PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS.

EXAMINERS.

The University Court of each University annually appoints as Examiners such number of Professors or Lecturers in the Faculty of Arts in that University, and such additional Examiners, as may be deemed necessary. The Preliminary Examinations in Arts, Science, and Medicine are conducted by these Examiners under the control and supervision of the Joint Board. In the event of a Professor or Lecturer declining to undertake the duty of examining, it is in the power of the University Court to appoint another Professor or Lecturer or an additional Examiner in his place. The Examiners in each University, as soon as they have marked the answers of the candidates, transmit them, through the Senatus, to the Joint Board, with copies of the list of candidates, showing the marks assigned to each and the candidates whom they propose to adjudge successful. Each of the additional Examiners receives such remuneration as the University Court shall determine. (Ord. No. 13, Sec. II., III., XX.)

JOINT BOARD OF EXAMINERS.

In connection with the Preliminary Examinations a Joint Board of Examiners, consisting of representatives of the four Scottish Universities, has been constituted by the Scottish University Commissioners (Ordinances Nos. 13 and 43).

The Joint Board consists of eight Professors or Lecturers and eight additional Examiners-two Professors or Lecturers and two additional Examiners being appointed in each year by the University Court of each University from among the Preliminary Examiners. The Joint Board holds office from the 1st day of February to the 31st day of January in the succeeding year, and the members are appointed so as to represent the different subjects of examination according to a scheme of rotation set forth

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in Ordinance No. 43, Section I.1 In the event of a vacancy occurring otherwise than by the expiration of a member's term of office, a new member shall be appointed by the University Court for the remainder of such term only.

It is the duty of the Joint Board to issue from time to time to the Examiners of each University such general directions as to the character of the examination papers to be set, and the method of assigning marks, as may best secure an adequate and uniform standard. The Board also receives from the Examiners in each University the examination papers and answers of the candidates with the marks assigned by the Examiners to each, and after consideration of such papers and answers as they may_deem necessary, accepts or corrects the results arrived at by the Examiners in the several Universities in accordance with what they deem to be an adequate standard. At the earliest possible date after receiving the examination papers and answers, the Board reports to each Faculty, for whose Preliminary Examination candidates have appeared, the results of the examination of these candidates, and each Faculty is required to publish forthwith a list of candidates reported to it as having passed the examination. If at an examination at any University the standard of the questions set for examination is, in the opinion of the Joint Board, either too high or too low, the Board has power to require the Examiners in that University to submit to them the papers which it is proposed to set at the next Preliminary Examination, and to make such amendments thereon as the Board may think necessary; but in every such case, sufficient notice must be given to the Senatus of the University on which such demand is made.2

The Joint Board is appointed to meet twice annually, in spring and in autumn, to determine the results of the Preliminary Examinations. At these meetings the Board also fixes the dates of the Preliminary Examinations to be held in the spring and autumn respectively of the next succeeding year, together with the subjects and books, if any, prescribed for these examinations,

1 The scheme of rotation for St Andrews is as follows: ENGLISH, 1910 (Professor), 1911 (Additional Examiner), 1912 (Additional Examiner), 1913 (Professor). CLASSICS, 1910 (Professor), 1911 (Professor), 1912 (Additional Examiner), 1913 (Additional Examiner). MATHEMATICS AND DYNAMICS, 1910 (Additional Examiner), 1911 (Professor), 1912 (Professor), 1913 (Additional Examiner). MODERN LANGUAGES, 1910 (Additional Examiner), 1911 (Additional Examiner), 1912 (Lecturer), 1913 (Lecturer).

2 Since the Joint Board was instituted, the four Universities have intrusted it with the duty of setting the papers. The papers are now set by the Joint Board itself, and the same papers are used in all four Universities.

as well as the order in which the several subjects shall be taken. At any such meeting the majority of the Board has power to summon a special meeting for the purposes of the immediately preceding paragraph.

The Joint Board sits at each University in rotation and in the following order: Glasgow (1910), Aberdeen (1911), St Andrews (1912), Edinburgh (1913). The Principal of the University at which the Board sits, when present, acts as Chairman for the time, and the Secretary of the University Court of that University is Convener of the Board and custodian of all documents. Neither the Principal nor the Secretary is a member of the Board, but the Chairman has a casting, although not a deliberative, vote. The Convener at the termination of his term of office transmits to his successor in office the documents belonging to the Board. In the absence of the Principal the Board elects its own Chairman, who is a member of the Board, and has a deliberative and also a casting vote. It is in the power of the Board, with the consent of the University Court of each University, at any time to appoint a permanent Secretary, if after sufficient experience the Board considers it advisable to do so, and such Secretary shall be the Convener of the Board and the custodian of all documents. Each University contributes to the expenses of the Joint Board in proportion to the number of candidates who present themselves for examination at that University; and the remuneration paid to the members of the Board is fixed by arrangement between the University Courts of the four Universities.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS IN ARTS, SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE.

