150 Years of Graduate School Registration at the University of Michigan

Adulthood takes many forms–as in, filling them out endlessly. The procedures for attending U-M’s Rackham Graduate School are no exception, but was it always like this? How has the institution grown since the University’s first graduate degree in 1849, and how have students been navigating bureaucracy? My focus lies in the relationships between the institution and its individuals, the shifts from handwriting to typewriting to digital type, and standardized processes like registration throughout the years from 1876 to the early 2000’s. I use archival documents from the Bentley Historical Library–handbooks, letters, and newspapers–to build a general timeline and identify themes for further investigation. This approach to the history of the Graduate School plays into larger histories of higher education institutions, organizational studies, and material processes, as well as more intimate histories regarding student experience.
The primary focus of my study on Rackham is the changing processes of registration, degree completion, and petition/advocacy. I hope to identify trends and patterns and place them in context of larger shifts. Materials studied include: Rackham’s official publications of announcements, bulletins, and handbooks (1883-2010), The Graduate School Guardian newspaper (1977-80), Rackham Student Government’s handbooks and newsletters (1969-78), internet archive captures, and handwritten records from the Office of the Registrar (1840-90).
From announcing enrollment to the University President in 1880, to handing three mass-printed forms to an office secretary in 1950; from bound dissertations to microfilms to computer programs; petitions handwritten in loopy cursive, class cards, and surveys and politics in the student newspaper; through this project and the work of my team and mentor, I hope to outline a particular material angle of the UM graduate student experience throughout the past 150 years.