Baccalaureate Origins of Ph.D.s

St. Olaf ranks high among liberal arts colleges in the number of its graduates who earn doctoral degrees. The data below is based on the NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates and compares St. Olaf College to the other Baccalaureate-Liberal Arts Colleges in the Carnegie classification.

Total Number of Doctorates Earned in Different Periods
Institution 1994-2003 1984-1993
1. Oberlin College 1,107 955
2. Wesleyan University 780 492
3. Swarthmore College 770 548
4. Carleton College 766 578
5. Williams College 644 357
6. Smith College 634 526
7. Wellesley College 608 544
8. St. Olaf College 599 454 (rank 8th)
9. Reed College 517 437
10. Amherst College 517 336
11. Vassar College 503 406
12. Pomona College 492 413
13. Barnard College 459 534
14. Bryn Mawr College 456 324
15. Grinnell College 454 314
16. Bucknell University 445 404
17. Mount Holyoke College 440 411
18. Furman University 385 263
19. Haverford College 384 288
20. Wheaton College (IL) 383 451


St. Olaf Graduates, Degrees Earned by Discipline

Looking at specific disciplines, the following table shows the number of Ph.D.s awarded to St. Olaf graduates during the period 1994-2003 and the rank of St. Olaf among liberal arts colleges as a source of Ph.D.s in those disciplines.
 
 
Discipline Number Rank
Art & Music 40 4
Biological Science 93 8
Business & Management 8 7
Chemistry 43 4
Economics 9 18
Education 66 3
Engineering 22 6
Foreign Language 23 4
Humanities 82 16
Life Sciences 127 5
Math & Statistics 45 1
Medical Sciences 12 4
Physical Sciences 68 4
Physics 23 8
Religion & Theology 31 2
Social Service Professions 6 4

Note: We have selected disciplines or groups of disciplines where St. Olaf ranks among the top 20; please contact the IRP Office for other disciplines.

Sources:
Classification of Institutions: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 2000 Edition. Electronic data file, second revision, 2002. (226 Liberal Arts colleges listed)

Doctorates earned: Data compiled from the National Science Foundation, Survey of Earned Doctorates/Doctorate Records File, WebCASPAR database. Note that professional degrees, including Psy.D., D.Min., Pharm.D., M.D., etc. are not included.

Definition of rankings:
Rank assigned by total sum of doctorates earned by institutions' alumni during 1994-2003.

Ranked positions of ties were skipped in order to reflect the total number of institutions with valid values for the given time period in the ranks.

NSF's Grouping of Academic Disciplines:
Sciences and Engineering

* Engineering
* Physical Sciences: Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Other Physical Sciences
* Geosciences: Atmospheric Sciences, Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Other Geosciences
* Math and Computer Sciences: Mathematics and Statistics, Computer Science, Other Math Sciences
* Life Sciences: Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Medical Sciences (not M.D.s), Other Life Sciences
* Psychology
* Social Sciences: Economics, Political Science and Public Administration, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, History of Science, Area and Ethnic Studies, Other Social Sciences
* Science and Engineering Technologies
* Interdisciplinary or Other Sciences

Non-sciences

* Humanities: History, English and Literature, Foreign Languages, Other Humanities
* Religion and Theology
* Arts and Music
* Architecture and Environmental Design
* Education
* Business and Management
* Communication and Librarianship
* Law (but not J.D.)
* Social Service Professions
* Vocational Studies and Home Economics
* Other Non-sciences or Unknown Disciplines