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TECHNICAL EDUCATION 276 TECHNICAL EDUCATION gineering as a profession in any part of the United States. Such engineering work as was done fell to men trained at West Point, or in foreign schools, or in the school of personal experience. It is probable, too, that van Rensselaer had no definite purpose of establishing a new professional class. However, after the death of Amos Eaton, the first senior professor, the Rensselaer Polytechnic In- stitute became more definitely a school of civil engineering. In spite of growing industrial develop- ment no further schools of this nature were established until 1847. In that year a school of applied science was started at Yale, which afterward grew into the Sheffield Scientific School, and the Lawrence Scientific School was es- tablished at Harvard. The University of Michigan also made preparations at the same time for a course in civil en- gineering. These were the only en- gineering schools opened before the Civil War. The Rensselaer Institute gradu- ated 318 men before 1860, and the Law- rence Scientific School at Harvard 49, as has been said in spite of "an uncon- cealed disdain on the part of the regular faculty." The next impulse to technical educa- tion came from the Federal Government with the passage of the famous Morrill Act in 1862. The starting point of this legislation was a desire to promote agri- cultural education, but the mechanic arts were included in the plan and seem to have reaped in some quarters a more profitable harvest than agriculture. When the states received their land script some turned over the funds to existing institutions, some established agricultural schools, some colleges of ag- riculture and the mechanic arts, and some made the land grant the basis for a full university development. At pres- ent there are 46 institutions operating as land grant colleges under the Morrill Act and including engineering education in their program. Follo-<Adng the history of engineering education one step further we note the continued establishment of private in- stitutions, as the Worcester Polytechnic in 1868, the Stevens Institute in 1871, the Case School of Applied Science in 1881, and the Rose Polytechnic in 1883. The Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy was chartered in 1861, but not opened until 1865. It received assistance from the Morrill Act, but rapidly grew beyond the limits of a state institution. At the same time colleges and universi- ties developed engineering work as a le- gitimate branch of professional educa- tion. Prof. C. R. Mann in his valuable monograph (Bulletin No. 11 Carnegie Foundation, 1918) sums up the record as follows: "The four schools of 1860 increased to 17 by 1870, to 41 by 1871, to 70 by 1872, and to 85 by 1880. Now there are 126 engineering schools of college grade, of which 46 are land grant, colleges operating under the Mor- rill Act, 44 are professional schools in universities, 20 are attached to colleges, and 16 are independent. The number of students has increased from 1,400 in 1870 to 33,000 in 1917, and the annual number of graduates in engineering from 100 in 1870 to 4,300." The first engineering course offered was in civil engineering. In 1828 Professor Eaton lectured on this subject — so des- ignated — at the Rensselaer Polytechnic. In 1839 an unsuccessful effort was made to establish a national society of civil en- gineers. The American Society of Civil Engineers was established in 1852, and held its first national convention in 1869. Next to civil engineering comes mechan- ical engineering in extent of popularity. Electrical engineering and mining en- gineering follow next in order. Some institutions offer only one or two courses, others like Columbia University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offer the greatest possible variety. The term engineering has been widened to include every possible phase of scientific work, as chemical, metallurgical, electro- chemical, sanitary, textile, automotive, highway, hydraulic, marine, etc. Engineering schools are in the main co-ordinate with colleges, requiring for admission the completion of a high school course, and giving four years of instruction before conferring the first degree, which corresponds to the degree of B.A. or B.S. in college. Later come special courses widely differentiated leading to higher degrees. The curricu- lum is divided between general subjects, as English, mathematics, and modern languages, the fundamental sciences, es- pecially chemistry and physics, and tech- nical engineering subjects. The propor- tion assigned to each group varies with each institution, but the percentage given to technical work has steadily increased. This has necessitated the early differen- tiation of the various courses. Often this appears before the end of the first year. It reflects the specialization of modern industry. Another result de- plored but not yet corrected is the con- gestion of the course. This is one of the pressing problems of engineering ed- ucation. The first degree given en- gineering students has many varied names, but bachelor of science, bachelor of science in engineering, and bachelor of engineering seem to be the most pop- ular. Subsequent courses of study aro