Natural Sciences and Engineering At Swarthmore College

A recent editorial in Science magazine (College Science: Pass, No Credit, by Donald Kennedy, vol. 293, Issue 5535, 1557 31 August 2001) pointed out that nationwide only about 8% of undergraduates major in science. It went on to say, "For the decade 1986 through 1995, the proportional Ph.D. productivity of undergraduate institutions was far higher than that of the research universities; the top five included four liberal arts colleges." At Swarthmore, more than 30% of the student body major in science, mathematics, or engineering. And Swarthmore ranks 4th in the percentage of undergraduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in the sciences.

We do not believe that getting a Ph.D. is necessary for a fulfilling life. We have lots of anecdotal evidence that our non-Ph.D. graduates are leading happy and fulfilling lives. We just don't have any quantitative data on that. We do have quantitative data (from the National Science Foundation) on undergraduate origins of Ph.Ds. So we use that as some indication of the quality of our program.

The biggest difference between Swarthmore and much of the rest of the academic world is that our students DO science rather than read about it. That doesn't mean they don't read, but here they also participate with faculty in what real scientists do. This is most obviously the case in our advanced labs, seminars, and student research experiences; however, even our introductory courses expose students to the real thing.

This hands-on preparation, coupled with the kind of research opportunities that usually go only to graduate students at universities, helps make Swarthmore graduates especially well prepared for graduate and medical schools. A special report by the National Science Foundation, "Undergraduate Origins of Recent (1991-95) Science and Engineering Doctorate Recipients" (NSF 96-334, http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf96334/htmstart.htm) provides some interesting numbers. The following two tables will look best in a fixed-width font like Courier.

Total number of Science and Engineering doctorates between 1991-95 for a few (selected) colleges.

Berkeley, Illinois, and Cornell are the top three in total numbers. I have skipped many schools that appear between Cornell and Amherst.

Now, if you divide by the number of undergraduates enrolled at those institutions, you can get the number of Ph.D.'s per 100 undergraduates.

In the interests of brevity, I have only shown some of the top 25 institutions in terms of fraction of undergraduates who go on to receive Ph.D.'s in science and engineering (1991-95). Neither Berkeley nor Illinois appear in the top 25 when ranked by Ph.D.'s per hundred undergraduates. Swarthmore graduates go on to earn Ph.D.s in science and engineering at a rate that is surpassed only by graduates of MIT, Cal Tech, and Harvey Mudd. In some sense, the density of serious science students at Swarthmore is the highest in the nation except for those three institutions which focus primarily on the sciences and engineering. Moreover, last year, every one of our seniors applying to medical school was admitted to at least one program. In short, for students interested in pursuing advanced study in the sciences, Swarthmore is a wonderful place to gain the necessary foundation of learning.

Just as cross-training is important to athletes, the success of our students majoring in the natural sciences is due to the deep intellectual engagement pervasive in all divisions at Swarthmore College. The contributions of the excellent faculty and students in the divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences are essential to the success of science students. Sandra Moore Faber, Swarthmore undergraduate, Harvard Ph.D., now University Professor at the University of California wrote:

"I consider my undergraduate training at a liberal arts institution as the single most important element in my education. All the relevant factors were there: high-quality, conscientious faculty, who taught with dedication; fellow students of the highest ability with whom to share ideas; a broadening and stimulating liberal arts atmosphere in which one learned to appreciate the philosophical and social ramification of one's discipline; and, above all, an institution which fostered the highest idealism and honesty toward the academic enterprise, toward science, toward the proper role of science in human experience, and, indeed, toward human conduct in the broadest sense."

We believe that most of our current students will be willing to express similar sentiments 20 years from now.

Charles F. Kelemen, Professor
Chair, Computer Science Department
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081
(610) 328-8515