Table of colleges and university that produce awardees of NSF graduate fellowships

I’ve been helping my DD and friends explore colleges and universities that will prepare them for a career in science and graduate school. I did some analyses on the baccalaureate institution of origin for awardees of the NSF graduate fellowships from 2010-2016. To get one of these awards, the student must have demonstrated significant research potential—which means they must have had both a strong science education and good research opportunities as undergraduate.

I’m posting the tables I generated here because I think they might help other students in their search for colleges. Also it may help students find colleges they’ve never heard that have strong programs for undergrads in their area of interest. The numbers are not adjusted for institution size. Some institutions have 30,000 undergrads; others, 1500. So you need to think about the size of the institution when using this.

Background

The National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships are a prestigious 3-year fellowship for graduate work in STEM fields. “The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM and STEM education.” One of it’s goals is to support diversity so tilts towards women and minorities, but definitely men and non-minorities are awarded these too.

I downloaded the tables for 2010-2016 here.
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=sort

The NSF data shows the baccalaureate institution of the person getting the award and shows the field in which they will be doing research. I condensed the field of study info into the broader fields of Chemistry, Physics, Life Sciences, Psychology, Social Sciences, Geosciences, Computer Science, and Math. I excluded Engineering, Education and Materials Research. If you want the R code in order to drill down on the data yourself, you can PM me.

The fields (column headings) is taken from the field code listed on the NSF tables which the exception that Life Sciences was broken into ‘Environmental/Organismal’ + ‘Lab’ life sciences. Math includes statistics and informatics (incl biostatistics).

EnviSci=Life Sciences with these codes: “Ecology”,“ecology”,“Population Biology”,
“Conservation Biology”,“Conservation Genetics”,“Wildlife”,“Zoology”,“Forestry”,
“Marine Biology”,“Marine Science”,“Biodiversity”,“Systems Biology”,
“Evolutionary Biology”,“Environmental Management”,“marine biology”,
“Entomology”,“Animal Behavior”,“Biological Oceanography”,“Biogeography”,“Animal behavior”,
“Organismal Biology”,“Evolutionary Biology”,“Environmental Sciences”,“Environmental Biology”,
“Botany”,“Paleobiology”

LifeSci=Life Sciences that are not “EnvSci”. Mainly cellular, molecular, developmental, microbial, neuro biology plus genetics and genomics. Biostatistics, computational biology and bioinformatics listed under math

Math=Math+Statistics. Includes any award listed under mathematical sciences plus biostatistics, computational biology bioinformatics (listed under life sciences)

total=total number of awardees with that institution from 2010-2016 with a proposed research topic in the fields listed.

I had to put the institution on the right to get the table formatting to work on CC.

Tables start next post (character limits)

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSci_MathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
45
329836015382948359Univ of Calif-Berkeley
241417412539282563276Harvard Univ
_
22
401053
83650
720246Mass. Inst of Tech
19__151139639241610206Cornell Univ
92313382219132331191Stanford Univ
10__2023503078820176Univ of Washington
7328311625161424173Princeton Univ
17__1172423
9162625158Yale Univ
9__6553124181614137Univ of Calif-LA
10
47231117161134133Univ of Chicago
121202927371518132Brown Univ
139142816791022128Univ of Texas-Austin
11__15122111891518120Columbia Univ
11
244424551213120Univ of WI-madison
71073416352015117Univ of CA-san Diego
19__15716
3202132106Calif Inst of Tech
7__492014851519101Univ of NC-Chapel Hill
10113034246896Univ of Calif-davis
5
3102917
4714594Univ of Arizona
2
551619101131788Duke Univ
12
6418526131884Northwestern Univ
11
2117233671383Univ of Florida
6
5821937101483Washington Univ
5
481624274878Univ of CA-santa Cruz
5
7
217929121578Univ of Penn
1
2
691535132276Dartmouth College
5
3
019192731876Swarthmore College
8
7
418107371175Univ of MI Ann Arbor
11
4219112107874Univ of MN-twin Cities
9
761383118873Rice Univ
4
3
32596731272Arizona State Univ
13
2312140128872Univ of CA-santa Barb
__
6
106178258668Univ of Virginia Main
6
461711546_8__67Univ of Maryland

