A new study found that Seoul National University was one of the top sources of students who go on to earn doctorates at American institutions.

Tsinghua and Peking Universities in China topped the list of how many of their bachelor`s-degree holders earned natural-science or engineering Ph.D.s at American institutions in 2006. By that measure, Seoul National University was fourth on the list, followed by Cornell University and the University of Michigan.

That`s according to an analysis, first reported in the current issue of the journal Science, of data from the National Science Foundation`s Survey of Earned Doctorates. The review was performed by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, a nonprofit group in Washington that tracks the science and engineering work force.

The Chronicle of Higher Education also reports that when it comes to just natural science or engineering Ph.D. programs, the three Asian universities topped the list in 2006 - the most recent year data are available - followed by Cornell University and Berkeley.

For the number of undergraduates who went on to earn Ph.D.s over the past 10 years (1997 to 2006), Berkeley tops the rank as total of 4,298 and Seoul National University is the second top of the list as of 3,420 in total.

July 16, 2008
SNU PR Office