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2023 QS Rankings in Philosophy

The 2023 “QS World University Rankings” have been published. These contain rankings by subject matter, including philosophy.

The rankings are conducted by the London-based education firm Quacquarelli Symonds.

In the QS rankings, a school’s overall score for a particular subject is determined by a weighted formula that varies by area. In the arts and humanities, for the 2023 results, the formula used is: 60% academic reputation, 20% employer reputation, 7.5% citations per paper, 7.5% H-index, and 5% “International Research Metric“. (It is not clear why these factors are given these particular weights.)

QS does not specify whether its rankings are intended to assist prospective undergraduate or graduate students. The rankings have come under fire at various points for methodological concerns as well as conflicts of interest. Some of the results in philosophy will strike many readers as odd. So be aware that these rankings are controversial (as, of course, is the very idea of fine-grained rankings of places to study philosophy), and take note of alternative sources of information, such as departmetal websites, Academic Philosophy Data & Analysis and the Philosophical Gourmet Report (noting that various criticisms have also been made of the latter).

With those caveats in mind, here are the top 50 schools in the 2023 QS Rankings in Philosophy:

Rank	University	Overall Score	Academic Reputation	Employer Reputation	Citations per Paper	H-index Citations
1	New York University (NYU)	97.6	99.6	81.6	93.4	94.8
2	Rutgers University–New Brunswick	96.8	100	52.5	96.7	95.3
3	The London School of Economics & Political Science	94.3	96	98	88.5	85.4
4	University of Oxford	92	91.2	98.5	87.1	100
5	University of Pittsburgh	90.6	95.5	57.2	82.7	78.3
6	University of Cambridge	89.6	89.4	96.8	84.9	92.1
7	Harvard University	88.3	88.1	100	85.2	86.8
8	Australian National University (ANU)	88.1	88.2	88.6	87.9	86.8
9	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	87.8	89.7	81.4	80.3	84.6
10	University of St Andrews	87.5	89.5	75.5	82.3	83.8
11	University of Toronto	86.4	87.1	84.4	81.2	87.6
12	University of Notre Dame	86.3	88.3	65	82.1	86.1
13	Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin	86.1	87.6	77.6	83.2	82.1
14	Princeton University	85.5	84.2	82.6	91.9	90.2
15	Yale University	84.2	82.9	90.3	88.8	86.1
16	Stanford University	83.1	82.2	94	86.7	81.2
17	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	83	82.6	83.9	85.4	82.9
18	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	82.5	78.5	93.4	100	89.6
19	King’s College London	82	81	83.2	84.5	86.8
20	University of Bristol	81.6	81	73.2	87.5	84.6
21	The University of Edinburgh	80.9	77.8	81.9	89.2	95.8
22	University of Chicago	80.2	80.6	83.2	80	76.1
23	University College London	79.9	77.8	82.5	86	88.3
24	KU Leuven	79.4	79.8	72.8	76.2	82.9
25	Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne	79.1	81.4	77.4	72	69.8
26	Monash University	77.9	74.4	86.8	92.6	84.6
27	Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main	77.8	80.4	48.2	78.6	72.5
28	Macquarie University	77.6	75.1	80.5	88.1	84.6
28	The University of Sydney	77.6	75	91.8	83.4	83.8
30	Boston College	76.8	79	64.3	73.8	69.8
31	National University of Singapore (NUS)	76.4	73.8	95.6	84.3	78.3
32	Durham University	75.8	74.4	71.2	83.8	80.2
33	Université PSL	75.7	75.3	68.3	78.4	79.3
34	Central European University	75.2	76.6	75.6	76.3	63.2
34	University of Southern California	75.2	71.5	73	92.1	86.8
36	Sorbonne University	74.8	76	78.9	68.6	69.8
37	University of Amsterdam	74.4	70.9	79.1	85.6	86.8
38	Freie Universitaet Berlin	74.3	75.6	69.1	74.4	66.7
39	University of Leeds	73.9	70.6	66.6	87.4	88.9
40	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	73.8	70.4	75.2	89.9	82.9
41	Lomonosov Moscow State University	73.7	73.8	97.1	64.8	69.8
42	Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)	73.5	77.4	67.8	63.4	56.7
43	Wuhan University	73.4	77.3	64.5	65.3	56.7
44	Peking University	73.3	75.3	83.9	67.1	59.1
45	University of Turin	73	74.2	63.3	67.9	73.8
46	Fudan University	72.8	77.2	77.2	59.4	51.2
46	Universitat de Barcelona	72.8	72.1	64.7	76.9	78.3
48	University of Geneva	72.4	70.6	63.9	82.8	79.3
49	University of Vienna	72.2	69.8	72.6	80.2	82.1
50	Sun Yat-sen University	72.1	74.8	50.6	69.6	65

You can see the rest of the philosophy rankings here.

TechCrunch+ roundup: Ocean tech investor survey, AI and PR, L-1 visa options

Last week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which protects consumers from deceptive business practices, issued an advisory titled “Keep your AI claims in check.”

When it comes to marketing, “false or unsubstantiated claims about a product’s efficacy are our bread and butter,” wrote Michael Atleson, an attorney with the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices.

Artificial intelligence is a on everyone’s lips at the moment, “and at the FTC, one thing we know about hot marketing terms is that some advertisers won’t be able to stop themselves from overusing and abusing them.”

