This wasn't much of a does of humanities for an engineer, M.I.T.'s Burchard thought, but he confessed it amounted to more G.E. than an incoming engineering graduate student from an Ivy League College was likely to have.

Papers in G. E. Courses

In place of the old English course. Burchard followed the pattern of Harvard's G.E. courses and inserted the writing of several papers into G.E. course freshmen took. Only if the quality of these papers was startlingly bad would undergraduates have to take a formal composition course as an extra subject. With this system, Burchard was able to squeeze two more terms of humanities content into the Tech undergraduate's curriculum.

The core to which the Tech GE program will be tied is a random study of cultures, at six weeks per culture. The culture studies usually involve guest lecturers. Margaret Mead, for example, aided a study of south sea civilization. This sort of work goes on for two years; then the student can specialize for one and a half years after which he spends a last half year in synthesizing what he has absorbed.

Ultimately, Burchard suggested, the training of an engineer might be extended in length like that of a doctor or lawyer and then the humanities requirements for engineers might also be extended.

Superior Students Pleased

Burchard also noted that the introduction of GE in earnest at M.I.T. this year apparently was popular with students of superior abilities. Less zealous or competent students tended to think of the Tech GE program as something that was chewing up their time while they were trying to become engineers.

About 25 percent of M. I. T.'s budget is being directed toward perfecting the humanities division there. This amount Burchard says is "almost as much as we'll need." It has already bought the Haydon Library, a Lamont-like structure which contains music listening rooms, glass enclosed and trickily lighted seminar rooms, courtyard gardens, headquarters for the young Humanities department, and of course, a general supply of books.