<p>Can someone tell me of smaller schools (LACs, I guess) which have good physics programs? Could go anywhere, tho he is from the MW, IL.</p>
<p>Son is a junior and is trying to get his search list for visits. He seems to like the smaller school, smaller classroom design.</p>
<p>3.99/4.6 gpa, W, UW
top 1-2 pct, decent public suburban HS
28 practice act white male</p>
<p>Off the top of my head: Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, Wesleyan, Reed, Haverford</p>
<p>These schools (and others!) provide good undergrad physics prep (you can pick out the small schools; first posted by interesteddad):</p>
<p>Here are 100 to consider. These one hundred colleges and universities produced the highest percentage of future Physics/Astronomy PhDs per graduate over the most recent 10 year period. Obviously a lot of tech schools are represented, but there’s something for just about everybody (different sizes, different locations, different selectivities):</p>
<p>PhDs and Doctoral Degrees:
ten years (1994 to 2003) from NSF database</p>
<p>Number of Undergraduates:
ten years (1989 to 1998) from IPEDS database</p>
<p>Formula: Total PhDs divided by Total Grads, multiplied by 1000 </p>
<p>Note: Does not include colleges with less than 1000 graduates over the ten year period</p>
<p>1 California Institute of Technology 96
2 Harvey Mudd College 64
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 29
4 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology 20
5 Reed College 13
6 Carleton College 13
7 Princeton University 13
8 University of Chicago 13
9 Rice University 13
10 Case Western Reserve University 9
11 Harvard University 9
12 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9
13 Swarthmore College 9
14 Haverford College 8
15 Stevens Institute of Technology 8
16 Whitman College 8
17 Grinnell College 7
18 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 7
19 Colorado School of Mines 7
20 Yale University 6
21 Williams College 6
22 University of Rochester 6
23 Amherst College 6
24 Goshen College 5
25 Cornell University, All Campuses 5
26 University of Dallas 5
27 Wabash College 5
28 Stanford University 5
29 Beloit College 5
30 University of California-Berkeley 5
31 Carnegie Mellon University 5
32 Johns Hopkins University 5
33 Hastings College 5
34 Lawrence University 5
35 Illinois Institute of Technology 5
36 Columbia University in the City of New York 4
37 Oberlin College 4
38 Monmouth College 4
39 Bryn Mawr College 4
40 Gustavus Adolphus College 4
41 Kalamazoo College 4
42 College of William and Mary 4
43 Earlham College 4
44 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 4
45 Pomona College 4
46 St Olaf College 4
47 Georgia Institute of Technology, Main Campus 4
48 Rhodes College 4
49 St John’s University (Collegeville, MN) 3
50 Bates College 3
51 Macalester College 3
52 Brown University 3
53 Wesleyan University 3
54 Bethel College (North Newton, KS) 3
55 Brandeis University 3
56 Kenyon College 3
57 Hope College 3
58 St John’s College (both campus) 3
59 Franklin and Marshall College 3
60 Bowdoin College 3
61 Washington University 3
62 Walla Walla College 3
63 Middlebury College 3
64 University of Missouri, Rolla 3
65 Drew University 3
66 Guilford College 3
67 Southern College of Seventh-Day Adventists 3
68 Moravian College 3
69 Clarkson University 3
70 Polytechnic University 3
71 Hamline University 3
72 Tougaloo College 3
73 Vassar College 2
74 Andrews University 2
75 University of California-San Diego 2
76 Lehigh University 2
77 College of Wooster 2
78 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2
79 Wake Forest University 2
80 Duke University 2
81 Albion College 2
82 University of Virginia, Main Campus 2
83 Trinity University 2
84 University of Alabama in Huntsville 2
85 Benedictine College 2
86 University of Puget Sound 2
87 Michigan Technological University 2
88 Dartmouth College 2
89 Cooper Union 2
90 Pacific University 2
91 Florida Institute of Technology 2
92 Xavier University 2
93 Northwest Nazarene College 2
94 South Dakota School of Mines & Technology 2
95 Hendrix College 2
96 Bucknell University 2
97 Millsaps College 2
98 Southwestern University 2
99 Bethel College and Seminary, All Campuses 2
100 Wofford College 2
101 Wellesley College 2</p>