Take #2
ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
45
3298360153829__48359UC-Berkeley
241417
412539282563276Harvard
22401053836507__20246MIT
191511
396392416__10206Cornell
923133822191323__31191Stanford
102023
5030788__20176U of WA
732
8311625161424173Princeton
17117242391626__25158Yale
9655312
4181614137UCLA
10472311171611__34133U of Chicago
12
12029273715__18132Brown Univ
13
91428167910__22128UTX-Austin
111512
2111891518120Columbia
112444245512__13120UW-madison
710
73416352015117UC-san Diego
1915716320213__2106CA Inst of Tech
7492014
8515__19101UNC-Chapel Hill
10
113034246896UC-davis
_
5
31029174714594U of AZ
_
2
551619101131788Duke Univ
12
6418526131884Northwestern U
11
21172336_71383U of FL
_
6
582193_7101483WA Univ
_
5
481624274878UC-santa Cruz
5__7217
929121578U of Penn
1__26
91535132276Dartmouth
5__301919
2731876Swarthmore
8__741810
7371175UM-Ann Arbor
11
__4219112107874UMN-twin Cities
9__7613
8
3118873Rice Univ
4__3325
96731272AZ State Univ
13
_2312140128872UC-santa Barb
6
10617
8258668UVA Main
6__461711
546_867_U of MD

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
7
54985771466U of MI
7__2412
724111665Pomona
16
__54194425564UC-irvine
7__281119
2
45563Carleton Coll
8__34
993143861Ohio State
14
__8284389561U of IL-Urbana
3__2511
24771960U of Notre Dame
12
_141260117457U of Rochester
4__25
9714141157Wellesley Coll
3__25
7
75712957Williams Coll
4__01
5
336142056NYU
4__7316
4555756U of Pittsburgh
2
193140457155Carnegie-Mellon
5__3113
6
1414754Indiana Univ
8__27
93196853Penn State-UPark
3__3415
2
8611052Brigham Young
2__4423
2195151Rutgers Univ-NB
2__6213
73161151Tufts Univ
9
130
451360050Harvey Mudd
6__1514
6166449Boston Univ
8__311213
371149NC State Univ
11
_0649245748Coll of W&M
4__0612
41122647U CO Boulder
8__1410
9
423546Oberlin
3__0012
7
368645Reed
4
195
22550244Georgia IT
1__111611
1
031044U of Georgia
4__2811
8
121340Amherst Coll
4__0010
5
0111940Emory Univ
4__14
731210840Wesleyan Univ
2__0321
7003339U of NM
8__1115
5107139UPuerto Rico-Rio P
7__2212
5323238MI State Univ
7__0212
7020737Grinnell Coll
7__1012
3051736Brandeis Univ
6__35
94223236TX A&M-Main
10
_6352124235Purdue Univ
3__2314
1153234Johns Hopkins
2__29
34126_534_Smith Coll