I. ARTS. Before entering on the curriculum (subject to the proviso contained in Section XI. of the Regulations for Graduation in Arts), every candidate for the degree of Master of Arts must pass a Preliminary Examination in (1) English; (2) Latin or Greek; (3) Mathematics; (4) one of the following: Latin or Greek (if not already taken), French, German, Italian (or such other language as the Senatus Academicus may approve1), Dynamics. The examination must be passed in the matters and on the standards hereinafter defined; but there shall be a higher and a lower standard in Latin, Greek, and Mathematics. [There is also an Intermediate Standard in Mathematics.] Candidates must pass on the higher standard in at least one of these three subjects, and may pass on the lower standard in either or both

1 The following languages have been accepted: Hebrew, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Hindustani, Dutch.

of the remaining two; subject always to the conditions relative to attendance hereinafter mentioned.

II. SCIENCE.-Every candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Pure Science), and Bachelor of Science in Engineering must pass the Preliminary Examination prescribed for candidates for graduation in Arts, except that (1) French or German may be substituted for Latin or Greek; (2) Mathematics must be passed on the Higher Standard [in certain cases the Intermediate Standard, and an additional modern language as a fifth subject, may be substituted-see page 61. This exception does not apply to candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, but they need not necessarily pass the Preliminary Examination before entering on their curriculum]; (3) a degree in Arts shall exempt from the Preliminary Examination.

III. MEDICINE.-Every candidate for graduation in Medicine must, before commencing his medical studies, pass a Preliminary Examination in (1) English; (2) Latin; (3) Elementary Mathematics; and (4) Greek or French or German. Provided always that, in the case of a candidate whose native language is not English, an examination in the native language of the candidate may be substituted for one in either French or German, and an examination in any other classical language for one in Latin or Greek.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION IN ARTS AND SCIENCE.

1. English will include Grammar, Composition, Literature, History, and Geography; and the standard shall not be lower than that presently adopted for the Higher Grade Leaving Certificate of the Scotch Education Department.

(a) Grammar will include Analysis, Parsing, Derivation, and Correction of Sentences.

(b) Composition will include an Essay and Paraphrasing. In place of a paraphrase proper, the interpretation or discussion of one or more passages in prose or verse may be required.

(c) Literature will comprise a knowledge of certain prescribed books of two or three writers. Questions requiring a general knowledge of the life and works of the greater writers will not be set; but one or two questions may be set, giving an opportunity to candidates who have read widely in English Literature to show their knowledge.

The prescribed books will be :

For 1910-(1) Shakespeare, Twelfth Night; (2)

Milton, Comus; (3) Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel.
For 1911-(1) Shakespeare, Macbeth; (2) Tennyson,
The Princess; (3) Scott, Old Mortality.

(d) History. There will be no prescribed period, but the
paper will contain general questions on the history
of Britain from B.C. 55.

(e) Geography will include a general knowledge of the Geography of the World, and a special knowledge of the Geography of the British Empire.

The First Paper in English will consist of (1) Essay; (2) A question in Paraphrasing, as explained above; (3, 4, 5, 6) Questions in Grammar, as explained above.

In the case of a foreign student whose native language is other than English, the standard required in English in the Preliminary Examination shall be such as the Joint Board of Examiners may deem sufficient.

2. Latin and Greek shall comprise grammatical questions, translation into English from Latin or Greek authors not previously prescribed, and translation of plain passages or easy sentences from English into Latin or Greek. The Higher Standard shall not be lower than that presently adopted in the examination for a Curriculum of three sessions, or for the Higher Grade Leaving Certificate of the Scotch Education Department, and the Lower Standard shall not be lower than that presently adopted for the Lower Grade Leaving Certificate of the said Department. The Latin Examination on the Higher Standard will include Translation, Prose Composition, Grammar, and Sentences.

3. The Greek Examination on the Higher Standard will include Translation, Sentences (or an Easy Passage of continuous English Prose set either as an alternative or as a substitute), and Grammar.

The passages for Translation both from Greek and Latin will include Prose and Verse.

4. The Latin Examination on the Lower Standard will include Translation and Parsing, Prose Composition, Grammar, and Sentences.

5. The Greek Examination on the Lower Standard will include Translation, Sentences, and Grammar.

In the Latin and the Greek papers, both on the Higher and Lower Standards, candidates are required to satisfy the Examiners both in composition and in translation.

NOTE.-The Joint Board will no longer allow a candidate to pass on the Lower Standard in Latin or Greek in virtue of marks obtained in a Higher Standard Paper. Candidates who desire to pass on the Lower Standard must take the Lower Standard Paper.