Grad School applicant numbers at all-time high
Oliver Bowers
Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: Campus News
The number of applicants to the Graduate School has jumped over 60 percent since the 2001-2002 academic year, and though this year's applications are not fully tallied, their number already surpassed last year's figure of 6,282 by about 200, according to data gathered by the Grad School.
The Grad School has become more selective over the same period, with its acceptance rate falling from 27 percent to 17 percent.
"The single factor I'd point to as being the most important … is the Plan for Academic Enrichment, which has brought a new faculty influx at Brown," said Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde.
Applications climbed 27 percent, from 3,811 to 4,844, in the 2002-03 academic year - the first class after the University launched the Plan for Academic Enrichment. The following year, the applicant pool grew by an additional 25 percent to 6,079.
Andrew Foster, professor of economics and chair of the department, echoed Bonde.
"Brown's (economics department) has become more visible in certain circles," due in part to acclaimed additions to the faculty, he said. But, he noted, it is not clear how many applicants are aware of that change in such a short period of time.
Bonde also cited a 40 percent rise in stipends paid to doctoral candidates who become teaching assistants, research assistants or join fellowships as another factor attracting more grad students.
"We went very quickly from a 2002 stipend of $12,000 to the present stipend, which is $18,000," Bonde said. She added that the improved financial package makes Brown more competitive with peer institutions such as Yale, Princeton and Columbia universities.
Graduate Student Council President Joseph Bush GS wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that "competitive" stipends help "make for good offers to the prospective grad student."
Bonde also attributed the growth in applicant numbers to the Grad School's decision to make official a policy that will guarantee five years of stipends to its incoming class of doctoral students. But some students believe it does not go far enough to support doctoral students beyond their fifth year.
The Grad School has become more selective over the same period, with its acceptance rate falling from 27 percent to 17 percent.
"The single factor I'd point to as being the most important … is the Plan for Academic Enrichment, which has brought a new faculty influx at Brown," said Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde.
Applications climbed 27 percent, from 3,811 to 4,844, in the 2002-03 academic year - the first class after the University launched the Plan for Academic Enrichment. The following year, the applicant pool grew by an additional 25 percent to 6,079.
Andrew Foster, professor of economics and chair of the department, echoed Bonde.
"Brown's (economics department) has become more visible in certain circles," due in part to acclaimed additions to the faculty, he said. But, he noted, it is not clear how many applicants are aware of that change in such a short period of time.
Bonde also cited a 40 percent rise in stipends paid to doctoral candidates who become teaching assistants, research assistants or join fellowships as another factor attracting more grad students.
"We went very quickly from a 2002 stipend of $12,000 to the present stipend, which is $18,000," Bonde said. She added that the improved financial package makes Brown more competitive with peer institutions such as Yale, Princeton and Columbia universities.
Graduate Student Council President Joseph Bush GS wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that "competitive" stipends help "make for good offers to the prospective grad student."
Bonde also attributed the growth in applicant numbers to the Grad School's decision to make official a policy that will guarantee five years of stipends to its incoming class of doctoral students. But some students believe it does not go far enough to support doctoral students beyond their fifth year.