The Government and the Universities.—Universities in Great Britain enjoy a very considerable amount of freedom; in fact, the curriculum may be said to be entirely in the hands of the Academic Governing Body (called in most modern Universities, The Senate, but passing under various titles in the older Universities). Only such institutions as are incorporated by a University Charter from Government may grant degrees, but enactments in matters academic are made by the University itself, under the constitution as laid down in each Charter. The Government, through the Board of Education, makes yearly grants to Universities and Colleges; but it has hitherto refrained from laying down any stringent conditions as to the precise use made of them. The amount of the Government grant is however very small as compared with what is given in other countries, and higher education has to depend very largely upon endowment by private benefactors, with some support from municipal grants. The present critical state of national and private finance, together with the largely increased demand for higher education, has brought about in all Universities something like a serious financial crisis—for which at the present moment no adequate remedy appears.

Universities and Colleges.—There are no degree-giving Colleges in the United Kingdom; all degree-giving institutions are called Universities. Colleges are institutions too much specialised or too incomplete to be incorporated as Universities in themselves; they may form parts of a University, or may be independent. There are no degree-giving institutions for women only, as in the United States.

List of Universities and Colleges Open to Women.

• Universities.—Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge (partially open), Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield, Wales; in Scotland—Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow; in Ireland—Belfast, Dublin, the National University.
• Colleges.—
  • (1) Forming part of a University.
    • In the University of St. Andrews:—University College, Dundee.
    • In the University of Durham:—University College; College of Medicine, Armstrong College—both at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
    • In the University of London:—Bedford College, University College, King's College for Women, East London College, Royal Holloway College, Westfield College, London Day Training College, London School of Medicine for Women, School of Economics, School of Oriental Studies, etc., etc.
    • In the University of Manchester:—Municipal College of Technology.
    • In the University of Oxford:—Lady Margaret Hall, Somerville College, St. Hugh's College, St. Hilda's Hall, Society of Home Students.
    • In the University of Wales:—University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; University College of North Wales, Bangor; University College of South Wales, Cardiff; University College of Swansea.
    • In the University of Glasgow:—Queen Margaret College.
    • In the National University of Ireland:—University College, Cork; University College, Dublin; University College, Galway.
  • (2) Independent Colleges.
    • Girton College, Newnham College—preparing for the degree examinations of Cambridge University.
    • The Imperial College of Science and Technology (London)—preparing for its own Diplomas.
    • Exeter, Nottingham, Reading, Southampton Colleges—preparing for the degrees of the (External) University of London.

Where there are various Colleges within the University, it is customary to make application for admission to the University through the College selected.

Queen Margaret College is the name given to the women's side of the University of Glasgow; all applications from women for entrance to the University must be made through the College.

In Cambridge, all women students must be members of either Girton or Newnham College, and can only receive permission to attend University lectures or examinations through the College.

In Oxford, the body of Home Students ranks as a College, and has a Principal.

The following Universities are ancient foundations:—Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast (Queen's College), and Dublin (Trinity College). The other Universities are grouped together as "Modern." The Scottish Universities, however, being chiefly non-residential, and situated in large cities, have many features in common with the modern group.

Teaching System.—At Oxford and Cambridge the system is a combination of University, Inter-Collegiate and College lectures, classes and seminars, with individual teaching. Each undergraduate student is under the personal guidance of a tutor or director of studies, who plans out her course of work for term and vacations, supervises her studies, advises her as to lectures, teaches her, either alone or with others, and arranges, if necessary, for additional tuition. Great importance is attached to written work (consisting in Oxford mainly of essays, in Cambridge in answers to question papers), and to a close personal relation between teacher and pupil. This system has obvious advantages to the student, as the tutor has scope for developing individual capacity, but it makes considerable demands upon the tutor's time. Science students are admitted to the University laboratories, both in Cambridge and in Oxford, and in the former University, Natural Science is one of the subjects most popular and important. Advanced students obtain advice and supervision in their work from Professors and other specialists.

In other Universities, instruction is carried on mainly by means of lectures; the amount of written work is smaller, and there is practically no "coaching," either of individuals or of small groups—except where the number studying a given subject is extremely small. There is a trend of opinion in favour of the appointment of Tutors to give general guidance to those wishing for it, but the expense at present bars any innovation on a large scale in this direction. Some of the residential Halls provide tutors for their students. In all scientific subjects a considerable amount of practical work in the laboratories is required of the student, with more or less individual guidance from the Demonstrators in charge of the laboratories.