Given the renewed interest, “for companies where AI was previously No. 4 on the list of proof points, machine learning capabilities should merge into the main hook of the announcement,” advises PR strategist Camilla Tenn.

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“If AI-related coverage can get a new, unknown brand into its target publications today, it could help get the brand’s pitch deck in front of potential investors or partners tomorrow,” she writes in TC+.

Tenn recommends imitating major players like Google and Samsung, which have dedicated teams that release a steady stream of material about “ongoing projects” tied to prevailing tech trends.

“Even if those projects don’t see the light of day, the PR team has strategically positioned the brand as ‘innovative,’” says Tenn. “With this precedent, startups should not feel abashed to use any means necessary to get their name out there.”

Good advice for marketing mercenaries, but keep those pitches straight — reporters know when we’re being sold to, and the FTC isn’t messing around.

Thanks for reading — and for making this TechCrunch’s fastest-growing newsletter last month!

Have a great weekend,

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

How to turn an open source project into a profitable business

Many devs rely on donations and crowdfunding to monetize open source projects, but with the proper planning, teams can leverage their work for commercial clients who’ll put them in a higher tax bracket.

Offering users customer support or consulting services are common revenue streams, according to product development consultant Victoria Melnikova, who also says devs should form partnerships and use platforms like Reddit and Hacker News to reach potential paying customers.

“To find your path, talk to your clients and understand their goals and pains.”

To fix the climate, these 10 investors are betting the house on the ocean

Tapping the ocean for energy led to disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Today, wind power and wave action are just two technologies leading investors to take a closer look at ocean conservation technology, reports Tim De Chant.

To learn more about the opportunities they’re chasing and discover how climate change is shaping their investment thesis, he surveyed:

• Daniela V. Fernandez, founder and CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance, managing partner at Seabird Ventures
• Tim Agnew, general partner, Bold Ocean Ventures
• Peter Bryant, program director (oceans), Builders Initiative
• Kate Danaher, managing director (oceans and seafood), S2G Ventures
• Francis O’Sullivan, managing director (oceans and seafood), S2G Ventures
• Stephan Feilhauer, managing director (clean energy), S2G Ventures
• Sanjeev Krishnan, senior managing director and chief investment officer, S2G Ventures
• Rita Sousa, partner, Faber Ventures
• Christian Lim, managing director, SWEN Blue Ocean Partners
• Reece Pacheco, partner, Propeller

Pitch Deck Teardown: Gable’s $12M Series A deck

Remote workspace platform Gable raised a $12 million Series A to scale up its operations, which currently serves more than 5,000 workers in 26 countries.

“Making the business of shared workspaces easier for startups certainly has its challenges, but it’s also a large and growing market,” writes Haje Jan Kamps. “Gable weaves its story together with ease.”

Here’s their 21-slide Series A deck:

• Cover slide
• Team slide
• Market context slide (“The revolution of remote work”)
• Problem slide No. 1 (“Going remote-first is hard”)
• How people solve it now (“How it’s done today”)
• Problem slide No. 2 (“Main Issues”)
• Solution slide
• Traction slide (“Where we are”)
• Product slide No.1 (“Employee view”)
• Product slide No. 2 (“Management and insights”)
• Product slide No. 3 (“Host view”)
• Traction slide (“Partnership with over 800 spaces”)
• Value proposition slide (“Why they choose Gable”)
• Case study slide No. 1
• Case study slide No. 2
• Business model slide
• Market-size slide (“TAM”)
• Go-to-market slide (“Scalable process”)
• Marketing slide (“Massive channel opportunity)
• Product road map slide
• Thank you slide

Dear Sophie: What are my options for changing my status from an L-1 visa?

Dear Sophie,

I started working for my current employer on STEM-OPT, but I’ve lost out in the H-1B lottery four times. Thankfully, my employer transferred me to an international office, and I am now coming back to the U.S. on an L-1 visa.

I’ve heard many complaints from my classmates about not being able to switch employers on an L-1 visa. I don’t see myself staying at my employer for six more years, which is the estimated time until I can get a green card based on my employer’s internal policy.

What are my options for changing my immigration status so I can work at a startup in the U.S. within a year or two?

— Tenacious Transferee

Key legal issues for influencers and brands (and how to deal with them)

No one needs a mega-influencer like Serena Williams or a Kardashian to build buzz for their startup — an evangelist with just a few thousand followers can push qualified customers into your product funnel.

But before hiring a TikTok or YouTube personality, brand marketers should brush up on the laws that govern how influencers operate, and the risks associated with failing to comply.

“Novel legal issues and risks have emerged for both influencers and brands,” says Nicholas Sandy, a litigator at Pryor Cashman.

“Key, recurring issues relate to copyright licensing and infringement, disclosures and statements in endorsements, compliance with securities laws, and defamation.”

Apply now to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt in September

Interested in speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt this September in San Francisco?

Submit a title and a description for the topic you’d like to talk about before April 21.

Selected applicants will have a chance to lead a roundtable discussion or participate in a breakout session followed by an audience Q&A.

