2006 Parents of Graduates Survey

Institutional Research Office
February 19, 2007

Since 1999, the Institutional Research Office has been surveying the parents of Macalester graduates to see what their sons or daughters are doing 3 years after graduation.

Parents received a short letter asking specifically about advanced degrees pursued by their son or daughter, with a stamped return envelope. If there was no response from the parents, email was sent to the graduate. Response rates for these surveys in the last five years range from 53% to 69%

Parents were surveyed instead of graduates because they move less often, so surveys were more likely to reach their destination. Hopefully parents were not as busy as the graduates, and would be more likely to respond. In addition, parents generally like to tell you what their sons or daughters are doing.

The 2006 survey again shows over half of our graduates pursuing advanced degrees within 3 years of graduation. Other results are profiled in the tables below:

Graduates Pursuing Advanced Degrees within 3 Years

Class
Year Surveyed
Percentage
1996
1999
55.5
1997
2001
58.3
1998
2001
49.1
1999
2002
53.0
2000
2003
46.8
2001
2004
55.1
2002
2005
53.6
2003
2006
56.1

Degrees Pursued by 2003 Graduates

Degree Pursued
Percentage*
Master's
40.1%
Doctorate
13.8
Law
8.7
Medical
2.8

* graduates may have pursued more than one degree

Of those who pursued a master's degree, 43% had completed it within 3 years. Of those who enrolled in law programs, 32% had completed their degree.

Institutions Most Commonly Attended by 2003 Graduates

Master's Doctorate Law Medical

Univ of Minnesota
Univ of Wisconsin
Univ of Chicago
Johns Hopkins Univ
Washington Univ, St. Louis
Univ of California

Univ of Minnesota
Univ of California
Univ of Chicago
Univ of Michigan

Univ of Minnesota
Hamline Univ
Wm Mitchell Law School

(no more than one student each at the 7 institutions)

Most Common Fields of Study by 2003 Graduates

Master's Doctorate

Education
International Rel/Affairs
Public Policy
Psychology
Public Health
Urban Planning
Geology
Economics

Psychology
Area Studies
Computer Science
Linguistics/Compar Lit
Biology
Political Science

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The Complete Tables

The tables below show complete listings of institutions and fields of study for graduates who pursued advanced degrees. The tables included are:

Master's Field of Study
Number of Graduates
Education
12
Intl Rel/Affair
9
Psychology
7
Public Policy
7
Public Health
6
Social Work
5
Economics
4
Geology
4
unspecified
4
Urban/Reg Plan
4
English Lan/Lit
3
Linguistics
3
Music
3
Theological St
3
Area Studies
2
Art Studies
2
Communications
2
Geography
2
Management Sci
2
Anthropology
1
Archeology
1
Cell/Molec Biol
1
Chemistry
1
Computer Sci
1
E Asian Lan/Lit
1
Film/Photo Arts
1
German Lang
1
History
1
Lib Arts/Hum
1
Library Sci
1
Mathematics
1
Peace Studies
1
Social Sciences
1
Sociology
1
Visual/Perf Art
1

Doctorate Field of Study
Number of Graduates
Psychology
4
Area Studies
3
Biology
3
Computer Sci
3
Linguistics
3
Political Sci
3
Anthropology
2
Chemistry
2
Neuroscience
2
E Asian Lan/Lit
1
Economics
1
Engineering
1
English Lan/Lit
1
Geology
1
German Lang
1
Math Statistics
1
Misc Phys Sci
1
Rehab Therapy
1
unspecified
1

Master's Institution
Number of Graduates
Univ of Minnesota
15
Univ of Chicago
5
Univ of Wisc, Madison
5
Johns Hopkins Univ
4
Washington Univ, St Louis
4
George Washington Univ
3
Univ of California
3
Chicago Sch Prof Psyc
2
Columbia Univ, NY
2
New York Univ
2
Oklahoma State Univ
2
Univ of Iowa
2
Univ of Pennsylvania
2
Univ of St Thomas
2
Univ of Texas, Austin
2
University College, London
2
Academy of Art Univ
1
American Univ, DC
1
Arizona State Univ
1
Bowling Green Univ
1
Clarke College
1
Coll of William & Mary
1
Colorado School of Mines
1
CUNY Brooklyn College
1
CUNY Lehman College
1
DePaul Univ
1
Emerson College
1
Emory Univ
1
Florida State Univ
1
Georgetown Univ
1
Georgia State Univ
1
Grad Inst of Intl Studies, Geneva
1
Hamline Univ
1
Harvard Univ
1
London Sch of Economics
1
McCormick Seminary
1
Mercy College
1
National Louis Univ
1
Oregon State Univ
1
San Francisco Art Inst
1
San Francisco State Univ
1
St Edwards Univ Grads
1
Starr King Sch Ministry
1
Texas A & M Univ
1
Texas State Univ
1
Univ East Anglia, England
1
Univ for Peace, Costa Rica
1
Univ N Carolina, Chapel H
1
Univ New South Wales, Australia
1
Univ of Illinois, Urbana
1
Univ of Louisville
1
Univ of Miami
1
Univ of Michigan, Ann Abr
1
Univ of Oregon
1
Univ Pittsburgh, Pittsb
1
Univ Washington, Seattle
1
Utah State Univ
1
Virginia Polytech/St Univ
1
Yale Univ
1

Doctorate Institutions
Number of Graduates
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
4
Univ of California
3
Univ of Chicago
3
Univ of Michigan, Ann Abr
3
Univ of Wisc, Madison
2
Yale Univ
2
Alliant Univ, Alameda
1
Boston Univ
1
George Washington Univ
1
Harvard Univ
1
Illinois School Prof Psyc
1
New York Univ
1
Northeastern Univ
1
Oxford Univ, England
1
SUNY, Buffalo
1
Texas A & M Univ
1
Univ N Carolina, Chapel H
1
Univ of Georgia, Athens
1
Univ of Illinois, Urbana
1
Univ of Miami
1
Univ of Oklahoma
1
Univ Pittsburgh, Pittsb
1
Univ Washington, Seattle
1
Wake Forest Univ
1

Law Institution
Number Attending
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
4
Hamline Univ
2
Wm Mitchell Law School
2
Univ of California
1
George Washington Univ
1
John Marshall Law School
1
Univ of Chicago
1
Indiana Univ, Bloomington
1
Univ of Iowa
1
Washington Univ, St. Louis
1
Columbia Univ
1
New York Univ
1
Univ of Cincinati
1
Univ of Oklahoma
1
Univ of Pennsylvania
1
Texas Tech Univ
1
Univ of Wisconsin
1

Medical Institution
Number Attending
Northwestern Univ
1
Harvard Univ
1
Portland State Univ
1
Univ of Utah
1
Univ of Vermont
1
Univ of Wisconsin
1
Univ of Minnesota
1

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19 February 2007