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
4
41134011634UMissouri-columbia
5__11
97013734U of OR Eugene
2__12
9
7124634Vanderbilt Univ
6__11
46126633U of Kansas
5__24
4
5334232FL State Univ
3__5111
4402232U of MA-Amherst
5__24
73026332U of So CA
4__13
5
4214731Macalester Coll
4__12
96205130CO State Univ
1__04
9
9113230U of Miami
3__20
451121129Georgetown
2__001011
101429Lewis & Clark Coll
5__0012
2
108129San Diego St Univ
7__10
8
4023429UC-riverside
1__6112
8000129VA Polytech Inst
4__01
72034728Barnard Coll
6__24
5
0044328Haverford Coll
3__26
75120228Montana St Univ
4__01
8
5171128U of Illinois
4__25
26223228USC-Columbia
5__1111
1
012325San Jose St Univ
2__40
8
5031124Clemson Univ
4__04
28303024St Olaf Coll
2__11
7
8112124U of CT
1__43
73113124U of TX-El Paso
5__21
5
4032224U of Utah
1__22
26027224Vassar Coll
2__16
3
6021223Bowdoin Coll
1__04
63122423LA State Univ
4__12
4
7022123Mt Holyoke Coll
4__40
71410223RPI
1__12
3
5262123U of AR
1__60
71203323U of Central FL
1__40
7
6010322Middlebury
5__11
24114322U of Delaware
0__14
115
000021Humboldt St Univ
5__30
5
1411121UMD-Baltimore Co.
3__25
44021021U of OK Norman
0__2413
1
001021UPuerto Rico-Maya.
7__02
3
1302220Boston Coll
1__11
90124120Case Western
0__04
5
6111220Colorado Coll
3__20
52124120FL Intern. Univ
10
_1040011320Furman Univ
3__00
23122720Tulane Univ
4__11
7
1041120U of Iowa
1__80
24120220UNE-lincoln
2__05
4
2013219CA State-long Bch
4__12
51024019Northeastern
2__00
4
0107519Spelman Coll
3__04
51121219SUNY-Stony Brook
2__10
4
5022319U of South FL
3__40
41231119U of Tulsa
0__06
7
5000018CA St-Mont. Bay
2__02
45001418Colgate Univ
1__01
2
5113418Kenyon Coll
1__23
82010118WA State Univ
8__01
4
2021018Western WA Univ
5__02
41003217Hamilton Coll
1__00
7
2122217SF State Univ
3__31
31003317UA-Tuscaloosa
2__21
3
3210317U of Kentucky
3__51
21221017UMD Coll Park
1__02
4
8010117U of Montana
2__21
54102017UT-Knoxville
4__01
4
2202116CA Poly St Univ
2__00
63002316Davidson Coll
0__22
5
6100016Oregon St Univ
3__10
41104216Temple Univ
2__10
5
1114116Truman St Univ
0__12
63121016U of NH
1__20
2
2420215Bryn Mawr Coll
2__00
24202315CA St Poly-pomona
2__41
2
1041015Drexel Univ
9__00
33000015Hope Coll
2__00
2
8001215Occidental
1__02
55001115Oklahoma St Univ
2__30
4
1001415Portland St Univ
4__10
52000_315_Santa Clara Univ

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
4
0123102215Scripps
2__02
5
2021115Syracuse Univ
0__20
31104415WA & Lee Univ
3__22
2
3010215Wheaton Coll
2__01
12110614American Univ
5__01
3
1120114Calvin Coll
2__06
20310014CO Sch of Mines
4__00
0
1002714George WA Univ
0__20
51114014Hunter Coll CUNY
1__21
3
4201014Iowa St Univ
2__00
31202414Mcgill Univ
2__00
7
2101114Miami Univ
2__01
63110014NM St Univ
0__20
3
3012314Trinity Univ
3__21
41111014U of TX-Dallas
3__02
2
4010214Whitman Coll
0__00
25004213Bard Coll
2__00
3
2201313Baylor Univ
2__01
31105013CA St-Northridge
1__21
2
4001213Coll of Charleston
3__20
13021113Denison Univ
3__00
3
2012213Franklin & Marshall
0__03
26001113Hampshire Coll
4__01
5
0002113Morehouse Coll
1__31
40130013SUNY-Buffalo
5__00
2
2220013Coll of New Jersey
2__10
62002013U of Richmond
2__11
1
7010013U of Wyoming
3__00
42101112Claremont Mckenna
1__00
5
2011212Connecticut Coll
0__20
14004112Elon Univ
2__80
0
0100112Franklin W. Olin
4__11
20022012Ohio Univ
2__30
4
0030012Rochester IT
0__02
14005012Skidmore Coll
0__01
4
0142012U of Houston
5__00
22010212U of So Mississippi
1__01
2
4020212Utah State Univ
1__11
31111111CA St-fullerton
0__02
3
3002111Colby Coll
1__01
21004211Coll of Wooster
0__01
5
3001111Kalamazoo Coll
2__00
32011211Kent State Univ
1__00
5
1101211NE Illinois Univ
4__02
12002011Union Coll
1__13
1
2010211U of HI Manoa
2__00
25010111U of Idaho
1__00
1
1302311U of IL-Chicago
0__12
34000111UNC-Wilmington
0__10
3
0100611U of North TX
1__00
27100011U of Vermont
4__11
2
1020011West VA Univ
2__01
20101310Binghamton Univ
1__10
4
2001110Bucknell Univ
0__10
43001110Evergreen St Coll
0__00
3
3101210Gonzaga Univ
1__11
32011010Gustavus Adolphus
2__10
1
2013010Hendrix Coll
0__11
30021210Lafayette Coll
1__10
2
3003010Southwestern Univ
2__11
40010110UNV-Reno
2__10
5
0010110UTX-San Antonio
4__00
3110009Boise St Univ
001
2311019CUNY City Coll
010
3110129Depauw Univ
102
0500109Earlham Coll
110
1021129George Mason
100
3013019Indiana U-So Bend
401
0201019Juniata Coll
400
2100119Kansas St Univ
101
3201019Northern AZ Univ
500
1300009Pepperdine Univ
300
3100209Providence Coll
000
21002_49Sarah Lawrence

