<p>Hello everyone! I am planning on transferring from my current CC to an LAC for Fall 2013 and am interested in a variety of schools just based on what I have gathered of them from the Internet so far... </p>
<p>I am currently interested in/curious about these schools:</p>
<p>Hamilton
Amherst
Allegheny
Bard
Dickinson
Lafayette
Skidmore
Wellesley
Barnard
Whitman
Smith
Bates
Sarah Lawrence
Colby
Bryn Mawr
Mt. Holoyoke
Gettysburg</p>
<p>I am wondering how any of these schools compare to one another and how good their English programs for undergrads are. Any help or thoughts on this would be deeply appreciated.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you go to the course catalogs on line and look at the offerings. If you see a lot of survey courses, it is probably a weak department. Also look to see how many professors are in the department, and where they got their degrees.</p>
<p>Of the schools you list, I would expect the best English depts to be at Amherst, Wellesley, Barnard, Smith, Bates, Bryn Mawr, and Mount Holyoke. I was an English major at Wellesley, and was taught by well known poet/scholars including Robert Pinsky (poet laureate, among numerous other accomplishments), David Ferry (just won the National Book Award, among many other accomplishments, and Frank Bidart (winner of the Bollingen Prize, amongst others.).</p>
<p>Top 50 LACs for PhD production in English Lit, generated from the NSF WebCASPAR site for the past 5 available years (2006-20010), including Baccalaureate/Liberal Arts I and Baccalaureate/Liberal Arts II institutions, showing total number of alumni PhD recipients (not adjusted for college size):</p>
<p>Amherst College 32
Oberlin College 32
Vassar College 32
Swarthmore College 26
Wesleyan University 26
Wellesley College 23
Reed College 22
Pomona College 21
Smith College 21
Barnard College 20
Carleton College 20
Bryn Mawr College 19
Wheaton College (Wheaton IL) 19
Middlebury College 16
College of the Holy Cross 15
Kenyon College 15
Bard College 14
Occidental College 14
Bowdoin College 13
Grinnell College 13
Mount Holyoke College 13
Williams College 13
Connecticut College 12
Hampshire College 12
Colgate University 11
Macalester College 11
St Olaf College 11
University of Dallas 11
University of the South 11
Allegheny College 10
Davidson College 10
Hope College 10
Illinois Wesleyan University 10
University of Puget Sound 10
Beloit College 9
Evergreen State College 9
Hamilton College 9
Haverford College 9
Rhodes College 9
Sarah Lawrence College 9
Scripps College 9
Spelman College 9
Trinity College (Hartford CT) 9
Denison University 8
Furman University 8
St John’s College (Annapolis MD) 8
Franklin and Marshall College 7
Hendrix College 7
Kalamazoo College 7
St John’s University (Collegeville MN) 7
Taylor University 7</p>
<p>n.b. the rank order may be influenced by factors other than the relative quality of undergraduate programs (such as the ability, motivation, and interests of admitted students)</p>