<p>roderick there are quiet a few small liberal arts colleges that have strong physics programs. Williams comes to mind but there are several others as noted above.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could help by asking your son to narrow in a little more on the kind of atmosphere he’s interested in – other than small. Urban/Suburban/Rural, sporty/arty/nerdy/political, Fraternities or no – that kind of thing.</p>
<p>The most selective schools will, of course, expect top grades, scores and rank (which you son appears to have covered) but they will also expect strong extracurriculars, activities and interests. This is especially true for white males.</p>
<p>Eldon Hall (Ph.D. Harvard University), who designed the guidance computer for the Apollo spacecraft, was an Eastern Nazarene College graduate.</p>
<p>John Rigden (Ph.D. The Johns Hopkins University), former editor of the American Journal of Physics, is an Eastern Nazarene College graduate.</p>
<p>Carl Crouthamel (Ph.D. University of Chicago), who worked on the Manhattan Project with Enrico Fermi and started the program that developed the gamma ray lens for use in astronomy, is an Eastern Nazarene College graduate.</p>
<p>John Free (Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology), chair of the Physics & Engineering Department at Eastern Nazarene College and director of the Research Experience for Undergraduates at Harvard University, is an Eastern Nazarene College graduate.</p>
<p>Perhaps Eastern Nazarene College (LAC in Massachusetts) might be worth checking out. ;-)</p>
<p>New Mexico Tech is very good, although you would need to like the feel of a small technical institute.</p>
<p>what distinguishes a technical institute from non technical institutes?</p>
<p>I notice Rose - Hulman says it is an ‘institute of technology’. How is that different from a regular ol’ LAC, say, H Mudd?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call HMC a regular LAC; hardly any students major in a non-technical field. I think that’s the distinguishing feature of a tech institute.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd College</p>
<p>Completions 2008-2009
Program Bachelor </p>
<p>Biological and biomedical sciences
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other 8
Biology/Biological Sciences, General 11
Biomathematics and Bioinformatics, Other 5
Category total 24
Communication, journalism, and related programs
Communication and Media Studies, Other 1
Category total 1
Computer and information sciences and support services
Computer Science 23
Category total 23
Engineering
Engineering, General 59
Category total 59
History
History, General 0
Category total 0
Legal professions and studies
Legal Studies, General 0
Category total 0
Mathematics and statistics
Mathematics, General 14
Category total 14
Multi/interdisciplinary studies
Mathematics and Computer Science 6
Category total 6
Philosophy and religious studies
Philosophy 0
Category total 0
Physical sciences
Chemistry, General 17
Geology/Earth Science, General 1
Physics, General 16
Category total 34
Psychology
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics 1
Psychology, General 0
Category total 1
Social sciences
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics 0
Economics, General 2
Political Science and Government, General 0
Category total 2
Visual and performing arts
Dance, General 0
Category total 0
**Grand total 164 **</p>
<p>====================</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology</p>
<p>Completions 2008-2009</p>
<p>Program Bachelor Master </p>
<p>Biological and biomedical sciences
Biology/Biological Sciences, General 6 -
Molecular Biochemistry 0 -
Category total 6 -
Computer and information sciences and support services
Computer Science 14 -
Category total 14 -
Engineering
Biomedical/Medical Engineering 33 2
Chemical Engineering 45 1
Civil Engineering, General 30 0
Computer Engineering, General 31 -
Computer Software Engineering 15 -
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering 39 1
Engineering Physics 1 -
Engineering, Other 10 2
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering - 0
Mechanical Engineering 112 5
Systems Engineering - 6
Category total 316 17