It is the vice of most of the modern Universities to require attendance at too large a number of lectures, leaving too little time for study and thought. And though the evil is readily recognised, and efforts are made from time to time to reduce the amount of attendance required, the zeal and autocratic power of the Professor in charge of any given subject has usually succeeded in defeating them.

In English Universities it is customary to call courses for a first degree either Honours or Pass Courses. The Honours Course is specialised—only one subject (say, a language or a science) with a minimum amount of one or two related subjects. A Pass Course is more general. Both types of Course cover, as a rule, a period of three years before the Final Degree Examination; which may, or may not, be preceded by subsidiary examinations in the earlier years. It is the rule in most of the Women's Colleges in Cambridge and Oxford that Honours Examinations only may be prepared for; in other Universities and Colleges, the women, like the men, can choose between Honours and Pass. There has been of late years a growing tendency to choose the more specialised course; it has more prestige, and the Headmistresses of Girls' Secondary Schools have preferred specialists as teachers. But there are slight indications that this preference is becoming less marked; and there may possibly before long be seen a revival of the demand for a more general education—which is manifestly suited to certain types of mind.

Degrees.—The degrees conferred by the Universities are those of Bachelor, Master, and Doctor. Not all of these degrees, are, however, conferred in every Faculty. The Course for a Bachelor's degree usually covers three years[2]; the Master's degree is sometimes (as in Oxford and Cambridge) conferred for a payment without further examination; sometimes, as in most of the modern Universities, it requires a further examination; in Scottish Universities it is the first degree, obtained after three years' study. Hence this degree connotes a surprising variety of attainment. The Doctor's degree is in all Universities awarded only upon the production of original work which can be regarded as a serious contribution to knowledge.

Recently every University has created a Ph.D. degree, open to graduates of any approved institution, British or foreign. It is given for advanced work only, the results of which must be embodied in a dissertation; and study must have been prosecuted during the greater part of two (or three) years in the University conferring the degree. It may be conferred in any Faculty. Many of the other higher degrees, M.A., M.Sc., B.Litt., etc., etc., are also open to graduates from other approved institutions.

The Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, holds a special position among independent Colleges, granting a diploma of its own which is regarded as equal in standard to a University degree.

Subjects Studied.—The greater number of women students enter the Faculty of Arts, but large numbers also enter for Science and for Medicine; a few for Commerce, Technology, Law, etc. The study of Medicine can now be carried on under the same conditions as for men in practically all the modern Universities. In some, however, situated in comparatively small towns, the clinical facilities are inadequate, and it is customary to continue clinical study in one of the larger Medical Schools, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, or Manchester. Edinburgh, with a long-established prestige in medicine, attracts large numbers of students. Tradition inherited from early days of controversy has long limited the opportunities of women in Edinburgh, but a more liberal policy now admits them to substantial privileges.

In London, the position of medical study is peculiar. It is mainly in the hands of ancient Medical Schools, each with its own large Hospital—Bartholomew's, St. George's, Guy's, St. Thomas's, Westminster, etc.—out of which, in fact, the Teaching School has developed. These great Medical Schools followed the policy of the University of Edinburgh, opposing to the admission of women such relentless hostility that eventually the women had to create and finance a separate school. Thus came into being the London School of Medicine for Women, which succeeded in making a working arrangement for clinical instruction at the Royal Free Hospital. Though women are now admitted to the Medical Schools of University and King's Colleges, and the Charing Cross Hospital, most of the great Hospital Medical Schools are still closed to them, and the London School of Medicine for Women remains the chief centre for the medical education of women in London.

Pharmacy is taught at most of the Universities, but all pharmacists must prepare, at the Universities or in special schools, for examinations held by an outside body—the Pharmaceutical Society. Degrees in Dentistry are conferred by some Universities, and an excellent training is provided, but the profession of Dentistry is still unregulated by the State, and unqualified persons freely practise. This makes Dentistry less popular as a profession among persons of University education; but there is a great field for qualified dentists, and women would do well to enter upon it in larger numbers.

Languages studied at the Universities are Greek, Latin, French, German, Oriental languages, and more recently, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. The teaching in modern languages is carried on partly by native, partly by foreign lecturers; except in Oriental languages, which are practically always taught by Englishmen. There is a tendency observable at present in the Secondary Schools, and in the Universities, to give less attention than hitherto to Greek and Latin.