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
1
014100119SUNY-Geneseo
112
2101109UMass-Boston
100
1400039U of Puget Sound
212
3000019U of San Diego
101
1111129UTX-Pan American
300
2001129Wake Forest
203
2101009Western KY Univ
020
2300108Auburn Univ
000
2300218Beloit Coll
101
2010308CA St-San Marcos
500
1010108Coll of Holy Cross
300
2010028Fordham Univ
400
0201018IL Wesleyan Univ
210
1110118IN Univ-purdue
000
1300138Loyola U of Chicago
100
3000228New Coll of FL
101
2210018St Mary’s Coll of MD
201
0111118U of Brit Columbia
000
5111008UC-Merced
110
0212108U of Cinc-Main
000
4102108U of Denver
001
3201018U of Maine
050
2100008UNC-Charlotte
600
0100018UPuerto Rico Cayey
102
1400008U of Rhode Is
301
1000128UTX-Arlington
203
1100007Appalachian St U
100
3111007Ball St Univ
101
2000217Clark Univ
201
1100117Depaul Univ
201
1100027Dickinson Coll
101
4000107Georgia St Univ
000
0111137Howard Univ
010
1210117Ithaca Coll
011
2200107Mich Tech Univ
200
2300007Muhlenberg Coll
000
2500007Ohio Wesleyan
211
0200107TX St-San Marcos
001
0510007U of HI-Hilo
011
1002027U of Louisville
102
1201007U of Toledo
110
1101207Ursinus Coll
200
1102017Westminster Coll
100
4200007Willamette Univ
110
3101007Worcester Poly Inst
201
0100206Albion Coll
211
1000016Brooklyn Coll
020
1100206CA St-Sacram.
101
3000106CA St-San Bernardino
200
1000216CA St-Fresno
003
3000006Cambridge Univ
000
2101026CUNY Hunter Coll
101
2010016CUNY Queens Coll
001
1310006Eckerd Coll
301
0100016Fort Lewis Coll
200
0100306Hobart & William
001
4100006James Madison Univ
100
0300206Knox Coll
021
1001016Lehigh Univ
111
0100116Loyola Marymount
020
1010026NC Agri & Tech St Univ
211
1000016Rhodes Coll
000
0600006SUNY EnvSci&For
000
3100206UA-Birmingham
001
0500006UAK-Fairbanks
110
1100116UCO-Col Sprgs
201
2000106U of Portland
000
2000316U of San Fran
101
3100006U of St. Thomas
003
2001006Valparaiso Univ
200
1101005Agnes Scott Coll
202
0100005Allegheny Coll
110
0001115Bethel Univ
110
01011_05CA St-Los Angeles

