Where did Nobel Prize winners complete their undergraduate education? Compiled list

<p>Please add any university that I may have missed, such as Gettysburg and BYU.</p>

<p>Please adhere to the following three rules:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Only include winners of the prize for Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Medicine and Physics. Do not include winners of the Peace prize.</p></li>
<li><p>Only include institutions where the Laureate received her/his undergraduate degree from</p></li>
<li><p>Add Fields Medalists since there is no Prize for Mathematics and the Fields medal is extremely prestigious.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Harvard University: 21
Columbia University: 16
University of Chicago: 13
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 11
University of California-Berkeley: 11
Yale University: 11
California Institute of Technology: 8
Cornell University: 5
Swarthmore College: 5
University of California-Los Angeles: 5
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: 5
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: 5
Amherst College: 4
Carnegie Mellon University: 3
Case Western Reserve University: 3
Dartmouth College: 3
Princeton University: 3
University of Pennsylvania: 3
University of Rochester: 3
University of Washington: 3
University of Wisconsin-Madison 3
Brandeis University: 2
Haverford College: 2
Johns Hopkins University: 2
Oberlin College: 2
Purdue University-West Lafayette: 2
Rice University: 2
Rutgers University: 2
Stanford University: 2
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: 2
Williams College: 2
Brigham Young University: 1
Brown University: 1
College of the Holy Cross: 1
Georgia Institute of Technology: 1
Gettysburg College: 1
Grinnell College: 1
Hamilton College: 1
Michigan state University: 1
New York University: 1
Northwestern University: 1
Ohio State University: 1
United States Naval Academy: 1
University of California-Riverside: 1
University of California-San Diego: 1
University of California-Santa Barbara: 1
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 1
University of Texas-Austin: 1
Vanderbilt University: 1</p>

<p>Although it’s probably dated, you might find this book of interest on the social origins of Nobel laureates:
[Scientific</a> elite: Nobel laureates in … - Harriet Zuckerman - Google Books](<a href=“Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States - Google Books”>Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States - Google Books)</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Remember, Alexandre limited this to undergrad only, and the Columbia undergraduate population for many years was among the lowest in the Ivies. It was even smaller prior to going co-ed in the late 80s.</p>

<p>The top seven schools listed are really the top schools for all one or some of the disciplines noted. It is not surprising to me at all that they are listed as such. The schools that really impress me are the LACs like Swarthmore, Amherst, etc.</p>

<p>very impressed by these LACs</p>

<p>Swarthmore: 5
Amherst: 4
Haverford: 2
Oberlin: 2
Williams: 2</p>

<p>OTOH
Duke, Notre Dame, Wash U, Emory…</p>

<p>Wisconsin should have 4 because John Bardeen won it twice.</p>

<p>Juniata College:
1997 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. William Phillips</p>

<p>New College of Florida:
1982 Fields Medal Winner William Thurston</p>

<p>ewho, this is a list of Nobel Prize winners, not number of Nobel Prizes won by institution.</p>

<p>Please add any university that I may have missed, such as Gettysburg and BYU.</p>

<p>Please adhere to the following three rules:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Only include winners of the prize for Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Medicine and Physics. Do not include winners of the Peace prize.</p></li>
<li><p>Only include institutions where the Laureate received her/his undergraduate degree from</p></li>
<li><p>Add Fields Medalists since there is no Prize for Mathematics and the Fields medal is extremely prestigious.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Harvard University: 21
Columbia University: 16
University of Chicago: 13
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 11
University of California-Berkeley: 11
Yale University: 11
California Institute of Technology: 8
Cornell University: 5
Swarthmore College: 5
University of California-Los Angeles: 5
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: 5
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: 5
Amherst College: 4
Carnegie Mellon University: 3
Case Western Reserve University: 3
Dartmouth College: 3
Princeton University: 3
University of Pennsylvania: 3
University of Rochester: 3
University of Washington: 3
University of Wisconsin-Madison 3
Brandeis University: 2
Haverford College: 2
Johns Hopkins University: 2
Oberlin College: 2
Purdue University-West Lafayette: 2
Rice University: 2
Rutgers University: 2
Stanford University: 2
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: 2
Williams College: 2
Brigham Young University: 1
Brown University: 1
College of the Holy Cross: 1
Georgia Institute of Technology: 1
Gettysburg College: 1
Grinnell College: 1
Hamilton College: 1
Juniata College: 1
Michigan state University: 1
New College of Florida: 1
New York University: 1
Northwestern University: 1
Ohio State University: 1
United States Naval Academy: 1
University of California-Riverside: 1
University of California-San Diego: 1
University of California-Santa Barbara: 1
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 1
University of Texas-Austin: 1
Vanderbilt University: 1</p>