Faculties of Commerce have been established in the great civic Universities of Birmingham and Manchester, and recently in London; Leeds and Liverpool also give teaching in Commerce. Economics is a subject of study—sometimes the subject of an Honours Schools—in most of the Universities. The London School of Economics has unrivalled facilities for research and advanced study.

In the Fine Arts there is practically no University study. Throughout the country there are Schools of Music, some of which are recognised, as in London and Manchester, as institutions affiliated to the University; but none of them are mainly under University control. The Schools of Art existing in many of the larger cities are also self-governing institutions. A movement has been set on foot for bringing some of these into closer connection with the Universities, and the Slade Art School in London is closely connected with University College; but on the whole very little progress has yet been recorded. The nearest approach to recognition of the existence of the Fine Arts (outside the Slade School), is the establishment of Schools of Art and Architecture in the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, but these are concerned very largely with Architecture rather than with the Fine Arts.

The study of Law in England is carried on to some extent in the Universities, many of which have Faculties of Law; but the examinations which admit to practice as Barristers are controlled by the Council of Legal Education (established by four ancient foundations, the Inns of Court in London), and those admitting Solicitors are held by the Law Society. Preparation for these examinations is mainly post-graduate, and must, in part at least, be carried on in the Inns of Court or under the Law Society. Colonial and foreign students may, under certain conditions, be admitted. The admission of women is of very recent date. No woman has as yet quite completed all the formalities entitling her to be "called to the Bar"—that is, to be recognised as qualified to plead before the Courts; but a considerable number are now engaged in preparing for the profession, as solicitors or barristers.

The study of Agriculture, Horticulture and kindred subjects is provided for in nearly all the Universities, which maintain their own practical and experimental farms. It is, however, more usual to pursue these studies in various independent colleges, where practical work plays a larger part than scientific training. For women there are, among others, Horticultural Colleges at Swanley and at Studley, and the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. These colleges for the most part prepare pupils for the examinations of the Royal Horticultural Society. The University College of Reading makes special provision for education in Horticulture and Agriculture, which is rendered valuable by close co-operation with the Department of Science; and the College awards its own Diploma.

Physical Culture.—Very little attention is at present paid by University authorities to physical training and education, no University giving a professional training in physical culture. For women a number of independent Colleges provide full courses of instruction suited to prepare teachers in the subject; for men teachers there is practically no provision. Any systematic teaching in gymnasium exercise is usually given to men by ex-Army instructors; coaching in games (football, cricket, rowing, etc.), is given by special experts. For a nation which, unofficially, attaches immense importance to physical "fitness" and to athletic games, the neglect of scientific study of the subject, and the absence of official provision for systematic exercise, is astonishing. Universities and Colleges for the most part limit themselves to supporting financially the provision of gymnasium and athletic grounds, where such students as desire if may indulge in open-air games or indoor exercise. In the residential Universities the early part of the afternoon is by common consent left free for recreation; but in the great civic Universities, for the most part non-residential, this is rendered impossible by the necessity for freeing the later afternoon for the return journey of students from a distance. As a result, large numbers of students never take any recreative exercise; and for all of them the possibilities are extremely limited. In these civic Universities, moreover, the athletic grounds are nearly all inevitably situated at a considerable distance from the University buildings. In these circumstances, opportunities for playing games are practically limited to "match teams," the chief game played by women being hockey. The part of the average student is therefore mainly that of an onlooker, and this is likely to continue so, unless the Universities should decide to take more full official direction of the physical development of their students. There are signs of a movement towards this; but the difficulties are great, and very little has been achieved. The Board of Education has set an example by insisting that all students training to be teachers, at the Universities or elsewhere, shall take a minimum of some form of physical exercise.

Social Science.—Several Universities carry on Departments (or Schools) for the study of Social Science, usually in close connection with University Settlements and with such organisations for charity and relief as exist in the district. Women enter these "Schools" in some number; since there are many openings for them as organising secretaries, and some few as investigators into social conditions. Birmingham, Glasgow, and Liverpool are good centres for this study; and the London School of Economics offers an excellent training in methods of research.

Household Economics.—Very little has as yet been done by the Universities for this subject of study. Most of the large cities support Municipal Schools of Domestic Economy; but these are unconnected with the Universities, and give a training which is purely practical. It is much to be desired that encouragement should be given to a more scientific study of questions of nutrition and diet, and methods of institutional management. The only institution of University rank concerning itself with this study is King's College for Women (Household and Social Science Department), London.

The study of Education has already been discussed.

