Rankings released of 5,000 doctoral programs in 62 fields at 212 institutions

<p>"Doctoral programs across the nation took a collective pause Tuesday to peruse a long-awaited report that offers the first definitive rankings of the programs in 15 years.</p>

<p>It might take a doctorate to fully comprehend the National Research Council rankings. Instead of ranking programs from first to last, the report states each ranking as a statistical range.</p>

<p>So, we now know that the comparative literature program at the University of Maryland ranks somewhere between sixth and 19th among 46 like programs nationwide. And that's just one ranking. The report rates programs two different ways, adding to the confusion.</p>

<p>Universities seized on their more flattering rankings as affirmations of their better programs. Doctoral departments rely on the highly regarded NRC rankings to attract students and faculty.</p>

<p>"I've said to undergraduates who want to go to graduate school in history that if you can't get into a top-10 program, don't go. That's how significant this is," said Edward Ayers, a history scholar who is president of the University of Richmond.</p>

<p>The rankings cover 5,000 doctoral programs in 62 fields at 212 institutions and is billed as the largest comparative analysis of its sort to date. "</p>

<p>[url=<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/28/AR2010092805047.html?hpid=moreheadlines%5Dwashingtonpost.com%5B/url"&gt;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/28/AR2010092805047.html?hpid=moreheadlines]washingtonpost.com[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>Downloaded the Excel file that was produced from the study. It’s kind of fun to play with.</p>

<p>there is another thread started on this two days ago here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/1005239-fyi-nrc-rankings-out.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/1005239-fyi-nrc-rankings-out.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>best to post there or we’ll have separate conversations about the exact same topic.</p>

<p>Wait… how do I get the excel file? It sounds like a lot of fun!</p>

<p>Could someone please post the actual link? </p>

<p>The link in the original post is not useful.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>here is a link to the report. The excel page is at the bottom [A</a> Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States](<a href=“http://www.nap.edu/rdp/]A”>http://www.nap.edu/rdp/)</p>

<p>Most every grad program (ie not administrators but profs) are really against the NRC. Considering that the data was collected ~2004, these rankings are already out of date before you even start to look into the statistical and methodological problems involved in this survey.
A good place to learn about the NRC is Brian Leiter’s (Chicago law, Phil) blog, Leiter Reports: [Leiter</a> Reports: A Philosophy Blog: A Quick Guide to the New National Research Council (NRC) Rankings](<a href=“Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog”>Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog: A Quick Guide to the New National Research Council (NRC) Rankings)</p>