One way I like to see if a school is preparing students well to go on to a doctoral degree is to use this source to see how many alums of particular universities went on to earn a doctorate, particularly in a designated field (if known). So although we can look at programming (and schools can change their programming/offerings over time), I still think it’s a useful indicator. I limited my search to individuals who earned a doctorate between 2000-2018 (the last year available in that particular data set.)
So, the table below shows the ratios of number of doctorates earned in comparison with the size of the undergraduate student body, but also with a ratio of number of doctorates in comparison with the number of people who earned a bachelor’s in psychology in SY22-23 (sourced from College Navigator). The table is ranked by the psych grad to psych graduates, highest to lowest.
| School | # of Psych doctorates | Total # of Undergrads | Total School Ratio | # of Bachelor’s Psych Grads | Total Psychology Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado College | 55 | 2180 | 0.0252 | 21 | 2.6190 |
| Bucknell | 116 | 3747 | 0.0310 | 54 | 2.1481 |
| Connecticut College | 94 | 1948 | 0.0483 | 51 | 1.8431 |
| Lehigh | 72 | 5624 | 0.0128 | 51 | 1.4118 |
| Villanova | 82 | 6989 | 0.0117 | 102 | 0.8039 |
| U. of Denver | 36 | 6151 | 0.0059 | 121 | 0.2975 |
It appears that two of her three least expensive options rank in the top three of this ratio exercise. But I also firmly believe that a dedicated student at any university can go on to earn a doctorate. I think this chart just shows where there is a more well-worn path to doing so.
Additionally, none of this bars the importance of fit. A student will do best where there is a good fit with the college.