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
0
010002115CA St-East Bay
001
1000305CUNY
100
0121005Clarkson Univ
102
1100005Coast.Carolina
000
1400005Coll of Atlantic
201
1000105Eastern MI Univ
100
3100005Eastern WA U
010
4000005Grand Vall St U
110
2001005Hampton Univ
300
0010105Idaho St Univ
120
1000015Miss. St Univ
301
0000105Ohio No. Univ
102
0100105Rice Univ
100
4000005Rider Univ
101
0100115St Louis Univ
020
1110005Seattle Univ
300
0002005So. Methodist
110
2000015UCO-Denver
000
1110115U of Memphis
200
1200005UNC-Greensboro
100
3000015U of ND-Main
020
2100005U of Oxford
000
4100005UPuerto Rico-Hum.
100
0400005U of Tampa
101
1200005U of The South
101
2000105U of Virgin Is
111
1000015UW-Eau Claire
102
1000105UW-Milwaukee
200
2100005UW-Stevens Pt
201
0001015Villanova Univ
100
1100014Berry Coll
100
0200104Birmingham So.
100
2000104Bradley Univ
200
1001004Butler Univ
300
0010004CA Lutheran U
101
1100004CA St-Dom. Hills
000
1100114Central MI Univ
200
1001004Chapman Univ
200
2000004Creighton Univ
010
0111004Drake Univ
300
1000004Duquesne Univ
000
2020004East TN St Univ
100
1100104FL Atlantic Univ
100
1110004Gettysburg Coll
301
0000004Hillsdale Coll
300
0001004Illinois St Univ
201
1000004Jackson St Univ
110
1010004Meredith Coll
200
2000004Missouri Sci&Tech
100
0011104ND St-Fargo
100
1000114Seattle Pacific
000
1011014St. John’s Coll
001
0300004Stetson Univ
200
0000114TX Tech
000
2200004Transylvania U
200
2000004Trinity Coll
001
1001104US Air Force Ac
030
0010004US Military Ac
000
2100014U of Dayton
000
2100014U of Evansville
000
0211004U of Nebraska
100
0100114UNC-Asheville
100
1101004U of No Iowa
210
0100004U of So AL
200
1100004WA & Jeff Coll
200
0110004Wayne St Univ
000
3001004William Jewell
200
2000004Wittenberg Univ
200
0001003Augsburg Coll
001
0100103Bates Coll
000
2010003Bridgewater St
000
2010003CA St-Stanis.
100
0110003CA St-Channel Is
300
00000_03Carthage Coll

This is very good info. I don’t really want to do the math, but it would be interesting to see who punches above or below their weight by number of students. I suppose that would have to be done by major, but the common data set doesn’t break down by these exact same categories. I guess just a comment that students need to take it with a bit of a grain of salt that a smaller school might fall below bigger schools by sheer numbers, but percentage wise might do better.

." I guess just a comment that students need to take it with a bit of a grain of salt that a smaller school might fall below bigger schools by sheer numbers, but percentage wise might do better. "

Like at Caltech- 1200 graduate students - 106 NSF awards= 8%

Harvard- approx 12000 grad students[ excluding Law, Med and Bus] -276 NSF awards=2%

@menloparkmom To be fair, you should also eliminate the huge numbers of Harvard social science and humanities grad students as they are unlikely to be eligible for an NSF grant.

ChemComSciGeoSciLifeSciEnvSciMathPhysicsPsychSocScitotalname
1
001100003Centre Coll of KY
001
1100003Cornell Coll
000
0000123CUNY John Jay Coll
200
1000003Drew Univ
100
2000003Fairfield Univ
002
0100003FL Gulf Coast Univ
100
1100003FL Inst of Tech
000
0101013Guilford Coll
000
2000103Hofstra Univ
100
0200003Huntingdon Coll
101
1000003Lawrence Univ
100
1000103Loyola U New Orl.
100
2000003Marquette Univ
200
0100003Messiah Coll
110
1000003Miami U-Oxford
100
2000003MN St U-Mankato
200
1000003Missouri St U
000
1000203Montclair St U
100
2000003Mt St Mary’s Coll
000
1110003Nat. Taiwan Univ
011
0000103NJ Inst of Tech
001
1000103NM Inst Min &Tech
200
1000003Northern KY Univ
100
1000103Oglethorpe Univ
000
0110013Pacific Univ
002
1000003Penn St U
101
0100003Roger Williams
010
0010103Rutgers U-Camden
100
1000103St John’s Univ
011
0100003Seoul National U
000
2000013Seton Hall Univ
010
1001003Siena Coll
100
0200003Sonoma St U
200
0100003So. IL-Carbondale
000
1100103St Joseph’s Univ
001
1000013St Mary’s-San Ant.
000
3000003Suffolk Univ
001
0000023TX Christian U
000
1200003Towson Univ
000
1100103U of Akron
000
0200013UAK-SE Juneau
010
1000013UAR-Little Rock
100
0001013U of Central AR
010
1100003UHouston-Downtown
000
0200013U of Mary WA
010
1010003U of MI Dearborn
000
1100103UMN Duluth
100
0100013U of Miss.
000
0200013U of New England
200
0001003UPuerto Rico
200
1000003U of St Thomas
001
2000003UTN-Chattanooga
101
1000003U of The Pacific
010
1000013U of Toronto
000
1000023UW-La Crosse
000
1200003VA Commonwealth
000
3000003Weber St U
000
0111003Western MI Univ
000
1200003Whittier Coll
000
1010013Whitworth Univ
020
0000103Winthrop Univ
110
00010_03Yeshiva Univ

