<p>I have a quick question about Mudd's physics program .</p>
<p>A few people my dad works with claim that since Mudd has a strong focus in engineering, it's physics program may not be as strong as that of a large university. Specifically, they think that UC Santa Barbara has a stronger physics program than Mudd.</p>
<p>Can any physics majors (or anyone, really) verify/disprove this claim?</p>
<p>I've done some research but I really can't find too much on this topic.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I don't go to Mudd, but I'm pretty certain that its physics program is up there. I can't imagine UCSB really rivaling it in any way. </p>
<p>It's not on par with Caltech, but it's pretty close. </p>
<p>Someone from Mudd should elaborate on the Mudd physics program.</p>
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Specifically, they think that UC Santa Barbara has a stronger physics program than Mudd.
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<p>That's a completely inane statement by them. Mudd has a physics program that is in the first tier with MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Berkeley, and some ivies. It's one of our strongest departments. If you go to Mudd, you will get a top-notch physics degree and probably excellent graduate school options.</p>
<p>We're also 2nd in physics in PhD productivity behind Caltech:</p>
<p>This post by interesteddad is from two years ago:
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UCSB undergrad produced 26 future Physics PhDs over the ten year period out of a total of 39,182 undergrad degrees awarded. 0.667 future Physics PhDs per 1000 undergrad degrees. 268th on per capita list out of 678 schools that produced at least one future Physics PhD in ten years.</p>
<p>In raw totals, the 26 PhDs ties them for 58th on the list with LSU and Iowa State, just behind Swarthmore and Rutgers with 27 over the ten year period, just ahead of Williams, Oberlin, and Indiana U with 25 future Physics PhDs each.</p>
<p>Those stats would perhaps suggest that undergrad Physics is either not notably popular or not a particular program of emphasis at UCSB....at least in terms of motivating students to pursue academic/research careers. </p>
<p>At least on a per capita basis in the UC system, Berkeley, San Diego, Irvine, LA, Santa Cruz, Davis, and Riverside are all ahead of Santa Barbara in Physics PhD production over the 10 year period.</p>
<p>BTW, I would never suggest that per capita rankings provide any kind of absolute measure. But, in looking at these lists for year or two, a strong undergrad program is going to show up in the top 100 per capita list, particularly in a field like Physics where a doctoral degree is a reasonably common career path.
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<p>The link to the thread is <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/235936-physics-programs.html?highlight=ipeds+physics#post2925522%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/235936-physics-programs.html?highlight=ipeds+physics#post2925522</a></p>
<p>Thanks you guys for the statistics and information. I'm not sure where the people my dad works with got their information, but this makes it a bit clearer (At least for those who want to pursue a Ph.D - which I do). I just hope HMC will admit a few people from the wait list so that I can get a chance to earn my degree from HMC :-D</p>
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It's not on par with Caltech, but it's pretty close.
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<p>That is debatable...but I'm not going to open this whole can of worms.</p>
<p>I will just say that I am a physics major here entering my senior year. I have been VERY happy with the department - I feel it is arguably the best department here (of course, I am biased) and certainly one of the best in the country, if not the best (but as I said, that is a whole other debate). I do not think it is accurate to say that UCSB is better than HMC for physics. Certainly, UCSB has an exceptional graduate program and excellent faculty members who do research in physics. But that does not necessarily equate to a stellar undergraduate program.</p>
<p>I assure you, the physics program here is excellent and top-notch. We are out of this world in terms of undergraduate research opportunities (especially for an undergraduate only college), classes, and overall preparation.</p>
<p>But don't take my word for it. We underwent external review in 2004 by an independent team of three physicists, from Williams, Swarthmore and Caltech. I shall let their comments speak for themselves:</p>
<p>“The physics program at Harvey Mudd College is truly excellent and among the very best at undergraduate institutions across the country. The curriculum has been carefully conceived and is effective in providing an outstanding education to students, the faculty are skilled teachers who are extremely accessible and wonderfully supportive to students, the research experiences offered to students are top-notch, the department is an important contributor to the excellence of the institution, and the people in the department enjoy an esprit de corps that allows them to work together quite effectively. In short, the department enjoys the admiration of the administration, the faculty in other departments, the students, and now this review team.</p>
<p>“In reviewing one of the best if not the best physics program at an undergraduate institution, there are no major problems for us to address. ...”</p>