2003 Parents of Graduates Survey

Institutional Research Office
February 26, 2004


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 62%

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 2003 survey again shows around 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

Degrees Pursued by 2000 Graduates

Degree Pursued
Percentage*
Master's
24.3
Doctorate
10.5
Law
7.5
Medical
7.1

* graduates may have pursued more than one degree

Of those who pursued a master's degree, 32% had completed it within 3 years. Of those who enrolled in law programs, 25% had completed their degree.

Institutions Most Commonly Attended by 2000 Graduates

Master's Doctorate Law Medical
Univ of Minnesota
Columbia Univ
Johns Hopkins Univ
Univ of Arizona

Univ of California
Univ of Minnesota
Univ of Washington
Univ of Illinois

Univ of Minnesota
George Washington Univ
Georgetown Univ

Univ of Minnesota


Most Common Fields of Study by 2000 Graduates

Master's Doctorate

Education
Business
English/Creative Writing
International Relations/Affairs
Biology
Environmental Sciences
Social Work

Biology
Geology
Psychology

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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 Institution
Number Attending
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
5
Columbia Univ, NY
3
Johns Hopkins Univ
3
Univ of Arizona
3
George Washington Univ
2
Indiana Univ, Bloomington
2
Univ of St Thomas
2
Univ of Texas, Austin
2
American Univ, DC
1
Arizona State Univ
1
Ball State Univ
1
Barry Univ
1
Baylor University
1
Boston Univ
1
California Inst of Tech
1
Georgetown Univ
1
Griffith Univ, Australia
1
Mercy College
1
Michigan State Univ
1
National Louis Univ
1
Naval Postgrad School
1
New Mexico Inst Mining/Tech
1
New York Univ
1
North Carolina State Univ
1
Ohio State Univ
1
Ohio University
1
Portland State Univ
1
Pratt Institute
1
Queens Univ, Ireland
1
San Francisco Theol Sem
1
Sch of Museum Fine Arts
1
Simmons College
1
Tufts Univ
1
Univ N Carolina, Chapel H
1
Univ Natal-Durban, S Africa
1
Univ of Calif, Los Angls
1
Univ of Calif, St Barbara
1
Univ of Chicago
1
Univ of Delaware
1
Univ of Florida
1
Univ of Hawaii, Manoa
1
Univ of Illinois, Chicago
1
Univ of Michigan, Ann Abr
1
Univ of Minnesota, Duluth
1
Univ of Montana
1
Univ of Rochester
1
Univ of So California
1
Univ Surrey Roehptn, England
1
Univ Washington, Seattle
1
Washington Univ, St Louis
1
Yale Univ
1

Doctorate Institution
Number Attending
Univ of California
6
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
5
Univ Washington, Seattle
3
Univ of Illinois
2
California Inst of Tech
1
Massachustts Inst of Tech
1
New York Univ
1
Stanford University
1
Univ of Chicago
1
Univ of Florida
1
Univ of Miami
1
Univ of Michigan, Ann Abr
1
Univ of Notre Dame
1
Univ of Rochester
1
Univ of So California
1
Univ Pittsburgh, Pittsb
1

Law Institution
Number Attending
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
6
George Washington Univ
3
Georgetown Univ
2
Drake Univ
1
Harvard Univ
1
Northeastern Univ
1
Northwestern Univ
1
Seattle Univ
1
Univ of Iowa
1
Univ of Michigan, Ann Abr
1
Univ of St Thomas
1
Wm Mitchell Law School
1

Medical Institution
Number Attending
Univ Minnesota, T Cities
5
Bastyr Univ
1
Drexel Univ
1
George Washington Univ
1
Howard Univ
1
Medical College of Wisc
1
Morehouse Sch of Med
1
Univ of Calif, San Frcsco
1
Univ of Manitoba
1
Univ of Miami
1
Univ of Minnesota, Duluth
1
Univ of Texas, Medical
1
Univ of W Indies, Jamaica
1
Univ of Wisc, Madison
1
Univ Pretoria, S Africa
1

Master's Field of Study
Number of Graduates
Education
9
Business
4
English/Creative Writing
4
Intl Rel/Affair
4
Biology
3
Envir Sciences
3
Social Work
3
Art Studies
2
Geography
2
Library Sci
2
Music
2
Nursing
2
Public Health
2
Public Policy
2
Theater Arts
2
Urban/Reg Plan
2
Area Studies
1
Chemistry
1
Communications
1
Design
1
Ethnic/Cult St
1
Film/Photo Arts
1
Geology
1
Health, Phys Ed
1
Information Sci
1
Jour, Mass Comm
1
Mech Engineerg
1
Meteorology
1
Political Sci
1
Social Sciences
1
Sociology
1
Theological St
1

Doctorate Field of Study
Number of Graduates
Biology
4
Geology
4
Psychology
3
Education
2
Neuroscience
2
Physics
2
Area Studies
1
Biochem/Biophys
1
Chemistry
1
Engineering
1
Ethnic/Cult St
1
History
1
Music
1
Pharmacology
1
Public Health
1
Sociology
1

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26 February 2004