While Eastern students may not be able to earn a Ph.D. from Eastern, a new study shows that getting a master’s from Eastern can help students earn a doctorate degree at another university.

Eastern ranks No. 1 in students who went on to earn academic doctorates, according to the Survey of Earned Doctorates done by the National Science Foundation.

This does not include medical or law degrees.

Eastern had 227 graduates obtain doctorates in the period from 2000-2009. This ranks the university as No. 1 in Illinois out of 22 other colleges and universities, and 35th in the nation.

The ranking of 35 puts Eastern in the top 6 percent of the 560 institutions surveyed.

Robert Augustine, the dean of the graduate school, has been a member of the Eastern community for the past 33 years.

Augustine said he thinks the ranking recognizes the university’s commitment to small classes and integrative learning.

“Nothing is more gratifying when an organization unrelated to Eastern comes to this conclusion,” Augustine said. “This provides evidence that our students have greater success because of that mentor/ student relationship we strive for.”

Augustine said he believes this relationship is a direct result of small class sizes, and as students learn to research and work with their instructors, they will be more comfortable doing so in a doctorial program.

He said these connections are very important to a student’s success and also bring great joy to the faculty members as well.

“We retain these connections long after graduation,” Augustine said. “I hear from my former students all the time. It is a lifelong-learning journey.”

Eastern does not offer any doctorates and has instead chosen to focus on master’s degrees.

“We focus on master’s as most of the graduate degrees earned are at this level, yet it is critical for the U.S that people pursue doctoral studies,” Augustine said. “As these are the people that solve our nation’s problems, it’s Eastern’s job to help keep people in the pipeline for doctoral studies.”

Amy Wywialowski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].