Sunday, September 19, 2010

Vassar leads in producing PhDs in science, engineering

Each year, the National Science Foundation compiles data on where engineering and science PhDs earned their undergraduate degrees. They then publish a list of the top 50 colleges and universities that produce the most PhDs in these fields, per capita. As always, Vassar is featured on the list. Prospective students might find this data helpful in analyzing career prospects in science and engineering from small liberal arts colleges.

Interested in science and engineering? Learn more about sciences at Vassar by looking at our ScienceWeb and reading about our first-rate science programs, including Astronomy, Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Science and Geography, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, and Psychology.

One of the primary advantages of studying science at a liberal arts college is the opportunity to conduct research with professors. Science students are able to become Research Assistants to faculty, participating in cutting-edge projects. Vassar's Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) gives students the option of doing even more intensive summer-long research with faculty, often publishing papers and building their resumes. At larger universities -- which might seem appealing on first glance because of larger faculties or labs -- students have a far more difficulty getting involved in hands-on research.

Plus, Vassar alumni have long been leaders in science. To see just a few examples, read about Sau Lan Wu '63 (PhD, physics, Harvard University), Jeff Sleight '88 (PhD, appled physics, Yale University), and John Carlstrom '81 (PhD, astronomy, University of California at Berkeley).

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