Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

702 Eric Trist
Teaching - service - research discrepancies
9. Universities in the United States exist in large numbers, in a great variety of
sizes and at many levels of excellence. Some are private, others are public, the
latter being supported either by one of the States or by a municipality. Alongside
them are several other types of higher educational institution, such as liberal
arts colleges, teachers colleges and technological institutions, which award
bachelor’s and master’s degrees and are teaching rather than research organiza-
tions with doctoral programmes. In 1966 there were 1,582 four-year institutions
of higher education of which 157 were classed as universities. They awarded
94% of the Ph.D.s.31
IO. As regards numbers of students, about three-fourths of the 17-18 year
old age group now complete secondary school.
Nearly half of this total group (about one-third of the females and half of the males)
enter institutions of higher education. Of this proportion, a little more than half receive
a baccalaureate degree. In short, more than 15 percent of the youth (about 25 % of the
males) in the United States now obtain a higher education degree.31
Only small proportions of those completing 6rst degrees proceed to graduate
schools. Nevertheless, these constitute a very large potential ‘research force’
compared with those entering graduate studies in any other country. In 1964-5
no less than 538,900 men and women were in some stage of graduate work;
16,500 obtained Ph.D.s. As the table on p. 703 indicates, some 3,000 of these
were in the social sciences.*
UNITED STATES. Degrees awarded by institutions of higher education: selected years
1869-1870 to 1964-1965
Years Baccalaureate Master’s Doctorates
and first profes-
sional degrees
1869-1870 9,400
1899-1900 27,400
1929-1930 122,500
1939-1 940 186,500
1949-1950 432,100
1959-1960 392,400
1964-1965 535,000
SOURCE: us Office of Education.
0
1,600
15.000
26,700
58,200
74,400
IIZ,IOO
I
382
2,299
3,290
6,420
9,829
16,467
11. The social sciences can be said to have attained full recognition in the
us for purposes of general education. In this context they are treated like one of
the humanities (c.f. the number of bachelors). As a basis for preparing for
social professions they have attained considerable but incomplete recognition.
In some of these professions they are still treated as desirable rather than neces-
sary; in others they play an increasing part in the integral requirements. As
fields recognized as requiring intense research concentration they are farther
* If a number of historians should be subtracted from this figure, a number of applied
social scientists, included under education, should be added.