Engineering technologies/technicians
Engineering/Industrial Management - 24
Category total - 24
Mathematics and statistics
Mathematics, General 12 -
Category total 12 -
Physical sciences
Chemistry, General 9 -
Physics, General 9 -
Category total 18 -
Social sciences
Economics, General 1 -
Category total 1 -
**Grand total 367 41 **</p>
<p>**Now for a more well-rounded LAC</p>
<p>Williams College</p>
<p>Completions 2008-2009**
Program Bachelor Master </p>
<p>Area, ethnic, cultural, and gender studies
American/United States Studies/Civilization 7 -
Asian Studies/Civilization 10 -
Women’s Studies 0 -
Category total 17 -
Biological and biomedical sciences
Biology/Biological Sciences, General 52 -
Category total 52 -
Computer and information sciences and support services
Computer Science 17 -
Category total 17 -
English language and literature/letters
English Language and Literature, General 56 -
Category total 56 -
Foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics
Chinese Language and Literature 9 -
Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics, General 7 -
Comparative Literature 9 -
French Language and Literature 1 -
German Language and Literature 1 -
Japanese Language and Literature 3 -
Russian Language and Literature 1 -
Spanish Language and Literature 1 -
Category total 32 -
History
History, General 41 -
Category total 41 -
Mathematics and statistics
Mathematics, General 23 -
Category total 23 -
Multi/interdisciplinary studies
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 5 -
Category total 5 -
Philosophy and religious studies
Philosophy 12 -
Religion/Religious Studies 5 -
Category total 17 -
Physical sciences
Astronomy 0 -
Astrophysics 0 -
Chemistry, General 32 -
Geology/Earth Science, General 6 -
Physics, General 2 -
Category total 40 -
Psychology
Psychology, General 36 -
Category total 36 -
Social sciences
Anthropology 6 -
Development Economics and International Development - 24
Economics, General 65 -
Political Science and Government, General 32 -
Social Sciences, Other 8 -
Sociology 2 -
Category total 113 24
Visual and performing arts
Art History, Criticism and Conservation - 11
Art/Art Studies, General 55 -
Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General 3 -
Music, General 5 -
Category total 63 11
**Grand total 512 35 **</p>
<p>I was showing the phd list from post 3 above to my son and he wondered why the Frank Olin institute was not in there. I know it only has 300 or so students, but the study says the college must have at least a 1000 students over a 10 yr period.</p>
<p>I think I know why - olin might not even have existed during at least some of the reporting period posted above. Is there a more recent list, out of curiousity?</p>
<p>looks like olin started in 1997</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.olin.edu/about_olin/olin_history.asp[/url]”>http://www.olin.edu/about_olin/olin_history.asp</a></p>
<p>Maybe this is due to my proximity (I grew up ~40 miles from Carleton), but I always hear Carleton lauded for its natural science excellence, especially for physics.</p>
<p>Lafayette has a swanky new building and a nice, small campus. Good engineering and physics programs.</p>
<p>For physics, Rhodes College in Memphis, TN comes to mind.</p>
<p>Nth’ing Swarthmore and Carleton, for physics and Swarthmore also for engineering. I met a frosh physics major at Swat on my overnight who had turned down Caltech and was doing some geeky physics thing with a friend, just on a random night in a friends group that was very mixed in academic interest–a kind of diversity lacking at tech schools, though Harvey Mudd kind of makes up for it through the consortium.</p>
<p>“I met a frosh physics major at Swat on my overnight who had turned down Caltech”</p>
<p>Maybe s/he wants to go to Caltech for grad school; they don’t allow their own undergrads in.</p>
<p>^Interesting policy (I can’t comment on his motivations, with so many possible influences)–I suppose it makes sense for Caltech too, that the intensity of their undergrad curriculum would necessitate a different POV for grad school.</p>
<p>Holy Cross-well rounded LAC 1 hour from Boston.</p>
<p>HC just opened a 65 million dollar science complex, impressive for a school of 2800.</p>