The classical-scientific vs. the purely technical university course for the electrical engineer

THE idea of a technical course for engineers is relatively new. Like most new things it has had to prove its merit in order to secure proper recognition. It received little sympathy in its beginnings, and even today, when education for definite vocations has won its long battle, many of the older men are apt to think that what was good enough for them, ought to be good enough for any one. The headway made by the technical course in recent years shows that it is here to stay; it has definite merit and a definite place in education. I do not undertake to say that the old-fashioned “arts course” has no merit or that it may not form a good foundation for an engineering course in cases where a man has time to pursue both branches of learning. One problem only is considered in this paper. Is the classical-scientific or the technical course the better for the engineering student? The subjects included in a technical course are those immediately connected with the application or expression of science.