TechCrunch+ roundup: Ocean tech investor survey, AI and PR, L-1 visa options by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Liberal Arts Colleges

For the past 29 years, JBHE has collected Black student admissions data from the highest-ranked liberal arts colleges. Over this long period, there have been 14 years when Amherst College in Massachusetts reported the highest percentage of Black first-year students. On six occasions, Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, had enrolled the highest percentage of Black first-year students.

Six years ago, there were 87 Black first-year students at Amherst. They made up a whopping 18.2 percent of the first-year class. At that time, this was the largest percentage of Black first-year students at any of the high-ranking liberal arts colleges in the history of the JBHE survey. Two years ago, Amherst College sat on top of the survey and the college set a new standard. There were 81 Black students in the 2020 entering class. They make up 18.7 percent of the first-year class. This was the largest percentage of Black students in an entering class in the history of our surveys of both high-ranking liberal arts colleges and the nation’s leading research universities.

Last year, Amherst College set another new standard. There were 100 Black students in the class entering in the fall of 2021. They make up 19.5 percent of the Class of 2025. Now, for the first time in the 30-year history of the JBHE surveys, a college has enrolled a first-year class that is more than one-fifth Black. There are 96 Black students in this year’s entering class. They make up 20.6 percent of the total.

Black First-Year Enrollments at High-Ranking Liberal Arts Colleges,
Class of 2026

School	Total Enrollment	Black Enrollment	% Black
Amherst College	467	96	20.6
Swarthmore College	434	77	17.7
Pomona College	414	56	13.5
Harvey Mudd College	238	31	13.0
Haverford College	363	46	12.7
Bowdoin College	508	56	11.0
Wesleyan University	753	77	10.2
Mt. Holyoke College	544	54	9.9
Grinnell College	438	43	9.8
Claremont McKenna College	322	28	8.7
Vassar College	681	57	8.4
Colgate University	814	61	7.5
Oberlin College	822	60	7.3
Davidson College	542	39	7.2
Bucknell University	1,034	69	6.7
Washington & Lee Univ.	476	32	6.7
Macalester College*	552	36	6.5
Smith College*	619	39	6.3
Trinity College	565	35	6.2
Hamilton College	481	29	6.0
Bates College	519	30	5.8
Lafayette College	757	39	5.2
Bryn Mawr College	396	16	4.0

Source: JBHE Research Department


Notes: Colleges are ranked by the highest percentage of Black first-year students.
Some information obtained from public sources.
*Institutions supplying numbers in accordance with Dept.of Education guidelines - no foreign or biracial students. (See text.)

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has 77 Black students in this year’s entering class. They make up 17.7 percent of the first-year students. This is the seventh year in a row that Swarthmore has ranked in the top 5 in our survey. A year ago there were 68 Black first-year students at the college, making up 14.9 percent of the entering class.

Six years ago, for the first time in the history of our survey, Pomona College in Claremont, California, had the highest percentage of Black students in the entering classes at the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. There were 65 Black first-year students at Pomona College that year. They made up 15.8 percent of the entering class. Five years ago, Pomona dropped to fourth place with an entering class that was 12.6 percent Black. Four years ago, once again Pomona sat atop our rankings. Pomona had 67 Black first-year students, up from 52 the previous year. Blacks were 16.3 percent of the first-year class. Last year Pomona College ranked in fifth place with an entering class that was 13.5 percent Black. This year Pomona moves up to the third position with an entering class that is 13.5 percent Black.

While the achievements of Amherst College, Swarthmore College, and Pomona College in attracting Black students can not be overstated, an equally compelling tale has taken place at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, which bills itself as the nation’s top liberal arts college of engineering, science, and mathematics.

Thus, it may be a surprise to many readers, that Harvey Mudd College ranks fourth in our survey this year with an entering class that is 13 percent Black. A year ago, Blacks make up 17.7 percent of the entering class. Two years ago, Blacks made up 8.6 percent of the students in the entering class. In 2009, Harvey Mudd College ranked last in our survey in the Black percentage of first-year students. That year there were only three black students in the entering class. They made up just 1.4 percent of all entering students.

In 2019, Harvey Mudd College accepted only 13.7 percent of all applicants. But the acceptance rate for Black applicants was 35 percent. Blacks made up 10.7 percent of the entering class in 2019. For the past three years, the college has declined to provide JBHE with data on the acceptance rate of Black students.

Three other liberal arts colleges that responded to our survey had entering classes that were more than 10 percent Black. They are Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Bowdoin College in Maine, and Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Mount Holyoke College had Black enrollments of just under 10 percent. A year ago, only 3.8 percent of the entering students were Black. The number of Black students in the first-year class increased from 18 last year to 54 this year.

In 2009, only three of the nation’s high-ranking liberal arts colleges had entering classes that were at least 10 percent Black. Three years ago there were nine. For the past two years, eight colleges had an entering class that is at least 10 percent Black. This year, there are seven. The fact that several leading liberal arts colleges did not respond to our survey this year may have impacted these totals.

