Westmont Diversity Lauded by Forbes

Forbes has selected Westmont as the second-best college for minorities to earn a degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (known colloquially as STEM).

The article says: “Producing more graduates with STEM degrees is an important goal for any college: The majors with the highest starting and mid-career salaries are nearly all STEM degrees, according to Payscale.com’s 2010-2011 College Salary Report.”

“It’s equally important for Westmont students to graduate with degrees in English, history or education,” says Joyce Luy, dean of admission. “Students graduating from Westmont in the sciences will be highly equipped to enter the job market or to compete to get into graduate school.”

Pennsylvania’s Westminster College came in first place for graduating women with STEM degrees. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota came in first place for graduating minorities in STEM.

Forbes reports that Saint Mary’s graduating class of 2008 was barely 10 percent minority, just above the national median for our ranked colleges. “But of those minority students, 35 percent received their degrees in STEM — well above the median among all colleges, which is just 10 percent,” the article reports.

Westmont’s graduating class of 2008 included 54 minority students, of which 20 earned degrees in math, computer science or the sciences. Currently, Westmont has 35 minority students enrolled in these same majors.

“We live in a diverse world, and it’s important for Westmont to offer a global educational program that prepares students to live with different cultures and become better citizens of the world,” Luy says.

The Forbes’ analysis excluded those schools where the student body is almost entirely female or minority students.