Swarthmore College has the highest rate of production of doctorate recipients in the social sciences in the United States, according to the National Science Foundation's survey of earned doctorates.  During the 10-year period studied and examined by Swarthmore's office of Institutional Research, 2001-02 through 2010-11, 135 Swarthmore graduates received a doctorate degree in a field within the social sciences.

Swarthmore is also among the top five highest producers of doctorate recipients in the humanities, life sciences, and all sciences combined over the same time period. The study found that over 20 percent of Swarthmore graduates go on to earn a doctorate degree.