Princeton ranks 13th in study of pursuit of doctorate degrees

By graduation, most seniors have made a decision about whether to continue their education or enter the workforce.

While about a quarter of the class choose the former, a recent study by David Davis-Van Atta, director of Institutional Research at Carleton College, shows that 13.3 percent of Princeton graduates continue on to earn doctoral degrees.

The University is 13th overall and second in the Ivy League in those who earn doctoral degrees. Yale University leads the Ivy League at 11th place with 13.7 percent, and Harvard University is 16th with 12.9 percent.

Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania are ranked 53rd and 77th respectively, with 7.8 percent and 6.4 percent.

The study is updated every five years and ranks more than 1,450 American four-year colleges and universities. The California Institute of Technology leads all the schools with 34.9 percent, and Harvey Mudd College follows in second place with 25.4 percent.

"The results are not surprising, since both CalTech and Harvey Mudd are such heavily science-oriented schools," Davis-Van Atta said.

Every year, the University surveys the graduating class to gather information about their future plans. For the Class of 2002, 26.8 percent planned to continue their education.

That figure greatly increased last year from a steadily declining percentage. Previous surveys showed 25.6 percent, 23.1 percent and 19.4 percent for 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively.

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Other than the survey, the University does not track the progress of graduates, said Lauren Robinson-Brown '86, director of communications. Alumni Records also has not surveyed its members, she said.

"What we can report is the percentage that choose to opt for higher education, but not the percentage that complete that goal," said Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, director of career services.

The majors of those students who choose to pursue doctoral degrees varies little from year to year, she said.

To compile the data, Davis-Van Atta compared the number of doctoral degrees earned by graduates of a university within eight years of graduation to the total number of bachelors' degrees awarded by that university.

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Eight years is the median nationwide lag time between earning a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D., according to an article on the study in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Between 1983 and 1992, the University awarded bachelors' degrees to 11,001 students. Eight years later, between 1991 and 2000, 1,468 of those graduates had earned doctoral degrees.

Davis-Van Atta used statistics gathered in a comprehensive database sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The database is based on an annual Survey of Earned Doctorates. Only three to four percent of Ph.D. recipients fail to respond to the survey, Davis-Van Atta said.