee Iowa State University Utah State University Kansas State University Virginia. Polytechnic Institute University of Kentucky West Virginia University Louisiana State University University of Wis cons i n Michigan State University University of Wyoming

In conclusion, after perusing this entire survey, one may logically conclude that advanced degree programs are "tailored to fit" the situation. With the advent of undergraduate honors programs and combined B.S.-M.S. programs, the personal tailoring for undergraduates may become increasingly frequent. On the words "tailored to fit" hinge both a warning for caution and a significant challenge too often minimized.

Rigid course requirements are not feasible for reasons which are obvious. Then, too, the title of a course or the hours of credit are far overshadared by the course content and content is only as mean- ingful as the professor and student make it. In "tailoring" a program the ultimate goal should be kept plainly in sight. This survey indicates some rather rigid specialization in subject matter areas. This is desirable. As the fields of knowledge in mea,t science deepen, specialized training of some individuals is necessary although it is just as essential to continue training other persons with a broad base of competence. Perhaps the courses scheduled really are those demanded by graduate students earnestly in quest of information as a result of inspirations arising from many sources.

As staff persons ire need to continue to inquire and to share our ideas and programs with those in other disciplines and at other institutions. Above all, a striving for and acceptance of wise adjust- ment is commendable.

PROF. WALLETTI'INE: I'd like to thank the speakers and those who have prepared the program for today, and we'll open it now to discussion. If you will please state your name and the name of the institution so we can pick it up in this microphone. We're open for discussion or true reciprocation and then we'll go to that other type in just a minute. Any questions ? Come nt s ? 266.

DR. SIIX, Penn. Siate: Are there any minimum number of credit hours or semester hours required for a h1.S. or Fh.D degree at your institution?

DE. PALMER: On a semester-credit bssis, thirty-two is the minimum. We've never had anyone get by quite that reasonably. For the Ph.D. I think it's seventy-two. There again, we've never had anyone get by that reasonatly. It '53 one year for the M.S. or three for the Fh.D.

DR. ALIEN: Yxcuse me, is that a university regulation on the number of years--one and three years?

DR. PALMER: I wouldr't be ceri-ain but, I think it is. You have your residence requiremert:; that er;ter in to your Ph.D. program. In either event, this i s the tray it 's operated and the wa.y it works.

DR PEATIS(>I'II, I ichigan State: I might say that our requirements for the 8lnster 's degree are forty-five credit hours, which can be course work or course work, research, and thesis. There is a variation in the pl:n. I.ost cf the people in our department are required to mite a thesis. Occasionally someone doesn't. In regard to the Ph.3. Gegrec?, we require a minimum(this is a university requirement) of thirty-si7 credit hours on a quarter basis, We require one year in residcrce. I ost people don't get by anywhere near this minimm. T'hey're ~lsorewired to take twelve units which is thirt+--six credits of' rescarcii. They do not have to do this, but they have io y?y for it, :3~iq1.?ted 31" not. But they don't have to completp that milch in Oini!cr tc? ger, their clegree.

DR. SIFK: I want to ask a question. It's one we've been arguing about at our institution. !;e hsve a minimum thesis or research credit requirement for. the b:aster's Degree set at six and our total credits are set at thirty. 3ut as you say, no one gets by this easily. For the Ph.D. they haven't established any minimum credits for research or thesis, even thoqh ninety is the require- ment set by Penn. State. No~r was ..rendering, at th?z other institu- tions how much time is require<. It's been niy am personal feeling that from a credit standpoint. a~nd a time standpoint that at least thirty credits of thesis should be involved here and say sixty credits.

DR. FAIATP: ':hi? so inds like it is akout right in about the proper proportion. 1 think xre' re pr?;tty close in our thinklng. You're speaking o€ quarter hJu;.s and I'm speaking of semester hours.

DE. I?AUT4ANN: I Irish to adckess this same point. Our requirements concerning course hours et the Master's level is that the student must have a.t least thirty hours of courses recognized by the graduate school, end that he must have one year equivalence of residence, and that's full-time course work for two full semesters or its equivalent over a lonzer period of time. The Fh.D. Degree is not nearly as specific in sc) far as course hours are con- cerned. Actus-lly there is no reqniremen!, for course hours. Three 267. years of residence are required. The three years begin at the bachelor of science level. This must be acquired before you are eligible for the Ph.D. Degree. There is no course requirement.

