THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL

The Engineering School should definitely be put on a graduate basis. The average man at 20 years has not developed sufficiently to acquire even a major portion of the material available in technical courses, nor is he certain enough as to his position in the world to spend time on needless studies.

There is no reason to believe that an engineer can go through life any more without a cultural background than a lawyer, doctor, or other professional man. If a man wishes to be an engineer, let him go through college, concentrating in engineering sciences, and taking his history, economics, languages, and so on. Then if at the end of these four years he still wishes to be an engineer, let him work for one or two specialized years in his particular field, in the Engineering School.

Such a course will often not be voluntary for the student: an average Freshman, especially if he leans toward a technical field, is too anxious to finish studying, and start work. It is true that the Engineering School must always be an undergraduate school to conform to the terms of the McKay bequest. Since this is so, and the corridor must exist, let it be as narrow as possible, so that few, if any, can enter. Not many engineers would regret having spent two extra years in obtaining a broader education of this sort.