Stopped at total=3. There are another hunderd+ with 2-1 NSF Grad Fellowships in these STEM fields from 2010-2016.

The main tables have both very large research universities and small liberal arts colleges. I pulled out the “Oberlin Group” of small liberal arts colleges. I used the list on Wikipedia with Lewis & Clark and College of the Puget Sound added. For this table, I only show the “hard sciences”. I left off Psychology and Social Science.

Baccalaureate origin of awardees of NSF Graduate Fellowships 2010-2016
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=sort

ChemPhysicsMathCompSciLifeSciEnvSciGeoScitotal
57231919055Swarthmore Coll
7
42
21119853Carleton Coll
9
613
1345050Harvey Mudd Coll
8
24
1109438Oberlin Coll
7
422127438Pomona Coll
4
21
2118836Amherst Coll
3
75277536Williams Coll
4
41297532Wellesley Coll
3
630127031Reed Coll
7
20
0127230Grinnell Coll
2
0101011024Lewis & Clark Coll
2
21234923Smith Coll
4
21173422Wesleyan Univ
6
40250421Haverford Coll
4
03028421St Olaf Coll
2
20136620Bowdoin Coll
4
12154320Macalester Coll
4
20147220Mount Holyoke Coll
1
10476019Middlebury Coll
4
30072117Barnard Coll
0
11056417Colorado Coll
10__10
140016Furman Univ
9
00
033015Hope Coll
1
20
226215Vassar Coll
1
24
222013Bryn Mawr Coll
2
00
045213Colgate Univ
3
10
223213Wheaton Coll
5
00
041212Hamilton Coll
2
00
028012Occidental Coll
3
10
024212Whitman Coll
2
00
063011Davidson Coll
3
20
213011Denison Univ
1
11
025111Kenyon Coll
4
01
023111Scripps Coll
3
01
042010Claremont Mckenna Coll
4
00
050110Morehouse Coll
1
10
05209Connecticut Coll
3100
3209Franklin & Marshall Coll
11013219Gustavus Adolphus Coll
0000
5319Kalamazoo Coll
01023309Trinity Univ
4000
1229Union Coll
10014208Bucknell Univ
0000
3328Colby Coll
10000528Earlham Coll
0000
2507Bard Coll
50101007Coll of The Holy Cross
0201
3017Lafayette Coll
00002507Ohio Wesleyan Univ
0000
1427Skidmore Coll
20104007Spelman Coll
0012
3107WA & Lee Univ
10004207Willamette Univ
0011
3106Depauw Univ
00101316Eckerd Coll
1000
1406U of Puget Sound
00002305Beloit Coll
1000
2115Coll of Wooster
20001115Dickinson Coll
2001
1015Rhodes Coll
10001215U of The South
2000
0114Albion Coll
10002014Clark Univ
1010
1104Gettysburg Coll
10000304Knox Coll
2000
2004Trinity Coll
20001003Drew Univ
1000
1013Lawrence Univ
00002103Sarah Lawrence Coll
0000
1203Whittier Coll
00002002Alma Coll
0000
0112Bates Coll
01000102Berea Coll
1010
0002Coe Coll
00100102Pacific Univ
0100
1002Rollins Coll
10001002St John’s Univ
1000
1002Seattle Pacific Univ
00000011Augustana Coll
1000
0001Coll of St Benedict
00001001Manhattan Coll
0000
0101Mills Coll
00000101Pitzer Coll
0000
0101Randolph-Macon Coll
10000001Sewanee: The U of The South
0000
1001Simmons Coll
10000001Wabash Coll
0000
0000Lake Forest Coll
00000000Lee Univ
0000
0000St Lawrence Univ

