When you think about research at colleges and universities, you probably picture people in white lab coats measuring something or blackboards whiteboards covered with endless equations. These are the places you go to really understand how things work in the math and sciences.
The percentage of undergraduates actually majoring in math or science (excluding engineering and computer science) generally doesn’t exceed 15% of all students. Maybe the students aren’t adequately prepared for the rigors of the coursework or maybe the pure sciences simply don’t pay enough to attract the right students.
Whatever the reasons may be, some schools have more math and science majors than others. Below I’ve listed the 50-50 institutions with most science majors (graduates with majors in biology, math, or physical sciences). This includes both first and second majors.
There are 48 institutions with 400 or more graduates with majors in the sciences. A total of 46 schools have 20% or more of graduates with majors in the sciences. Only three schools appear on both lists: University of Washington, University of California-Santa Cruz, and University Maryland-Baltimore. Naturally, it’s difficult for smaller schools to make both lists.
Biology is generally the more popular major. In 75 colleges, biology majors outnumbered math and physical sciences majors combined. There were 51 schools where the math and physical sciences majors outnumbered the biology majors.
I’ve added Natural Resources and Conservation majors to the table although they are not included in the total for science majors. In fact, when added to the total counts, it made no difference in the schools listed in terms of total number of majors. Six different schools did show up when ranked by percentages.
The following table shows the 50-50 schools with most graduates with first or second majors in either biology, physical sciences, or math. As usual, the five-year graduation rate is used for the public universities and the four-year privates institutions.
50-50 Schools with the Most Science Majors