One-Year Gainers and Losers in Black First-Year Enrollments at High-Ranking Liberal Arts Colleges

School	2021	2022	% Change
Mt. Holyoke College	18	54	+200.0
Bucknell University	33	69	+109.1
Grinnell College	24	43	+79.2
Smith College	34	39	+14.7
Swarthmore College	68	77	+13.2
Bowdoin College	51	56	+9.8
Vassar College	54	57	+5.6
Davidson College	39	39	0.0
Macalester College	36	36	0.0
Amherst College	100	96	-4.0
Pomona College	61	56	-8.2
Lafayette College	43	39	-9.3
Haverford College	51	46	-10.1
Colgate University	69	61	-11.6
Oberlin College	71	60	-15.5
Hamilton College	35	29	-17.1
Washington & Lee Univ.	39	32	-17.9
Wesleyan University	95	77	-18.9
Harvey Mudd College	41	31	-24.4
Bates College	59	30	-49.2

Caution: Some colleges showing major drops in number of Black students may now only be reporting figures corresponding with U.S. Dept. of Education guidelines, whereas in the past, numbers may have included foreign Black and biracial students. Those showing major increases may be due to the inclusion of all students who identify as Black, whereas in the past the college may have only report numbers corresponding to DOE classifications. Also , these numbers are highly impacted by the pandemic.

Note: Only colleges that reported data in both 2021 and 2022 are included.

Source: JBHE Research Department

Only three leading liberal arts colleges for which we have data have entering classes that are less than 6 percent Black. They are Lafayette College, Bates College, and Bryn Mawr College.

In 2020, enrollments were down at many liberal arts colleges due to the pandemic. So it came as no surprise that in 2021, Black enrollments were up at almost all leading liberal arts colleges. Accepted students at many colleges took a gap year resulting in abnormally large entering classes a year ago. Thus, as we have returned to a more normal admission cycle, the number of entering students – including African American students – is down at many schools.

In addition to the huge increase at Mount Holyoke mentioned earlier, there were large increases in Black students at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and Grinnell College in Iowa. One reason for the large increase at Bucknell University was that the university included all domestic and international students who identified as Black. In the past, the university only used reporting methods called for by the U.S. Department of Education. (See next paragraph.)

A Note on Methodology

Before we continue with the results, it is important to mention how the U.S. Department of Education collects data on the race of undergraduates. Before a change was made several years ago, students who reported more than one race (including African American) were included in the figures for Black students. This is no longer the case. Thus, students who self-identify as biracial or multiracial with some level of African heritage are no longer classified as Black by the Department of Education.

JBHE surveys have always asked respondents to include all students who self-identify as having African American or African heritage including those who are actually from Africa. JBHE has always maintained that biracial, multiracial, and Black students from Africa add to the diversity of a college campus. And including these students in our figures offers college-bound Black students a better idea of what they can expect at a given college or university. In order that we can compare our current data to past JBHE surveys, we have continued to ask colleges and universities to include all students who identify themselves as having African American or African heritage.

Some of our responding liberal arts colleges chose to report results that correspond with official Department of Education figures. They are indicated on the table with an asterisk. It should be noted that if biracial, multiracial, and Black foreign students were included in the Black percentage of students in the first-year classes at these institutions, the overall percentage of Black students would undoubtedly be higher.

Black Student Acceptance Rates

In the past, almost all leading liberal arts colleges divulged data on Black student acceptance rates. In recent years, the number of liberal arts colleges that have refused to divulge the data has grown. The recent litigation involving the admissions practices of Harvard University concerning Asian American students, which is now before the Supreme Court, appears to have struck a nerve in higher education circles. Colleges and universities increasingly seem to want to hold their cards close to their vests and not add fuel to efforts to challenge affirmative action admissions policies.

This year we have acceptance rate data on only 13 liberal arts colleges. The four colleges that have the largest percentages of Black students have not furnished acceptance rate data.

Ten years ago, for the first time in the history of the JBHE survey of liberal arts colleges, more responding colleges had a lower acceptance rate for Black students than their overall acceptance rate compared to the number of colleges that had a Black acceptance rate that was higher than their overall rate. This is the eleventh year in a row when more liberal arts colleges that chose to divulge this data showed a lower acceptance rate for Black students than the acceptance rate for students overall. In most cases the differences were small. At Claremont McKenna College in California, the Black acceptance rate was seven percentage points higher than the overall acceptance rate.

Racial Differences in Acceptance Rates at High-Ranking Liberal Arts Colleges, Class of 2026

School	Overall Acceptance Rate	Black Acceptance Rate	Difference
Claremont McKenna College	10.4	17.4	+7.0
Bowdoin College	9.2	11.0	+1.8
Wesleyan University	14.4	15.1	+0.7
Grinnell College	9.2	8.9	-0.3
Haverford College	14.2	12.9	-1.3
Davidson College	16.9	13.3	-3.6
Mt. Holyoke College	39.8	35.4	-4.4
Bates College	13.7	9.3	-4.4
Trinity College	36.0	30.9	-5.1
Colgate University	12.3	7.0	-5.3
Hamilton College	11.8	5.8	-6.0
Bucknell University	32.6	20.7	-11.9

Source: JBHE Research Department

On the other extreme, at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, 32.6 percent of all students were accepted but only 20.7 percent of Black students were admitted.

While no firm conclusions can be made, the fact that for the past 11 years there are now more colleges with overall acceptance rates that are higher than Black acceptance rates, causes one to wonder if there has been some curtailment in colleges’ consideration of race in admissions decisions. Or it may be that the colleges that have a much higher acceptance rate for Black students than they do for the applicant pool as a whole, are unwilling to publicize this information in fear of litigation or do not wish to anger some contributing alumni who are not in favor of race-sensitive admissions.