DR. MULLINS: As I interpret these reports, I believe that the policies of the institution are presented as opinions of the speakers primarily, I feel that this distinction should be made in the proceedings of this conference, so they cannot be construed as implying that these are the recommendations of the American Meat Science Association unless we wish to take that to the business session and adopt it as such.

DR. WALLEnlTINE: I think this is a very good point. This discussion of the committee report was as we formulated it for this program. We were not here to force on any group a set of curriculum requirements. Rather, these things would be given as guidelines, as stimuli for discussion, and for those who are upgrading or changing their programs so that they would have some reference point from which to choose. Other questions? Discussion?

DR. ALLEN: Allen, Minnesota. I would just like to ask if any of the institutions have graduate programs offering a course in scientific writing, aside from technical writing or anything like this? Is this replacing any foreign languages at any of the institutions?

DR. PEARSON: We have a non-credit course in scientific writing which the student can enroll for. It plays a role in helping foreign students, and it is also for our own students, but it has no credit and it is not required.

DR. NAWANN: I hate to be jumping up again. I didn't want to wake up a dead horse, but Gene Allen did. So, now I'll give it a kick. What are your language requirements and what do you do in view of the language requirements for a Ph.D. in your instit utions ?

DR. IJALLENTINE: Fortunately I don't have to answer that one, since we don't have a Ph.D. program at B.Y.U.

DR. PERRSON: I'll answer. In our case we have several alternatives in the language requirements. First of all you can take two languages. Sy taking the language exam. under our language examiner, one of these has to be German and the other, one of the Romance languages--French, Scottish, or something else. You could probably substitute Russian for German also. Some students will take Russian and German. We also have a language substitute program where you can take twelve course credits quarter hours in lieu of one of the languages. In that case we've pretty well insisted that it be in lieu of French or the Romance languages rather than German. Now the university regulations would allow it to be either actually. Then we also have another way that our students can take it if they can pass these courses with a grade 268.

of "B." They can take certain courses in these language areas, and this also counts and various combinations of these. The course way is the hard way if you want to get. right down to it. It takes a lot more time than it takes to take a language and pass it. If you want to take twelve credit hours, this has to be in an area approved by the graduate committee; and it is supposed to be some- thing that you would not normally take in your program. Now it could be religion, but it has to be approved by the committee before he enrolls, Some students take packaging. Some of them will take a series in some statistical program that they would not otherwise have taken, or something different.

DR. CAHILL: Our institution just this year approved a language course method as opposed to as a language examination. One of the institutions that replied on the survey has provided a Mathematics option. I expect most graduate schools have discussed these from time to time.

DR. KASTELIC: Kastelic, Illinois. I wish we had the time to talk about the language requirexent, because our own institution is now in the midst of a very complicated examination of this whole question. At the present time to satisfy the language requirements in a traditional manner. You take a reading examination and pass it in French, German, or Russian. We also have the option where one of these two languages may be selected from any language on earth, provided it can be ascertained that it is useful in the area of work that the student is working in. To give you an example: students who may work in agricultural economics and who gather data in a Spanish-speaking country, obviously would be benefitted by taking Spanish, for this would be the language or the medium of communication he would need to collect data for a dissertation. On the other hand, we have India students who speak Pomall. (7) The question now is are these languages significant languages in science, and then take the extreme case Mandarin is probably spoken or understood to some extent by one third of the population of earth. You get to the point where you say, "Well, this is not a useful language, is it?" Then finally there is the question, "DO we need foreign languages, since the significant literature in the sciences is now translated largely into English?" This sounds arrogant. In reality this is true. We are not out of the woods.

DR. JOHNSON, North Dakota: bJe just recently removed the two-language requirement and changed it to one.

DR. KINSPAN, Connecticut: Recognizing that the Ph.D. Degree is primarily a scientific degree or research degree, I wonder (A1 Pearson has touched upon the subject) how much emphasis is given to Philosophy through formal course work. Al, would you care to coment on that?

DR. PEARSOM: I 've already commented. (Laugh).

PROF. WALLEDSTINE: If there are no other questions or discus- sion, we'll adjourn to the reciprocation area,