Sessions and Terms.—The whole period of study in any given year is called a Session, and the session usually consists of three terms—Michaelmas, Lent, and Easter (or Summer)—each of about ten or eleven weeks. In Cambridge, however, the terms are about nine weeks each, and in Oxford, eight. Terms in Faculties of Medicine (and Dentistry) are often longer than in other Faculties; and in Scotland, some Faculties still adhere to the old plan of two terms. The session begins in October.

There are vacations at Christmas and at Easter, dividing the terms, and varying in length from a fortnight to four or five weeks. In the Long Vacation (July to September) there is no systematic instruction for the ordinary University student, though from time to time "summer schools" are held for students from outside, more especially in Universities situated in an attractive environment. In Cambridge there is also a Long Vacation term, during which tuition is given, without lectures, to those University students who desire it.

Lectures are usually given and laboratory work done in the morning and afternoon; in Faculties of Commerce there are also evening lectures.

Women on the Staff.—In spite of the fact that, nominally at least, professorial appointments have now been open to women for a good many years, very few women professors have as yet been appointed. There are two or three in Departments of Education; women have quite recently been appointed to professorial chairs in French and Italian; and the National University of Ireland has appointed one or two women. Oxford, opened to women only in 1920, has already a woman as Acting-Professor of French. But the number of women professors is still disappointingly few; and it is difficult to say whether the chief cause is lack of applications from women or prejudice on the part of appointing bodies; both causes undoubtedly operate.

Women lecturers are not so rare, though their numbers are still comparatively small. They are most numerous in Education, but are appointed also in other Faculties, salaries being the same as for men. The main avenue to University teaching for women lies through the Colleges for women only, where they, of course, form the entire residential staff; the tutorial system of Cambridge and Oxford thus affords employment in higher teaching to a considerable number of women. Further, the residential Halls attached to the mixed Universities provide posts of responsibility and prestige for a considerable number of educated women as Wardens or Principals. The recognition accorded to these officials by the University itself is, however, not always entirely satisfactory.

Upon the whole, the present position of women upon the staffs of the Universities and Colleges is one of comparative subordination. Very few occupy senior posts of importance and prestige. Except in the Women's Colleges, the higher direction of the teaching and the general administration are still almost wholly in the hands of men; and this is the case even where, as in Wales, the number of men and women students is fairly equal.

On account of the comparative scarcity of women in senior positions, it is usual in most non-residential Colleges and Universities to employ some senior woman as a member of the administrative staff, charged with the duty of superintending the general welfare of the women students.[3] Her status and duties vary greatly—from those of a mere chaperon to those of a Senior authority, consulted in all matters concerning women students individually and collectively, and responsible for making representations as to any matter, academic or social, affecting them. It is partially realised that women students, having often received a different education from that given to boys and having the prospect of other careers and other spheres of work, may be specially affected by academic legislation; and in matters of building and equipment their needs are always to some extent special. The most enlightened Universities and Colleges therefore afford considerable powers and status to this woman official (who is known by various titles—Dean, Senior Tutor, Censor, etc). In residential Universities the Heads of the Women's Colleges have the necessary academic information, official status, and knowledge of their students' needs.

Residence.—All Universities and Colleges (except the University of London on its external side) require students to live in the district and to receive instruction or guidance in the institution itself. Certain Universities and Colleges also require all students to be members of organised bodies, for the most part resident in Colleges or Halls.[4] This is the case in Cambridge and in Oxford. In London, Bedford, Holloway, and Westfield Colleges are largely or mainly residential. The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, is, for women, entirely residential; and the University College of Reading requires both men and women to live in Halls. All the other Universities (except Aberdeen) have Halls, large or small, for women students, but do not compel residence. Lists of Halls can be obtained from the University prospectuses; and applications for residence (as distinct from entrance to the University) should be made direct to the various Wardens or Principals. The demand for accommodation is everywhere very great; and it is practically impossible to secure admission unless application is made at least a year in advance. It is usually a great additional benefit for foreign students to reside in a Hall; and every effort should be made to secure provisional acceptance beforehand.

Discipline varies from one University to another—from the comparatively strict discipline necessitated in old Universities with a long tradition of obedience and convention; or in smaller Universities which are the centre of interest in small towns such as Reading and Aberystwyth; to the freedom of the great civic University, compelled to accord almost complete social liberty to the large numbers of men and women living in their own homes; and comfortably sheltered from censorious criticism among the many more exciting attractions existing in every great city. In some Universities men and women students may not converse together in the streets; in others they may freely meet, walk, take meals, and study together.

