APPENDIX A

Why is it important to consider the number of Earlham graduates pursuing doctoral degrees?

Studying the baccalaureate origins of doctoral degrees indicates the strength of an institution's academic curriculum and its educational processes. Earlham's undergraduate faculty are collaborators and mentors, who work alongside their students in empirical research in the natural and social sciences and in creative endeavors in the humanities and fine arts. The quality of the faculty's teaching, their ability to engage students in learning, as well as their disciplinary expertise and advisory influence is evidenced by the high numbers of Earlham graduates who complete graduate degrees, particularly doctoral degrees. Earlham is presently collecting data on the earning of master's degrees by its alumni. Between 1991 and 2000 nearly 13 percent of Earlham College graduates went on to earn Ph.D's.