Is ocean conservation the next climate tech? 7 investors explain why they’re all in

For an ecosystem that covers a majority of the planet, the oceans have basically been ignored by startups and investors alike.

Sure, plenty of money is spent on ocean-based industries, but most of today’s marine investments are into either extractive industries like fishing or oil and gas, or activities like shipping, which aren’t extractive but don’t exactly benefit marine ecosystems.

However, in recent years, there has been a sea change in perspectives. Founders and investors have started to look for opportunities to conserve, and even enhance, the ocean’s resources rather than exploit them.

“There is tremendous potential for the ocean to provide more food, more efficiently, with less environmental impact and even regeneratively,” said Reece Pacheco, a partner at Propeller.

Because the oceans take up so much of the planet and the space is relatively uncharted, there are plenty of opportunities for investors to find niches ripe with financial and environmental upsides.

“Our systems are at a point where it is more productive to work with nature than against it,” said Sanjeev Krishnan, chief investment officer at S2G Ventures. “While energy and agriculture are further along the J-curve, the oceans sector is more nascent but presents an investable opportunity that impacts almost every sector of the global economy.”

In that way, ocean conservation tech mirrors climate tech, which has been growing so fast that some have called it “recession-proof.” Of course, some question whether any sector is truly recession-proof and that applies to ocean conservation tech as well.

That doesn’t mean that investors aren’t bullish, though. “I’m not sure I would characterize the ocean economy as recession-proof, but the investment opportunities are real from a venture capital perspective,” said Tim Agnew, general partner at Bold Ocean Ventures.

Even some of the most intractable and high-profile problems facing the world’s oceans, like plastic pollution, are inspiring investors to dive in.

“People have been looking at solving these problems in the wrong way,” said Daniela Fernandez, managing partner at Seabird Ventures. “Profitability and scalability depend on the approach and business model that is being implemented to solve the plastic pollution crisis. We have to think beyond community beach cleanups — there are actually extremely investable approaches to solving the plastic problem.”

Investors like Fernandez are looking with fresh eyes at both new problems like plastic pollution and old ones like aquaculture and fisheries management. In the process, they’re betting that innovative approaches to solving those problems will not just create returns but create disruptions and innovations that spill over into adjacent sectors.

“Part of our thesis is that ocean conservation technologies can solve big problems for big ocean-going industries and adjacent industries,” said Kate Danaher, managing director at S2G Ventures.

But, she added, there’s still more room to grow. “We need to make the case to even more climate-focused and generalist investors.”

To get a better idea of how startups and investors are thinking about ocean conservation tech and the opportunities therein, we spoke with:

• Tim Agnew, general partner, Bold Ocean Ventures
• Peter Bryant, program director (oceans), Builders Initiative and Kate Danaher, managing director (oceans and seafood), S2G Ventures
• Daniela V. Fernandez, founder and CEO, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, managing partner, Seabird Ventures
• Rita Sousa, partner, Faber Ventures
• Christian Lim, managing director, SWEN Blue Ocean Partners
• Reece Pacheco, partner, Propeller

---

Tim Agnew, general partner, Bold Ocean Ventures

What is your investment thesis for ocean conservation tech in 2023? What sort of growth are you expecting in the sector?  

Our investment thesis is focused on innovations that modernize the seafood supply chain, expand production in a sustainable way and address the impacts of climate change. We believe this investment opportunity is in its early stages and will be a major theme over the next decade as it becomes clearer how impactful the ocean can be in addressing the climate crisis and feeding a growing, more urbanized population.

Ocean-related businesses are at the beginning stages of adopting new technologies to increase efficiencies and productivity.

Is there a meaningful distinction between the tech used by startups focused on coastal regions and the tech built for the open ocean?  

Answer is yes and no. Ocean shipping and ocean wind are obviously very different animals from kelp aquaculture and climate resiliency, but both are migrating toward more tech-enabled solutions, including digital technologies, artificial intelligence, data gathering and analysis.

A lot of the problems facing the oceans, like plastic pollution, don’t seem to have much potential for profit. Is that a fair assessment, or have we been looking at these problems in the wrong way? 

We just looked at a company that has a booming business of gathering plastic bottles on beaches, separating the types of plastic and selling to companies that are anxious to be able to offer recycled bottles or other products.

There is considerable research going into the transition from plastic packaging to biodegradable packaging. There is plenty of potential for profitable businesses, although the process of cleaning up the oceans is going to require time and money.

What technology are you excited about that has the most potential to create new markets?  

Seafood traceability solutions; ropeless traps; microalgae and seaweed are a hugely untapped resource with multiple market opportunities; ocean and weather data collection and analysis.

The ocean today only accounts for 15% of the world’s protein and 2% of its calories. What is the potential for the oceans to provide more, and what should that look like?  

The oceans will provide more food that has a much lower carbon footprint than land-based animal protein. Shifting demand from beef to seafood could have a major impact on GHG reduction. Seafood aquaculture, both on- and offshore, is growing much faster than wild-caught seafood and will become a major source of high-quality protein.

What are some of the keystone problems that an ocean-based food system faces? 

Social license concerns about aquaculture, species sustainability and the need to broaden consumer tastes to reduce pressure on overfishing.

From aquaculture to kelp farming, there is a range of options to get more food from the oceans. Which do you think is the most promising?  

