Abstract
OXFORD.—In a congregation held on Tuesday, November 18, the amendments to the proposed statute to confer degrees in natural science were taken into consideration. The proposed statute made Greek an optional subject in the natural science curriculum. It appeared from counsel's opinion that the proposed degree would not carry with it the rights and privileges of the master of arts degree. On the latter ground opposition was made to the statute by a considerable portion of those engaged in teaching natural science at Oxford. Prof. Odling had issued a memorandum, extensively signed by residents interested in science, in which he had explained his reasons for opposing the statute. The statute, by completely separating the faculties of arts and natural science, would allow no honour student in one faculty to become an honour student in the other without beginning in the new faculty ab initio; and no honour student in the faculty of natural science could fall back, as at present, on the ordinary pass degree. The broader question of lowering the value of natural science degrees by putting them on a different footing from degrees in arts, was not discussed in congregation on Tuesday; but Dr. Magrath's amendment to reject the whole statute except the preamble, was passed by a vote of fifty-four against forty-eight. The whole subject will thus have to be rediscussed on a future occasion.
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University and Educational Intelligence . Nature 21, 73–74 (1879). https://doi.org/10.1038/021073b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/021073b0