Abstract
THE results of an inquiry into the position taken by Universities in different parts of the world as regards the admission of women, are given in the Revue Scientifique. It appears that the French Faculties opened their doors to women for the first time in 1863. None of the German Universities yet admit women either to lectures or examinations. There will be a difficulty, however, in resisting for long the force of opinion in favour of the admission of women to courses of study, and especially to medical classes. A petition for the removal of the present restrictions was presented to the Reichstag not long ago, containing more than 50,000 signatures of women. In Austria-Hungary and Spain the laws are against the access of women to higher education. Women possess a special school of medicine in Russia, in spite of their exclusion from the Universities. In Belgium, women are admitted to the courses in all the Faculties, and are eligible for all diplomas. They may also follow the medical profession, or become dispensing chemists. Holland has a large number of women students in its Universities, but Switzerland heads the list in this respect. During the summer semester of 1892, no less than 541 women students were studying in Swiss Universities. In Italy women are admitted to all the Faculties, and are at liberty to exercise all professions except the legal. Among the professors in Bologna University, a lady occupies the chair of histology in the Faculty of Medicine. The Universities of Jasi and Bucharest, in Roumania, are open to women, as are also those of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. Higher education is available for women in most parts of the United Stales. The result of this is that America has about 3500 women following various branches of the medical profession, 70 have been appointed physicians in hospitals, and nearly 100 are professors in schools of medicine.
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University and Educational Intelligence. Nature 49, 497 (1894). https://doi.org/10.1038/049497a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/049497a0