RAS and closed system aquaculture.

Peter Bryant, program director (oceans), Builders Initiative, and Kate Danaher, managing director (oceans and seafood), S2G Ventures

What is your investment thesis for ocean conservation tech in 2023? What sort of growth are you expecting in the sector? 

Peter Bryant: We invest in technologies and business models that enhance the conservation, regeneration and resilience of ecosystems, optimize the production of and use of resources derived from the ocean, and provide consumers with a sustainable, traceable and secure food.

Kate Danaher: Part of our thesis is that ocean conservation technologies can solve big problems for big ocean-going and adjacent industries. Innovations that create deflationary solutions like saving fuel, lowering water usage or can build diverse revenue streams through multiple industries will be best positioned to weather this economic winter, raise capital and gain traction in the market.

As these types of innovations begin to show commercial results and have a positive environmental impact, we expect that investment in the sector will continue to increase, spurring more oceans-focused funds and increased interest from broader climate funds.

What role have impact investors played in ocean conservation? Investor networks? 

Bryant: Within ocean conservation, there are technologies and entire subsectors that are still developing and need patient capital for R&D, reaching product-market fit, and in some cases, creating new markets. Patient capital lets commercially viable companies de-risk themselves and provide them with the runway they need to hit milestones to attract more traditional capital.

Impact investors have also catalyzed the growth of the ocean investment landscape by providing the first capital into ocean funds. Before 2018, there were only a handful of ocean-focused funds; however, in the last 18 months, more than 18 ocean-focused funds have been launched.

This is exciting not only because it will lead to hundreds of millions of new dollars invested in the oceans, but also because it demonstrates that venture and growth equity investors have seen the potential of oceans and are willing to set up funds with an oceans focus. Impact investors who are willing to invest early in these funds are playing a pivotal role in attracting the capital needed to grow the investment landscape in oceans.

Is ocean conservation the next climate tech? 7 investors explain why they’re all in by Tim De Chant originally published on TechCrunch

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Black First-Year Students at the Nation’s Leading Research Universities

Once again, this year The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education has completed its survey of admissions offices at the nation’s highest-ranked research universities. For the 30th consecutive year, we have calculated and compared the percentages of Black/African-American students in this fall’s entering classes. We also compared this year’s numbers to the previous year and, where possible, note differences in acceptances rates for Black students compared to the overall admissions pool.

When JBHE started this survey nearly three decades ago, our aim was to create an annual tabulation that would serve as a vehicle where our nation’s leading universities would compete to move up the ladder or our rankings of Black first-year students. JBHE has always maintained that the Black presence at our nation’s top universities and colleges is an important barometer of educational equality.

Over the past decades, the progress has been substantial. In 2004, only two of the nation’s highest-ranked universities had incoming classes that were more than 10 percent Black. This year there are 20 high-ranked universities for which we have data that have an entering class that is more than 10 percent Black. This year there are 15 high-ranking universities that have an entering class that is at least 12 percent Black. Two years ago there were eight. In 2004, there were none.

Yet, despite this progress, colleges and universities are becoming increasingly reluctant to provide data to JBHE, particularly on their acceptance rates of Black students. When we began, almost all of the major universities and all of the leading liberal arts colleges were willing to supply data on Black student acceptance rates. In some instances, there were vast differences between Black student acceptance rates and overall acceptance rates. Now, less than one half of the major research universities are willing to make this data public.

Several years ago, Harvard University told JBHE that it would no longer participate in our survey. In December 2021, Princeton University issued a statement that read in part “we have now made the decision not to release admission data during the early action, regular decision, and transfer admission cycles.” Princeton did reply to our survey after its application deadline.

One major research university that had declined to provide this information in the past, included acceptance rate information in this year’s response but then requested that JBHE not publish the information. The data showed that the Black acceptance rate was more than double the overall acceptance rate. Realizing that universities are very sensitive on this issue, we complied with the request not to include the information. Again, we do not infer that universities that choose not to provide acceptance rate data typically have significant gaps between their Black acceptance rates and their overall acceptance rates. Several leading universities that have been very successful in achieving a high degree of diversity in their entering classes – including Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Brown – all have acceptance rates for Blacks that are very close to their overall acceptance rates.

Undoubtedly, the recent litigation involving the admissions practices of Harvard University concerning Asian American students – that will be decided by the Supreme Court later this year – appears to have struck a nerve in higher education circles. Colleges and universities increasingly seem to want to hold their cards close to their vests and not add fuel to efforts to challenge affirmative action admissions policies. They may also want to avoid having to defend their admissions policy in court at considerable expense.

Unquestionably, public and private litigation threats to affirmative action policies in college admissions have been a factor in producing this sensitivity. With this in mind, admissions officers — who, we believe, on the whole, are solidly supportive of affirmative action — have apprehensions when statistics on Black admissions are made available to the public. There are standard concerns too that racial conservatives on faculties and trustees may interpret the figures as suggesting a so-called dumbing down of academic standards and a favoring of “unqualified” Blacks over perhaps more qualified Whites. Probably, more importantly, these research universities may be unwilling to alienate conservative alumni and donors who come to believe that the university is giving what they believe to be unfair advantages to Blacks and members of other underrepresented groups.

