Reprinted from
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
March
1960
Some Trends in Photogrammetric Education
in the United States”
ROBERT D. TURPIN,
Chairman, Education Committee, American Soc. Photogrammetry, 1959-1960
HOSE closely associated with photogram-
‘I. feel that there is an ever-increasing
interest in and further quest for education in
photogrammetry and in photo-interpretation.
However, it is certainly reasonable to ask just
what is the true status of photogrammetry in
the colleges and universities of the United
States, and what future trends seem to be in-
dicated. To attempt to answer this question,
the Education Committee of A.S.P. for 1959—
1960 has examined the studies made in prior
years by various interested groups, and then
through a questionnaire has collected some
specific detailed information from nine U. S.
schools selected as examples of photogram-
metric study now available in the United
States.
Historically, photogrammetry as an educa-
tional field has developed in the United States
as a subdivision of surveying, and conse-
quently has generally been taught in the civil
engineering departments in those colleges and
universities where it has been offered. Since
1950 programs in photogrammetry and/or
photo-interpretation have also been de-
veloped by geology, geography, forestry, and
agriculture departments in various schools.
Considerable information concerning the
status of photogrammetry in United States
schools has been gathered and presented in
three recent reports based on extensive sur-
veys involving about 150 U. S. schools. These
reports in general have reflected the number
of courses or the amount of time devoted to
the study of photogrammetry, both as a re-
quired course within a degree plan and as an
elective course. Two reports also reported in-
formation from about 100 schools concerning
the equipment they had available for use in
laboratory work.1
It is generally recognized that prior to 1940
only a very few schools offered any photo-
grammetry courses and probably none re-
quired a photogrammetry course for a civil
engineering degree. But by 1951, these reports
+ A summary of each of these three reports is in-
cluded in the Appendix.
indicate that 16 schools were requiring a for-
mal course in photogrammetry and that 41
schools had elective courses available. The
investigations in 1957 and 1958 showed vir-
tually no further change had occurred, with
16 schools requiring a course in photogram-
metry but with an increase to approximately
48 offering an elective course. In addition, it
was reported in 1957 that some 60 to 7/5
schools were offering some basic instruction
in photogrammetry as a part of a course de-
scribed by a name other than photogram-
metry.
The statistics from these reports show most
of the increase around the period of World
War II with only slight changes occurring in
the 1950's. However, photogrammetry as a
subdivision of surveying has been in compe-
tition with two trends, both of which have
tended to work against its advancement: (1)
Surveying as a required course has itself
gradually been decreased from approximately
14 hours required in the late 1930's to 11 by
1950, and thence downward still further to
7+ by 1957—a reduction of almost 50% in
twenty years. (2) There has been evidence
from 1945 to 1960 of an increasing trend in
many engineering schools to include more of
the humanities courses, generally at the ex-
pense of the professional courses required.
Coupled with this trend has been the require-
ment of more mathematics and basic science
courses, at the further expense of advanced
professional work. Therefore, looking at
these trends it can be easily recognized why
any course in engineering which has not been
significantly reduced in quantity can be con-
sidered as actually making progress. In the
face of these trends, it is encouraging to note
that photogrammetry has essentially main-
tained its status.
Since the statistics presented by these re-
cent reports have covered rather thoroughly
the status of photogrammetric education in
the United States, the Education Committee,
A.S.P., 1959-60, felt it would be of value to
compare some of the types of programs avail-
* Prepared as a contribution to Commission VI International Society of Photogrammetry, for presen-
tation at International Congress of Photogrammetr
y, Sept. 1960, at London, England.
2 map 4