Good departments?

<p>Forgive me if this has been asked before- I'm rather new to the college search, but so far when I look at college websites and such I never get a real feeling as to what departments are strongest.
As someone who does not have a big idea as to what she will do in the future, I haven't really visited individual department websites for colleges and don't really know if they will help in determining the 'it factor' about it such as great teachers or something. Do they?
I have the Fiske's 2008 guide (from when my brother applied to college) and I know that has the strongest programs in it, but I was wondering if there was anything online or something that was maybe a little more clear-cut about it.
Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>You might want to check out Rugg's College Recommendations Guide. It lists strongest departments for particular schools by major area of study. The Rugg's Guide has been around for about 25 years -- and, I believe it is updated annually like many of the other college guides.</p>

<p>Gourman Report</p>

<p>search CC for Gourman Report rankings by department</p>

<p>The Gourman reported is very dated and was not very reliable even when it came out some years ago. As just one example, Gourman lists Johns Hopkins as one of the top art programs in the country. Hopkins does have a top History of Art program but that was listed and ranked separately. Now I'm as big a Hopkins fan as anyone, and Hopkins does offer some art courses to students in something called the Homewood Art Workshops but studio art is not even a full-fledged department at Hopkins. There is no way it is one of the top programs in the country. I'd take Gourman with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>The Gourman Report is pretty accurate.</p>

<p>They ranked JHU 13th for studio art.
JHU graduates about 10-20 students in Fina and Studio Art each year.
JHU has about the same proportion of graduates in the visual and performing arts as Columbia, Yale, and UCLA.</p>

<p>I don't believe that's true. As far as I know, Hopkins graduates exactly zero fine and studio art majors because there is no major in art. There is a minor in studio art--and the numbers you cite are probably in range for the number of students with art minors. But how can a program which only has minors be #13 in the country. It just can't be.</p>

<p>JHU reports to the US Dept of Education that they majors in Fine and Studio Art. First major, not minor or dual major. The major may have a name at JHU other than Fine or Studio Art, but students graduate with degrees in Fine and Studio Art according to IPEDS data.</p>

<p>maybe a search of the JHU website will locate a major with an unusual name that fits the concept.</p>