University grad programs achieve high rankings for 2011-12

When the U.S. News & World Report released its list of America’s best national universities for 2011-12 earlier this year, the spotlight was on the University’s return to number one. Tying with Harvard and forging ahead of Yale, the University made the top of the list for the first time since 2009.

Yet while the University prides itself on its undergraduate education, also of note are its well-regarded graduate programs, which have also fared well in the U.S. News rankings. Unlike undergraduate colleges, which receive rankings every year, graduate schools are ranked by U.S. News only every few years.

In 2009, which was the last time U.S. News ranked graduate programs that were not preprofessional schools, three of the University’s graduate programs were ranked first in the nation and several others achieved top-10 rankings. The graduate programs in history, economics and politics were all ranked top in their respective fields. Mathematics took second place, while sociology, public affairs and physics ranked third, fourth and fifth in their respective fields. A dozen other programs achieved a top-10 ranking.

Though the graduate school has done well in the U.S. News list, many departments said they do not place much stock in rankings. History department director of graduate studies John Haldon noted that rankings differ greatly depending on the statistics collected and questions asked, and added that his department places much more value in results based on undergraduate and graduate student opinion.

At the graduate level, Haldon said, rankings simply play a role in establishing the context of an applicant’s search.

In searching for graduate schools, he explained, applicants mostly consider the compatibility of specific departments with their research interests, allowing rankings to become secondary to the academic environment the school will provide in making their decisions.

Economics graduate student Giri Parameswaran agreed, noting that academic considerations played a large role in his decisions about graduate school.

“Many students are typically looking at the ranking of schools by sub-discipline, depending on their area of interest,” he said. “There is good sense of how different programs perform in terms of being able to attract faculty and students.”

U.S. News relies solely on peer assessment surveys to compile their list of the nation’s best graduate schools in the sciences, social sciences and policy, according to the U.S. News website, using surveys sent only to academics in each discipline.

For Chi Li, a graduate student in the mathematics department, rankings are limited in their ability to compare departments between schools because different departments may have strengths in different specialties.

In math, for example, “it’s difficult to compare two departments if one is best in number theory, and the other is the best in analysis,” he said.

The process of selecting a suitable graduate program differs “significantly” from that of the undergraduate college, said Sarah Brayne, a doctoral candidate pursuing a joint degree in sociology and social policy.

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“While I do think that some people pay attention to the rankings, I think that people tend not to, for example, pick a department that ranks third over a department that ranks fifth if there are no faculty in that department conducting research they are interested in,” she explained.

Joseph Ricci, a fourth-year graduate student in the history department, said overall program rankings did not have an influence on his decision to attend the University.

He was instead drawn to the University by the availability of the Graduate Study of Late Antiquity seminar, in which he is currently enrolled. He attributed the strength of the history department to its generous funding, in-depth seminars and its “positive and lively atmosphere.”

“I think the ranking is reflective of our attitude and spirit, but it certainly wouldn’t create that attitude if it did not exist in the first place,” Ricci said.

History graduate student Sarah Kampbell disagreed, however.

“I believe that most people do place as much weight, if not more, on a graduate school’s ranking,” she said. “It certainly factored into my decision.”

The University offers postgraduate degrees in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, as well as professional degrees in architecture, finance, engineering and public policy through the Wilson School. Unlike many of its peer schools, the University does not have a medical, business or law school.

Parameswaran added that he thinks most people would consider the University’s graduate program to be very highly rated, although perhaps not the best of the best.