JBHE does not believe there are sinister motives for this lack of disclosure. Generally, we believe that most major universities and high-ranking liberal arts colleges are dedicated to increasing diversity so that their student populations mirror the nation’s population. Indeed, the figures on Black student enrollments that have risen dramatically over the years tend to show this commitment.

We do not make judgments on why a particular college or university chooses not to participate. But we continue to believe that providing Black students and their families with information relating to their prospects for admission at our top universities is important. We will continue to request this information in the hope that universities will be more forthcoming in the future if and when the threat of litigation subsides.

Black Students in the Class of 2026

For nine years in a row, Columbia had the highest percentage of Black first-year students among the highest-ranking universities in the nation. Five years ago, Columbia finished in a virtual dead heat for first place but was narrowly edged out by Washington University for the top spot. Again in 2017, Columbia finished in second place with an entering class that was 13.9 percent Black.

In 2021 Columbia was once again on top with an entering class that was 17.5 percent Black. This is the highest percentage achieved among the nation’s leading research universities in the history of our survey. This year there are 238 Black students in the entering class at Columbia. They make up 16.4 percent of the Class of 2026.

Four years ago, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore had an entering class that was 11 percent Black. In 2020, 13.9 percent of its entering class was Black, placing the university in fifth place in our survey.  A year ago, Johns Hopkins was in the second spot with a first-year class that was 15.5 percent Black. Now 16.4 percent of first-year students at Johns Hopkins are Black, tying the university with Columbia for the top spot in our rankings. (Technically Johns Hopkins has a slightly higher percentage of Blacks in its first-year class, 16.41 to 16.35 for Columbia).

Enrollments in the Class of 2026

School	Total Enrollment	Black Enrollment	% Black
Johns Hopkins University	1310	215	16.4
Columbia University	1455	238	16.4
Brown University	1717	259	15.1
Harvard University	1647	237	14.4
University of Chicago	1729	242	14.0
Vanderbilt University	1619	223	13.8
Princeton University	1499	206	13.7
University of Pennsylvania	2415	332	13.7
Northwestern University	2039	273	13.4
Emory University	1424	191	13.4
Duke University	1738	226	13.0
Yale University	1557	202	13.0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	1136	144	12.7
Cornell University	3491	432	12.4
Washington University	1815	221	12.2
Dartmouth College	1125	135	12.0
University of Southern California	3420	381	11.1
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	4440	478	10.8
University of Virginia	4030	435	10.8
Tufts University	1695	179	10.6
Rice University*	1203	128	10.6
University of Notre Dame	2037	194	9.5
Wake Forest University	1375	121	8.8
University of California, Los Angeles*	6462	480	7.4
Stanford University	1782	130	7.3
Carnegie Mellon University	1716	125	7.3
Georgetown University	1587	116	7.3
University of Michigan*	5594	363	6.5
California Institute of Technology	235	12	5.0

Note: Colleges are ranked by the highest percentage of Black first-year students.
Some information obtained from public sources.
*Foreign students not included. (See text.)

Source: JBHE Research Department

Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, moved up to fourth place a year ago after ranking ninth in 2020. This year the Black percentage of Brown’s entering class has increased to 15.1 percent, the third highest in our survey.

As stated earlier, Harvard University, the subject of the current case before the Supreme Court, has not participated in the JBHE Annual Survey in recent years. But the university publicly reported that 14.4 percent of its entering class is Black. The University of Chicago holds the fifth spot in our survey with an entering class that is 14 percent Black. A year ago, 10 percent of the entering class was Black.

Five years ago, for the first time in the history of our survey, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, had the highest percentage of Black students in its entering class of any of the high-ranking research universities in our survey. There were 226 Black first-year students at Vanderbilt, making up 14.1 percent of the entering class. This year, Vanderbilt is in sixth place in the overall rankings with an entering class that is 13.8 percent Black. Vanderbilt held the third spot last year.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has made huge progress over the past decade in increasing Black enrollment. For the class that entered in the fall of 2013, MIT ranked near the bottom of our survey. Since that time it has ranked as high as a tie for second and a year ago was in the fifth position with an entering class that was 13.3 percent Black. This year 12.7 percent of entering class at MIT is Black. Three years ago, there were only six African American students in the entering class at the California Institute of Technology. They made up 2.5 percent of the first-year class. A year ago, there were 12 Black students making up 4.4 percent of the entering class. This year, Blacks are 5 percent of the entering class

The progress of the Ivy League schools over the past decade in admitting Black students has been impressive. In 2006, Columbia University had the highest percentage of Black first-year students at 9.6 percent. This year, all eight Ivy League schools have entering classes that are 12 percent Black or higher.

A Note on Methodology

Before we continue with the results, it is important to mention how the U.S. Department of Education collects data on the race of undergraduates. Before a change was made several years ago, students who reported more than one race (including African American) were included in the figures for Black students. This is no longer the case. Thus, students who self-identify as biracial or multiracial with some level of African heritage are no longer classified as Black by the Department of Education.

JBHE surveys have always asked respondents to include all students who self-identify as having African American or African heritage including those who are actually from Africa. JBHE has always maintained that biracial, multiracial, and Black students from Africa add to the diversity of a college campus. And including these students in our figures offers college-bound Black students a better idea of what they can expect at a given college or university. In order that we can compare our current data to past JBHE surveys, we have continued to ask colleges and universities to include all students who identify themselves as having African American or African heritage. Those who conform to Department of Education guidelines and do not include foreign Black students or biracial students are indicated with an asterisk in the accompanying table.

