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