College Environments and the Development of Talent: Characteristics of colleges are related to the percentage of graduates who attain the Ph.D.

A method for comparing the effectiveness of undergraduate colleges in stimulating their students to seek the Ph.D. is described. The procedure yields separate measures of productivity in the natural sciences and in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, adjusted to control differences in college talent supplies. The results suggest that the productivity measures have substantial validity, and argue for the importance of faculty behaviors in stimulating or inhibiting intellectual achievement.