of the university holds its meetings at Dublin.
In the United States, the term university is loosely applied to many institutions which strictly are only colleges, just as the term college includes many academies and high schools. In its strictest sense it is limited to institutions having several schools, as those of law, theology, arts etc., in addition to the regular college course, where graduate work is carried on, that is, work done in the higher branches after graduation in a college. Harvard University, the oldest college in the country, now is one of the best equipped universities. It includes Harvard College, the Divinity School, the Law School, Lawrence Scientific School, Dental School (at Boston), the School of Agriculture, School of Veterinary Medicine and the graduate department. It has 597 instructors and about 4,128 students. There is also an institution for the instruction of women by the Harvard professors, called Radcliffe College. Agassiz Museum and the Peabody Museum hold its well-known collections. The finest building is Memorial Hall, built in honor of the alumni who fell in the Civil War. Harvard is at Cambridge, near Boston.
Yale University, known as Yale College until 1887, is at New Haven, Conn., and takes rank with Harvard as one of the best institutions in the country. It was founded in 1701, and in 1901 celebrated its bicentennial. It includes, besides the college or academical course, schools of law, theology, medicine, philosophy and arts. The school of fine arts, with its gallery of Italian pictures, and the Trumbull collection of 54 pictures, the Peabody Museum, the Sheffield Scientific School buildings, Marquand chapel, Osborn hall, Vanderbilt hall, the bicentennial buildings of 1901 and the library are among the noticeable structures. There are 377 instructors and about 3,282 students. Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, at Baltimore, Md., resembles the German universities in its methods. The work is largely graduate work, and the teaching is mainly by lectures. It was endowed by Johns Hopkins with a fund of $3,500,000. Higher mathematics and history are among the subjects in which special work is done. Clark University, at Worcester, Mass., founded in 1888, is an institution for graduate work only.
The state institutions are all called universities, but only in a few is the university system fully developed. The University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, is one of the largest, with about 300 instructors, and over 5,000 students. It has departments of law and medicine. Chicago University, though opening only in 1892, already ranks among the great universities of the country. Its courses are so arranged that students can be admitted at any time, as there is instruction during the whole year. It has 334 instructors, selected from the best institutions in America and in Europe, and 3,035 students. Many institutions of learning bearing the name of university in the United States are founded and carried on by the different religious denominations, as the Wesleyan Universities at Delaware, O., and Middletown, Conn., and De Pauw University at Green Castle, Ind., all under the direction of the Methodists; while Brown University at Providence, R. I., belongs to the Baptist denomination, as do the University of Rochester and Dennison University. Most of the universities, both of Europe and of the United States, are mentioned under the name of the place where they are situated, but a full account of the numerous institutions called universities has not been attempted. See articles under titles as above and Colleges.
University Exten′sion, a branch of educational work of English origin, whose object is to extend the advantages of higher education to the people at large. The university center organizes lecture courses along lines likely to be popular with the surrounding population, especially in such subjects as literature, economics, art, history and science, and sends out, upon request, a lecturer, usually one of its own professors, to give a series of lectures at intervals of one week or two weeks in some one general field. The success of these lectures depends largely upon the ability of the lecturer to adapt his matter to the interests and capacity of his audience.
The best university extension centers use various means in addition to the lectures to enhance results. Syllabi of the courses, with references for home reading, are often given, and selections of books known as travelling libraries loaned by the university. Discussions and questions at the close of the lecture or special classes for discussion give a vital touch to the subject, and enable the lecturer to drive home the main principles and explain obscure points. In some instances local examinations are held at the close of the series of lectures, and university credit given. A small fee is usually charged for lectures.
University of California, one of the largest and most important state universities in America, is situated at Berkeley, Cal., on San Francisco Bay. The view over the bay is strikingly beautiful. In addition to the buildings at Berkeley, which include an open air auditorium, built in the Greek style and with a seating capacity of 7,500, the University maintains the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton; a University farm at Davisville, Yolo County, where practical agriculture and related sciences are taught; a laboratory of plant pathology at Whitten and a marine biological laboratory near San Diego. Its usefulness is greatly broadened
