<p>If you ask a college rep which departments/programs at their colleges are the strongest, they'll generally hem and haw and end up with "they're all great, but these are the largest." But that's not helpful! I want to know which ones are actually good. I know there's separate rankings for business and engineering programs... does something similar exist for other types of programs?</p>
<p>You can check each school’s graduate ranking on USNWR to see relatively how strong their undergrad programs are. There are other rankings as well that you can search for that will give a general “social sciences”, “sciences”, etc. rankings.</p>
<p>USNews grad program rankings
[Best</a> Graduate Schools - Education - US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools)</p>
<p>NRC doctoral program rankings from '95. The new version is sketchy.
[NRC</a> Rankings in Each of 41 Areas](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41indiv.html]NRC”>NRC Rankings in Each of 41 Areas)</p>
<p>Look at Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges, available at any decent library.</p>
<p>To clarify, I’m talking about undergraduate departments.</p>
<p>Thanks for the leads, will look at them-- Rugg’s Recs especially looks interesting.</p>
<p>Rugg’s covers many departments and schools, but it is not a ranking akin to USNWR’s rankings of graduate departments. It provides unranked lists sorted by selectivity. I’m not sure about the methodology. </p>
<p>One metric you can look at is PhD productivity. Keep in mind that many excellent students at top schools will choose law or medical school over arts and sciences. It is not a comprehensive basis for ranking undergraduate departments. However, it is one of the only objective, performance-based indicators available for undergraduate department strength.
[COLLEGE</a> PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]COLLEGE”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College)</p>
<p>Many colleges post a Common Data Set file that you can download (Google the school name plus “Common Data Set”). Toward the end is a list showing the number of graduates in each department. </p>
<p>Then there is the Gourman Report. This seems to be the only widely available, comprehensive undergraduate department ranking. Unfortunately it is outdated (1996) and controversial. [Amazon.com:</a> The Gourman Report: A Rating of Undergaduate Programs in American and International Universities (9780918192165): Jack Gourman: Books: Reviews, Prices & more](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Gourman-Report-Undergaduate-International-Universities/dp/0918192161]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Gourman-Report-Undergaduate-International-Universities/dp/0918192161)</p>
<p>Choosing a college probably is your first major adult decision. This may surprise you, but for many decisions in adult life, clear evidence does not exist to indicate the very best choice. You have to ferret it out piecemeal, go with what you know, and sometimes take a little leap of faith.</p>
<p>Also, you could look inside “Fiske Guide 2011” I believe he has some schools listed with the words “Strong in _________” for both small & large schools. That section I believe is in the front of the book.</p>
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<p>Its impossible to know this without personal research. Graduate school USNEWS ranking are based on a reputational survey of the department in academia. They likely have 0 impact of a strength of a program. If not Williams would be weak all round. Moreover large and diverse departments always come tops. However this does not always translate to a good undergraduate program.</p>
<p>This is what you look for in an undergraduate program:</p>
<p>You have to do your homework yourself. Do you have an interest? Talk to students in the department. Find out what students do after college. How committed are the professors to learning as opposed to research? What classes are required for a major and how do they compare to that of other departments in other schools. What are the course offerings? What opportunity would you have to engage in independent research? Would you have the opportunity to write a honors thesis? Visit the website of the department. Some departments have yearly newsletters. Go through them for several years. You would get a glimpse into the history of the department and the experiences of the undergraduates.</p>
<p>Put these things together</p>