strongest department

trigonometry · 07-13-2008, 08:22 PM

what is the strongest department at Williams?

sambino4 · 07-13-2008, 10:20 PM

All the departments are great and different at the same time, so to pick the "best" is arbitrary. Having said that though, I think the Math and Art History departments might be two of the strongest.

mdparent · 07-20-2008, 01:38 PM

How about physics? Computer Science? My son is feeling a lot of pressure to go to a university for these areas. I'm trying to have him consider a LAC but am having trouble figuring out what schools have strong physics and/or cs and whether he would get what he needs academically.

Corbett · 07-21-2008, 11:58 AM

For physics, take a look at the American Physical Society's Apker Awards, a national prize for undergraduate research in physics. Over the past decade or so, Williams has collected three Apkers, which puts them among the top schools in the country in this regard. It's particularly impressive given the relatively small number of physics majors at Williams.

When comparing LACs with universities for physics or CS, take a look at the numbers of grad students vs. undergrads in the dept., and consider how that might affect research opportunities for the undergraduates.

momrath · 07-21-2008, 09:32 PM

md, Physics is excellent at Williams. Very strong track record for getting graduates into top PhD programs.

CS is difficult to judge. I wouldn't say that Williams is a tech destination. They have a respectable department and many students double major in CS along with math or one of the sciences.

jeke · 07-22-2008, 09:05 AM

The Williams CS dept. is almost definitely the strongest of the LACs. There are Williams CS grads at Google, Microsoft, Intel, etc., as well as some good grad schools (I don't have a list offhand). That said, a school like MIT would (obviously) still have an edge in terms of course selection, and probably in surrounding you with the best and the brightest peer students.

sambino4 · 07-22-2008, 06:35 PM

The CS department seems to be one of the most intense departments. Now, whether or not that correlates to strength, I don't know.

Grace · 07-23-2008, 10:11 AM

physics: see Recent Graduates

onemoremom · 07-24-2008, 12:22 AM

And for computer science: see CSAlumni
(last month's graduates have not yet been added)

Several students (both physics and cs) each year work at paid summer positions (Summer Science Research fellows) with faculty on various projects.

LaMariposaAzul · 07-24-2008, 01:01 AM

How about English?

momrath · 07-25-2008, 08:52 PM

Mariposa, Williams' English department is excellent. It's one of the largest departments in number of professors, number of classes and number of majors. The same would be true of the other LACs in Williams' class -- like Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Pomona, and several others that are less selective -- but English at Williams would definitely be considered a strength.

LaMariposaAzul · 07-26-2008, 08:23 AM

Cool, thanks momrath! I've looked at the catalogue a little bit, but it's always nice to have someone else's experience to back it up.

bananafish9 · 07-26-2008, 11:15 AM

Anyone know about Political Science?

onemoremom · 07-29-2008, 10:13 PM

A recent Williams press release listing all the students on campus this summer doing (Div. III: math and sciences, plus psych) research with professors (even more are there doing humanities/social sciences research, which isn't included in this article):

Williams College :: News & Events - Press Releases

714nD1 · 07-30-2008, 06:08 AM

Here are the rest of the guys:

Summer 2008 - Willipedia