Daughter is interested in psychology, especially experimental and research. Also considering a second major in English. Anyone with experience with either major at Brandeis or Union (NY) have thoughts to share? Cost is the same. She really liked both when she visited. She is likely to go on to grad school.
Union offers one of the stronger psychology programs in the nation. As a B.S program, it would smooth your daughter’s transition into graduate school.
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My daughter is at Brandeis and absolutely loves it! I can’t speak to those specific majors, but at Brandeis the professors are so accessible because classes are small. My daughter took a class in her major her first semester that happened to be taught by the head of the department - and now he’s been a mentor for her since literally Day 1. All of her other professors are also equally as open and interactive. For specific questions, you should join the “Brandeis University Parents Community” on facebook and ask your question. Plenty of other prospective parents are on there too.
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Here’s the top feeders into PhD - i use the right side, per capita.
Brandeis is #40 for Psych. I don’t see Union but you can ask them about PhD or grad school placements. Neither appears on the English list.
I knew a prof at Vandy - just passed. He said all schools are good for psych but not all are good in all areas - so check out the curriculum and make sure the offerings are expansive enough to meet your needs.
Union has 16 profs (a lot visiting). Brandeis has a few less it looks like but some adjuncts too.
Best of luck.
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Thanks, that’s very helpful. I requested to join that group but am waiting to be approved. Glad your daughter loves it!
Great info - thank you!
You mentioned grad school, which doesn’t necessarily mean doctorates. But the Tableau visualization below shows the undergraduate institution of everyone who received a doctorate, up until 2023.
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/jonboeckenstedt/viz/DoctoralRecipients1958-2023/AllData
Below are the numbers for English and psychology doctorates from Brandeis and Union during the specified periods, should this be a factor of interest:
| Brandeis | Union | |
|---|---|---|
| English Doctorates between 2010-2023 | 3 | 1 |
| English Doctorates between 2000-2023 | 3 | 1 |
| Psychology Doctorates between 2010-2023 | 119 | 38 |
| Psychology Doctorates between 2000-2023 | 205 | 69 |
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That’s very helpful - thank you!
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I would look into Brandeis’ finances – I belive they were making material cuts to some programs.
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This was the article. It’s fair to ask. Unfortunately cuts are pervasive in higher ed and will be moreso going forward.
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As an aside, these are very different schools socially. Brandeis has very little Greek life and limited partying (my daughter and her friends spend many Saturday nights exploring Boston instead). As I understand it, Union has a more traditional fraternity/sorority culture (but correct me if I’m wrong). Your daughter may have a strong preference between these two scenarios.
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We loved Union when we visited – it feels like a classic New England liberal arts college. We met a bio professor who delighted in getting undergraduates engaged in her research. That said…Brandeis is an R1 research university and I think if your daughter is serious about getting a PhD, they are quite strong in the neuroscience and bio dimensions with a lot of opportunities for undergrads. I also personally know one of the English professors there (and by extension another – her husband!) and she is one of my favorite professors from my own undergraduate days. Specializes in 18th century literature and philosophy but also patiently sat me down and taught me to analyze an Elizabeth Bishop poem when I was struggling in my modern American poetry class. I communicated with her recently via email when my son was looking at Brandeis and she is still actively engaged with undergrads.
I’d probably personally pick Brandeis – for a small undergrad population it seems to punch well above its weight, and proximity to Boston is a nice-to-have. But I don’t think she can go wrong with either option and because they have such different vibes, she’ll probably know which she prefers.
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Take these numbers with a grain of salt- Brandeis is far bigger than Union so of course the numbers are higher!
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Thanks to everyone for all the helpful responses! A lot to consider. She only visited both briefly but hopefully the longer accepted students visits will help her decide too. Feeling fortunate to have the choice.
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True! Union currently has 2,082 undergrads (with its historical enrollment trends) while Brandeis has 3,675 (with its historical enrollment trends). And looking at those trends, the differences in size have been pretty consistent.
To look at some measures that account for the difference in undergrad populations, I’ve added some more information to the chart (and separated them by subject to make them easier to read). The number of first majors (and undergrad enrollment) is coming from College Navigator, the feds’ website.
In looking at the English major, there’s a slightly higher percentage of English majors and ratio of students going on for doctorates at Brandeis, but it doesn’t seem to be a huge difference. The difference would probably be felt more in the size of the department and related coursework variety, if we estimate that Union has about 40 English majors while Brandeis has about 108.
Expanded chart for English
| Brandeis | Union | |
|---|---|---|
| English Doctorates between 2010-2023 | 3 | 1 |
| English Doctorates between 2000-2023 | 3 | 1 |
| # of first major English Bachelors awarded in SY22-23 | 27 | 10 |
| % of first majors in English (of SY22-23 bachelors awarded) | 3.1% | 2.3% |
| Ratio of English Doctorates 2010-2023 to English bachelors awarded in SY22-23 | 0.1111 | 0.1000 |
| Ratio of English Doctorates 2010-2023 to # of undergrads | 0.0008 | 0.0005 |
When we switch to psychology, however, we see a much bigger difference (that I’d guess is definitely statistically significant) in terms of the number of graduates going on to earn doctorates in psychology. Whether it’s that psychology students are generally more interested in going on for advanced studies in the field, or whether there’s a difference in the type of preparation, or whatever the reason might be, there is a definite difference here.
Expanded chart for Psychology
| Brandeis | Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology Doctorates between 2010-2023 | 119 | 38 |
| Psychology Doctorates between 2000-2023 | 205 | 69 |
| # of first major Psychology Bachelors awarded in SY22-23 | 74 | 38 |
| % of first majors in Psychology (of SY22-23 bachelors awarded) | 8.4% | 8.9% |
| Ratio of Psychology Doctorates 2010-2023 to Psychology bachelors awarded in SY22-23 | 1.6081 | 1.0000 |
| Ratio of Psychology Doctorates 2010-2023 to # of undergrads | 0.0324 | 0.0183 |
Comments about the size of departments holds here too (estimating 152 at Union and 476 at Brandeis). One thing to note, however, is that Union has no graduate programs, whereas Brandeis does. In SY22-23 Brandeis awarded 5 Master’s in English, 6 PhDs in English, 8 Master’s in psychology, and 4 doctorates in psychology. So there are grad students at Brandeis and your D may want to investigate how that shows up for undergrads. (Fewer or suboptimal research opportunities? Any classes taught by grad students? Or no real effects?)
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A dozen years ago, Union opened its Center for Neuroscience whivh includes 5 rooms dedicated solely to research. As a field that is a hybrid of both psychology and biology, this kind of dedicated facility is unusual on a small, undergraduate campus. I think that it speaks to the kinds of research opportunities that are available to students at a liberal arts college with their undergraduate focus.
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