Private Colleges and STEM: Myths and Facts

PRIVATE COLLEGES AND STEMMYTHS AND FACTS

March 2014

MYTH FACT

Students who major in STEM fields at smaller private colleges are less likely to change their major and more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree in STEM than students at public universities.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

The best way to build the STEM pipeline is to invest in the institutions that serve the largest number of students—large, public research universities.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Public Nondoctoral Public Doctoral Private Nondoctoral Private Doctoral0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

39%

27%25%

22%

Percentage of STEM Majors Who Switched to a Non-STEM Field

Note: Spring 2009 status of 2003-2004 first-time postsecondary students who claimed a major in STEM fields by academic year 2005-2006. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS 04/09). Analysis by the Council of Independent Colleges.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Private Doctoral Private Nondoctoral Public Doctoral Public Nondoctoral0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

61%59%

56%

31%

Percentage of STEM Majors Who Completed a Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM Field

Note: Spring 2009 status of 2003-2004 first-time postsecondary students who claimed a major in STEM fields by academic year 2005-2006. Source: U.S. Department of Education, Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS 04/09). Analysis by the Council of Independent Colleges.

MYTH

Large public research universities are the best places to earn an undergraduate STEM degree.

FACT

Not only do smaller private colleges have higher STEM graduation rates, but their graduates also are more likely to finish on time.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Public Nondoctoral Public Doctoral Private Nondoctoral Private Doctoral0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

34%

52%

80% 81%

Percentage of STEM Graduates Who Earned Bachelor's Degrees in Four Years or Fewer

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008-09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09) , 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients.

MYTH

Students who graduate in STEM fields from large research universities have a better chance of getting into grad school.

FACT

One in five STEM graduates from smaller private colleges enroll in a master’s or PhD program within a year of graduation, roughly the same rate as graduates of large research universities.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Public Nondoctoral Public Doctoral Private Nondoctoral Private Doctoral0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

14%

22%

19%

21%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008-09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09) , 2009 enrollment in graduate degree programs of 2007–08 bachelor’s degree recipients.

Percentage of Graduates in STEM Fields Who Enrolled in a Graduate Program within One Year After Graduation

MYTH

STEM graduates from large public universities are more likely to earn PhDs than their peers from smaller private colleges.

FACT

Although smaller private colleges produced only 17 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields, one in five (20 percent) of all PhDs in STEM were awarded to students who completed their undergraduate work at a small private college.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Private Nondoctoral Private Doctoral Public Nondoctoral Public Doctoral0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

17%

13%

20%

49%

20% 21%

12%

48%

Share of Bachelor's Degrees in STEM (2001-2005) Pro-duced by Sector

Share of PhD Recipients in STEM (2006-2010) Who Completed Bachelor's Degree in Sector

Share of Total Degrees by Sector

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, In-tegrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, Na-tional Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

MYTH

Large public research universities provide the clearest pathway to a PhD in a STEM field.

FACT

Private college graduates complete PhDs in STEM at a higher rate than public university graduates.Many smaller private colleges regularly send a higher percentage of their STEM graduates into PhD programs than in-state public flagship research universities do.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

State/Institution Undergraduate Enrollment

Fall 2003

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2001-2005

Number of Graduates Who

Earned PhD 2006-2010

Percentage of Graduates Who

Earned PhD

Pennsylvania

Allegheny College 1,849 70 25 36%

University of Pittsburgh 17,413 239 30 13%

Ohio

College of Wooster 1,871 75 21 28%

Ohio State University 37,605 219 33 15%

Virginia

University of Richmond 3,613 68 17 25%

University of Virginia 13,829 453 28 6%

Percentage of Graduates Who Earned PhDs in Chemistry

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

State/Institution Undergraduate Enrollment

Fall 2003

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2001-2005

Number of Graduates Who

Earned PhD 2006-2010

Percentage of Graduates Who

Earned PhD

Pennsylvania

Haverford College 1,163 178 51 29%

Penn State University 35,002 1,739 280 16%

Iowa

Grinnell College 1,524 207 58 28%

University of Iowa 20,233 656 85 10%

Ohio

Oberlin College 2,907 268 66 25%

Ohio State University 37,605 1,708 144 8%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Percentage of Graduates Who Earned PhDs in Biological Sciences

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

State/Institution Undergraduate Enrollment

Fall 2003

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2001-2005

Number of Graduates Who

Earned PhD 2006-2010

Percentage of Graduates Who

Earned PhD

Pennsylvania

Swarthmore College 1,500 58 8 14%

Penn State University 35,002 1,241 32 3%

Oregon

Lewis & Clark College 1,792 55 6 11%

University of Oregon 15,983 352 11 3%

Michigan

Hope College 3,068 70 6 9%

University of Michigan 24,517 817 32 4%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Percentage of Graduates Who Earned PhDs in Computer Science

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

State/Institution Undergraduate Enrollment

Fall 2003

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2001-2005

Number of Graduates Who

Earned PhD 2006-2010

Percentage of Graduates Who

Earned PhD

Massachusetts

Mount Holyoke College 2,147 21 7 33%

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4,112 308 85 28%

Washington

University of Puget Sound 2,516 43 12 28%

University of Washington 27,962 312 38 12%

Georgia

Morehouse College 2,859 31 7 23%

University of Georgia 25,415 30 5 17%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Percentage of Graduates Who Earned PhDs in Physics

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

State/Institution Undergraduate Enrollment

Fall 2003

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2001-2005

Number of Graduates Who

Earned PhD 2006-2010

Percentage of Graduates Who

Earned PhD

Texas

University of Dallas 1,250 21 6 29%

University of Texas at Austin 38,383 816 40 5%

Pennsylvania

Swarthmore College 1,500 54 14 26%

University of Pittsburgh 17,413 206 12 6%

Ohio

Kenyon College 1,163 35 6 17%

Ohio State University 37,605 296 20 7%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System, Survey of Earned Doctorates.

Percentage of Graduates Who Earned PhDs in Mathematics and Statistics

Other factors to consider:

• Hallmarks of the smaller private college experience include faculty emphasis on teaching, smaller class sizes, mission-centered course curriculum, and active forms of pedagogy.

• In the sciences, this translates to more personal attention from faculty members in the classroom and in the laboratory, as well as opportunities for open-ended, independent research projects.

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014

For additional information about these facts and others that describe the contributions of smaller private colleges to STEM fields, visit:

www.cic.edu/STEM

For questions, please contact:

Laura Wilcox, Vice President for Communicationslwilcox@cic.nche.edu

(202) 466-7230

Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014