Members: Austin Zhang, Alex Xuan, Jackson Stinebaugh, Mia Wang
Topics and objectives: Carleton College is famous for sending a high proportion of its graduates to obtain advanced degrees, usually at top-notch universities. We are interested in the exact grad schools attended by Carleton alumni with each major, and the specific degree types pursued. Originally we planned to map the hometown and current address of alumni, but it seems that a former group had already done the same, so have decided to focus on the graduate schools attended instead, and based on the results, analyze the career paths of each major.
Proposed Methodology
Sources: Obtained from the data tables published by Carleton. For example “Top 50 institutions where Carleton graduates have enrolled for graduate study (by degree type)” and “Alumni Employment and Education Data”.
Processes: Transform the data into excel forms, and convert into csv form. Variables include major, name and coordinates of the graduate school, degree field, and specific degree pursued(master, PHD, MD, JD).
Presentation: Use mapping tools such as ArcGIS to present the data on a US map (maybe adding UK as well). We would make a map for the alumni as a whole, a map for those pursued a PHD, a map for med school, a map for law school, and maps for popular undergraduate majors (for example Biology, Economics, Mathematics, Political Science, and Computer Science).
Proposed Timeline
- 2/16: Submit Proposal
- 2/21: Basically finish creating csv files
- 2/25: Near completion of initial visualization draft
- 2/28: Complete visualization draft
- 3/1: Polish/Clean/Perfect visualization
- 3/3: Prepare Presentation
- 3/5 : Practice presentation
We would learn from this specific project, which has done an impeccable job.
Austin’s interest in the project: My personal interest in our project can be divided into two parts: as a student taking Hacking the Humanities, the most appealing type of projects I have gotten familiar with in this class is spatial humanities projects; and, as an undergraduate student here at Carleton, I would like to learn from past popular choices and see my potential destination after the four year education here.
Alex’s interest in the project: I am very curious which undergraduate majors tend to pursue which type of advanced degree, for example, is it true that physics majors pursue a PHD while most math students favor masters? Also, it would be interesting to see the relative strengths between each of our majors.
Jackson’s interest in the project: My mom graduated from Carleton in ’86 and soon after went to get a PhD in economics. Graduate school is not something I’m currently considering, but it would definitely help to see where other people from this school have gone in the past. I’m interested in exploring the trends that may arise between majors and locations, and it’ll be funny to use my mom as a data point.
Mia’s interest in the project: I’m very interested in applying the tools I learned in class to analyze data that could potentially produce results that relate to myself. As an undergraduate student at Carleton who is considering applying to graduate schools, I can definitely learn from past students’ choices.