One-Year Gainers and Losers in Black First-Year Enrollments at High-Ranking Research Universities

We have data on first-year enrollments of Black students at 25 high-ranking research universities for both 2021 and 2022. There were 14 universities with fewer Black students in their entering class than in 2021 and 11 that showed an increase.

But this year’s data must be treated with some caution given the extraordinary circumstances faced by colleges and universities as a result of the pandemic. Overall enrollments were down at most schools in the 2020-21 academic year, and studies have shown that Black enrollments suffered to a greater degree than the overall student population. Also, many students who were scheduled to enroll in the fall of 2020, took a gap year to ride out the pandemic and enrolled instead the next fall. For example, at Yale University, 330 students accepted into the class of 2024 deferred their matriculation until the Class of 2025. So the Class of 2025 was abnormally large and therefore it was expected that many universities were would have lower numbers of Black entering students this fall.

That was not the case at Princeton University. There are 206 Black students in this year’s entering class, compared to 108 a year ago. But the overall entering class was 1,290 in 2021 and almost 1,500 this year.

At the University of Virginia, the number of Black students in the entering class was 343 a year ago and 435 this year. But the overall class size was also significantly higher. But the university also boosted its percentage of Black entering students from 8.8 percent to 10.8 percent.

Stanford University showed a major drop in Black first-year students. But the overall size of the entering class decreased from 2,126 a year ago to 1,728 this year. Also, the Black percentage of first-year students dropped from 11.6 percent a year ago to 7.3 percent this year.

School	2021	2022	% Change
Princeton University	108	206	+90.7
University of Virginia	343	435	+26.8
University of Chicago	205	242	+18.0
University of Michigan	309	363	+17.5
University of Pennsylvania	290	332	+14.5
Wake Forest University	107	121	+13.1
Northwestern University	250	273	+9.2
Dartmouth College	122	135	+8.3
Brown University	242	259	+7.0
Rice University	120	128	+6.7
Johns Hopkins University	205	215	+4.9
University of Notre Dame	197	194	-1.5
Vanderbilt University	235	223	-5.1
Yale University	215	202	-6.0
Emory University	205	205	-6.8
Georgetown University	126	116	-7.9
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	157	144	-8.3
Washington University	244	221	-9.4
Columbia University	264	238	-9.8
Cornell University	490	432	-11.8
Tufts University	210	179	-14.8
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	569	478	-16.0
University of Southern California	461	381	-17.4
Carnegie Mellon University	152	125	-17.8
Stanford University	246	130	-47.2

Caution: Some colleges showing major drops in number of Black students may now only be reporting figures corresponding with U.S. Dept. of Education guidelines, whereas in the past, numbers may have included foreign Black and biracial students. Those showing major increases may be due to the inclusion of all students who identify as Black, whereas in the past the college may have only reported numbers corresponding to DOE classifications. Gains or losses could also simply be due to a change in the overall size of the entering class. This year, decreases may simply be due to the fact that overall first-year enrollments were higher in 2021 as students returned to higher education after the pandemic. Many students in 2020 deferred enrollment for a year and enrolled in 2021 making incoming classes unusually large that year at some universities.

Source: JBHE Research Department

Black Student Acceptance Rates

As stated earlier, a majority of high-ranking research universities are now unwilling to disclose information on Black student acceptance rates. But we can compare acceptance rate data from 13 universities that did reply with our request for data. This is the same number that responded a year ago.

School	% of Total	% of Blacks	% Difference
Wake Forest University	21.4	36.7	+15.3
University of Virginia	18.7	29.3	+10.6
Carnegie Mellon University	11.3	14.1	+2.8
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	16.8	19.5	+2.7
Brown University	5.1	7.8	+2.7
Emory University	11.4	14.1	+2.7
Rice University	8.7	10.9	+2.2
Johns Hopkins University	6.5	8.5	+2.0
University of Southern California	12.1	14.1	+2.0
University of Pennsylvania	6.5	8.2	+1.7
University of California, Los Angeles	8.6	10.0	+1.4
Columbia University	3.7	4.5	+0.8
Georgetown University	12.2	11.2	-1.0

Source: JBHE Research Department

At 12 of the 13 universities that supplied acceptance rate data to JBHE, the Black student acceptance rate was higher than the acceptance rate for all students. In the past, the differences in acceptance rates at some universities were quite large. But now, the differences are usually very narrow. Again, this may reflect a concern over the threat of litigation if there is a perception that a particular racial or ethnic group is receiving an edge in the admissions process.

Wake Forest University had a Black acceptance rate that was more than 15 percentage points higher than the rate for the overall applicant pool. A year ago, the difference was just 2.8 percentage points. The Black percentage of the first-year class was 7.4 percent a year ago and 8.8 percent this year. At the University of Virginia, the acceptance rate for Black students was 10.6 percentage points higher than the rate for the overall applicant pool. A year ago, Blacks enjoyed an acceptance rate that was 7.8 percentage points higher. The Black percentage of the entering class was 10.8 percent this year, up from 8.8 percent a year ago. At all other universities reporting, the differences in acceptance rates were very small.