@intparent @menloparkmom Yes, definitely one needs to keep in mind the size of the school. Some of the big research universities are 10-20x larger than the small LACs on the list. I think it is most useful if you have a size and type of school in mind. Then you can skim through and see if there are similar schools you hadn’t known about that are strong in your area of interest. For example, I wager that many students in the west are unaware of the strength of Colorado State University’s undergraduate science programs relative to other western state universities. CSU is part of the WUE program (1.5 of in-state tuition) so esp attractive for residents of the western states.

But the sheer numbers is also interesting as it gives an indication of the size and quality of the undergraduate science program available at that school. I knew about the strength/size of most of the top schools in undergraduate science education, but some surprised me. U of Texas-Austin wasn’t on my radar, for example. At some schools for example, the Life Sciences awardees are heavily weighted to molecular, cell, developmental biology side with much fewer on the organismal/ecology side.

I posted another table with just the “Oberlin Group” of small liberal arts colleges. These are more similar in size: 1000-3000 typically. Some of the schools surprise me here too. Lewis & Clark for example is in my backyard, yet I didn’t know they were so strong in the Life Sciences or that Furman Univ is a Chemistry LAC powerhouse.

.

@menloparkmom The table is where the student got their bachelor’s degree not where they are doing their graduate work. It’s possible they are doing it at the same institution, but most times the student changes institutions and many of the schools on my tables are bachelor’s only schools (no grad programs).

The data on where the awardee is proposing to do their grad work is in the NSF tables, but I was only interested in where they got their bachelors. Typically, one gets an NSF grad fellowship early: before entering grad school (so as a senior in college), in a master’s program before entering a PhD, or in year 1-2 of a PhD. But this isn’t a fellowship that one gets just based on grades. You have to show high potential for research, which means you must have had the opportunity to do research and probably publish research as an undergrad. You also need strong letter writers who can comment on your research potential, i.e. who was a research supervisor, a senior thesis reader or co-author. Getting one of the awards means you received multiple levels of undergraduate training and mentoring well beyond just classwork.

In any case, only a small fraction of STEM graduate students at any institution would have NSF graduate fellowships. They are difficult to get (and often a ticket to your choice of grad student programs). I choose to look at these fellowships because #1 I could download the data from NSF and it has area of study and #2 it indicates a high level of preparation and potential for graduate work in STEM areas. The baccalaureate origin of those who get PhDs in STEM is also available in summary tables, but I didn’t find the raw data. Obviously however, the schools that are high producers of those who get STEM PhDs are also high on my tables. These metrics are very correlated.

It is more than 10-20x – for example, UW has 28,000 undergrads, Harvey Mudd has 800. So the table of small colleges is helpful.

@intparent Well, Harvey Mudd is almost all (or all?) STEM majors so is an outlier. UW has far fewer STEM undergrad majors than 28,000. Also note that I left off the awardees that go into Engineering. I wanted to focus on the sciences without the Engineering schools thrown in. Also I don’t think it makes sense to lump ‘Engineering’ all together. I’m going to make a table with the disciplines of Engineering broken out.

All STEM majors, but 29% are engineers as well. I don’t feel like parsing the UW Common Data Set by major (and am not sure it even shows the data split by the appropriate majors to do so). Just saying that anyone who wants to know the relative strength of one program against another on this metric needs to figure out how many of a specific major there typically are at each school and compare percentages.

A little dated, but provides some information:

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2013/06/18/top-ranked-universities-that-grant-the-most-stem-degrees

I expect UW was probably just off this list at around 30 to 33%.