In addition to choosing a program of study, SATC students, particularly the eighteen and nineteen year olds, had the opportunity to take what regular college students would call electives and what the Committee on Education and Special Training (CEST) called Allied Subjects. Many of these allied subjects were already taught by SATC institutions, but the CEST recognized that not every subject could be taught at every college, stating that “Each institution, in making a selection of allied subjects to be taught, should choose only those which it is fully equipped to offer.”¹

The complete list of allied subjects:

English	French	German
Mathematics	Physics	Chemistry
Biology	Geology	Psychology
Geography	Topography and Map Making	Meteorology
Astronomy	Hygiene	Sanitation
Descriptive Geometry	Mechanical and Freehand Drawing	Surveying
Economics	Accounting	History
International Law	Military Law	Government

The CEST also noted that some allied subjects were required for specific programs of study. Additionally, there were Essential Subjects that all SATC institutions were required offer to those preparing to be officers in the Infantry or Artillery: War Issues, Military Law and Practice, Hygiene and Sanitation, Surveying, and Map-making.²

For the courses that the CEST felt did not need in-depth explanation, a brief description was included in a memo sent to all SATC institutions on September 18, 1918.

For the subjects that the CEST felt required a more precise explanation, special bulletins and descriptive circulars were issued that outlined what each course should cover. These were designed to serve as guidelines and colleges could alter them to fit the educational resources at their disposal.

Notes:

1. Memo from the Committee on Education and Special Training to Colleges having units (Collegiate Sections) of the Student Army Training Corps dated September 18, 1918, 3, Box 3, Folder 8, Records of the Dean of the College, Theodorick Pryor Campbell, RG 11/1, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
2. Memo from the Committee on Education and Special Training to Colleges having units (Collegiate Sections) of the Student Army Training Corps dated September 18, 1918, 4, Box 3, Folder 8, Records of the Dean of the College, Theodorick Pryor Campbell, RG 11/1, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
3. Memo from the Committee on Education and Special Training to Colleges having units (Collegiate Sections) of the Student Army Training Corps dated September 18, 1918, 8-12, Box 3, Folder 8, Records of the Dean of the College, Theodorick Pryor Campbell, RG 11/1, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.