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 [email protected]
(202) 466-7230
Council of Independent Colleges, March 2014