In all Universities and Colleges there is much Social Intercourse and gaiety. Dancing is very frequent; dramatic performances, debates (for one sex only, or mixed) are common; and almost every Honours School or Department has its Society for the encouragement of its special subject, and the promotion of social intercourse among its members. Even in Oxford and Cambridge some of these Societies include both men and women.

Residential Colleges and Halls usually provide "Common" (or "Combination") Rooms where staff or students can meet each other; and the mixed Universities set apart rooms, usually separate for men and for women, for the hours of the day not devoted to study. These may be simply sitting-rooms with restaurant attached, as in the smaller institutions, or may be, in the more established modern Universities, large, well-furnished Union Buildings or club-houses, as provided in Edinburgh, Liverpool, or Manchester. The management of these Unions, as to both finance and discipline, is usually in the hands of the students themselves. In no University, however, does the accommodation for women compare in dignity, commodiousness, or spaciousness with that provided in many American institutions. With the exception of some of the oldest Universities, where the provision for men is ample and beautiful, University and College buildings in Great Britain are upon a wholly different scale from those in the United States. While laboratories are often excellently equipped, libraries and lecture-rooms are not infrequently inadequate, and the provision for recreation, physical well-being, and social intercourse is sometimes seriously wanting. Nothing exists in our modern Universities at all comparable with the magnificent buildings, the extensive grounds, woods and lakes, the immense gymnasiums and swimming baths, provided for women students in the United States. And in the older of our civic Universities, the cramped conditions of existence in the midst of an immense city are responsible for the absence of many social amenities. In the smaller, younger Universities an attempt is being made to secure more space for future development before it is too late; but the standards even there are far below those known in the United States. English girls of aristocratic or wealthy parentage do not as yet go to the University in large numbers; most of the students come from homes of limited means, and their demands, except in the matter of education pure and simple, are modest. At the same time, one never hears of students, as in American Colleges, paying their expenses by giving personal service; it would, in fact, be very difficult for the average student to spare sufficient time from her studies, which are exacting enough to leave her only the minimum amount of leisure essential for recreation.

Finance is a matter for serious concern in our Universities, largely dependent as they are upon small public grants and private benefactions; and in Women's Colleges and Halls this question is still more pressing. It should be remembered that the numbers in our Women's Colleges are small; all the five Women's Colleges together in Oxford do not number 700 students. Moreover, though the generous benefactor exists in this country, his gifts are on a comparatively modest scale, and institutions specially for women do not attract the largest.

Libraries.—The most complete collections of books are those of the privileged libraries, the British Museum Library, the Bodleian (Oxford), the Cambridge University Library, the Advocates' Library (Edinburgh), the Trinity College Library (Dublin), and, more recently, the National Library of Wales. Each of these is privileged to receive a copy of every book published in Great Britain. Other valuable libraries are those of the London School of Economics, and the School of Oriental Studies (London). In Manchester a rich storehouse of early printed books, mediaeval manuscripts, and general literature is provided by the lavishly endowed John Rylands Library, the ancient Chetham Library, the University (Christie) Library, and the Municipal Reference Library.

Expenses.—University education in Great Britain is not free, as in some countries; although in the case of a certain number of students, Government grants or local scholarships cover the expenses more or less completely. It is extremely difficult to give any figures as to the cost of a University training, on account of the great difference in the fees and the general absence of any inclusive charge. It is, moreover, to be noted that, where the University includes several Colleges, there are often both College fees and University fees. The fees for residence in College, again, may or may not include also the fees for tuition and lectures. Life at Cambridge is, for women, rather more expensive than in other Universities; but in Oxford it is less expensive to be a member of the Society of Home Students than to reside in a College, and in Cambridge the small number of older students permitted by the Colleges to be "out-students" can live more cheaply. Again, the extreme brevity of the terms in Cambridge and Oxford entails heavy vacation expenses for the foreign student.

At Oxford and Cambridge the cost of board, lodging and tuition for the session, consisting of three terms of eight to nine weeks each, varies from £135 to £150.

Next in order of expense comes London, where the fees for residence in College, apart from tuition, are £90 to £100. In the larger University cities of England, residence costs about £70; in the smaller places, in Wales and in Scotland, it is lower (£40 to £50).

Where the fees for guidance or tuition in advanced work are charged separately from those for residence, they vary from £5 to £15 in the Faculty of Arts; in the Faculty of Science they usually depend on the nature of the practical work involved. For the examination of these the charge may be from £5 to £10, and for the conferment of the degree from £5 to £20.