<p>Top performers were greatly involved in groundbreaking government sponsored research projects…ie. the Manhattan project.</p>

<p>Oregon State: 1 (Linus Pauling, 1954 Nobel in Chemistry)</p>

<p>College of Wooster 1 (Arthur Compton, Physics)
Colorado College 1 (James Heckman, Economics)
Juniata College 1 (WilliamDaniel Phillips, Physics)
Lawrence University 1 (Thomas Steitz, Chemistry)</p>

<p>Please add any university that I may have missed, such as Gettysburg and BYU.</p>

<p>Please adhere to the following three rules:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Only include winners of the prize for Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Medicine and Physics. Do not include winners of the Peace prize.</p></li>
<li><p>Only include institutions where the Laureate received her/his undergraduate degree from</p></li>
<li><p>Add Fields Medalists since there is no Prize for Mathematics and the Fields medal is extremely prestigious.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Harvard University: 21
Columbia University: 16
University of Chicago: 13
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 11
University of California-Berkeley: 11
Yale University: 11
California Institute of Technology: 8
Cornell University: 5
Swarthmore College: 5
University of California-Los Angeles: 5
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: 5
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: 5
Amherst College: 4
Carnegie Mellon University: 3
Case Western Reserve University: 3
Dartmouth College: 3
Princeton University: 3
University of Pennsylvania: 3
University of Rochester: 3
University of Washington: 3
University of Wisconsin-Madison 3
Brandeis University: 2
Haverford College: 2
Johns Hopkins University: 2
Oberlin College: 2
Purdue University-West Lafayette: 2
Rice University: 2
Rutgers University: 2
Stanford University: 2
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: 2
Williams College: 2
Brigham Young University: 1
Brown University: 1
College of the Holy Cross: 1
College of Wooster: 1
Colorado College: 1
Georgia Institute of Technology: 1
Gettysburg College: 1
Grinnell College: 1
Hamilton College: 1
Juniata College: 1
Lawrence University: 1
Michigan state University: 1
New College of Florida: 1
New York University: 1
Northwestern University: 1
Ohio State University: 1
Oregon State University: 1
United States Naval Academy: 1
University of California-Riverside: 1
University of California-San Diego: 1
University of California-Santa Barbara: 1
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 1
University of Texas-Austin: 1
Vanderbilt University: 1</p>

<p>Are there not some “Nobel equivalents” in other fields besides the Fields Medal in mathematics?</p>

<p>Perhaps these:
Turing Award—computing
Draper Prize—engineering
Abel Prize—mathematics
Crafoord Prize—astronomy and mathematics, biosciences, geology</p>

<p>In any case, I question whether it the institution that makes a future Nobel winner and not just an extraordinary creative person, who would stand out no matter where he/she attended school.</p>

<p>Zapfino, the point of this thread speaks to your point. Even Harvard, which has graduated more than 100,000 undergraduate students since 1900, has only produced 19 Nobel Laureates and 2 Fields Medalists. There is no way of crediting a university for the production of a Nobel Laureate.</p>

<p>

Exactly, this thread has been illuminating in that regard. Following your lead, I will post threads that compare the production of Rhodes/Marshall/Truman/Mitchell/Churchill fellowships as well as historical performance of the Putnam Mathematics Competition over the next couple of days as I feel like those figures are a better reflection of the quality of undergraduate education offered by schools.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You’d have to control for potential of the incoming freshman classes before you could make that claim.</p>

<p>

I think you should be rewarding universities for enrolling the strongest students though. There are plenty of good and even elite schools whose students don’t win the big fellowships like UCLA, Texas, Cornell, Michigan, Berkeley, etc. etc.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Perhaps. But you originally said:</p>

<p>

[quote]
I feel like those figures are a better reflection of the quality of undergraduate education offered by schools.<a href=“emphasis%20added”>/quote</a></p>

<p>^^^^It’s interersting that even with a fine university, such as Duke, that has jhad it’s studennts win quite a few of, “Rhodes/Marshall/Truman/Mitchell/Churchill fellowships as well as historical performance of the Putnam Mathematics Competition” that there hasn’t been one single, solitary graduate who has won the most prestigious award the world can offer.</p>