15 Ph.D. Programs Ranked in Top 25

15 OHIO STATE GRADUATE PROGRAMS RANKED IN TOP 25 NATIONALLY

     COLUMBUS -- A national study of graduate education has 
placed 15 of The Ohio State University's programs among the 
top 25 in the nation.  The rankings were released Tuesday 
(9/12) by the National Research Council and are the first 
such comprehensive review of the nation's Ph.D. programs in 
13 years.

     Ohio State's doctoral programs in geography and 
linguistics were ranked among the top 10 in their fields and 
those in physics and psychology showed the greatest increase 
in ranking of any programs in the country.

     Ohio State officials were pleased and excited by the 
report, "Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States," 
released Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.

     President E. Gordon Gee said, "We are very excited by 
the results of the report released today by the NRC.  It is 
an indication of the great progress Ohio State has made in 
the 13 years since the last study was released.  This report 
offers evidence of the enormous value Ohio's flagship 
university represents to our state and our nation."

     The NRC report looked at 3,634 Ph.D. programs in 41 
fields at 274 universities, gauging each program's 
reputation, effectiveness in training scholars, and amount 
of change over a five-year period.  The surveys for the 
study were obtained in 1993 and reflect changes occurring 
since 1988.  The NRC's first study of this kind was released 
in 1982.

     "We take great pride in the programs recognized in this 
report," Gee said.  "Strong graduate programs foster the 
creativity and innovation which are vital to the future 
strength of our nation.  These faculty are on the front 
lines of scholarship, which energizes and informs their 
teaching."

     Based on the scores cited in the three-inch-thick 
report, these are the rankings for Ohio State doctorate 
programs compared to similar programs at other universities:

--geography was fifth;
--linguistics was eighth;
--industrial and systems engineering was 12th;
--political science and German were 17th;
--materials engineering and psychology were 21st;
--chemistry, electrical engineering and classics all
                ranked 22nd;
--astronomy ranked 23rd;
--physics, philosophy and aeronautical engineering
                ranked 24th;
--mechanical engineering and sociology ranked 25th.

     The study showed that Ohio State clearly has strong 
programs in engineering, social sciences and the physical 
sciences.

     Based on the NRC report, Ohio State fares well in 
comparisons to other Big 10 universities.  The linguistics 
program ranked best in the Big 10; philosophy ranked third; 
political science ranked fourth among these institutions.  
Thirty-two of the 38 Ohio State programs evaluated in the 
study showed a positive change in quality.

     Susan Huntington, dean of the Graduate School at Ohio 
State, said the study is even more important than it might 
seem at first.  "We're most proud of the fact that while our 
reputational scores are very high, our scores for 
effectiveness based on how well our graduates do are even 
higher.

     "This will help the university in recruiting the best 
students and getting those students helps draw the best 
faculty to the campus," Huntington said.  "Attracting the 
best faculty and students then enhances our excellent 
programs."

     Huntington said the credit for this excellent report on 
Ohio State graduate education is due both to the hard work 
and energy of the faculty, as well as a series of 
initiatives undertaken by the university to strengthen its 
academic departments.

     Gee added, "Ohio State's strength is further reflected 
in the breadth of disciplines recognized.  Across core 
disciplines reviewed -- arts, sciences, humanities, 
engineering -- we find notable Ohio State programs.  This 
comprehensive quality is the hallmark of our university.  
The students here have unique opportunities to experience 
excellence in many areas."
                            #
Contact:  Susan Huntington  (614) 292-6031 (office)
          or (614) 888-1083 (home).
Written by Earle Holland.

         Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States

                   NRC Report - September 1995

The 1995 NRC Report gives data on 41 program areas, compared 
to 32 in the 1982 Report.  Of these 41 areas, Ohio State is 
evaluated in 38, 29 of which were also included in the 1982 
Report.  Some measure of the changes in the ratings of these 
29 over the intervening ten years can be made.  It should be 
remembered that the survey includes both private and public 
universities, with widely differing admission and funding 
policies.

The programs are ranked according to sixteen evaluative 
criteria;  this summary relates to the most frequently 
quoted of these, the "scholarly quality of the program 
faculty" as perceived by a survey of faculty at other 
institutions.  To measure program improvement, the survey 
also addressed the perceived change in program quality over 
the last five years.  In the case of OSU, it should be 
expected that the three recent early retirement incentive 
programs will have a negative impact on this figure for 
those strong programs which have lost distinguished senior 
faculty.

Overall, the highlights of the Report indicate:

--   30 of the 38 (79%) programs at Ohio State Evaluated are 
     rated above the national average.

--   Of the 38 programs, OSU ranked #1 in the Ohio public 
     universities in 36 (95%).

--   26 of the 29 (90%) programs included in both the 1982 
     and 1995 studies had higher ratings.  Of the other 
     three, chemistry is in the top 25, and has the highest 
     rating above the national average of any OSU program.

--   Over the past five years, Ohio State's rating improved 
     in 32 of the 38 categories.  Of the other six, two 
     programs were already highly ranked, and remain so.

--   16 of the 38 (42%) programs ranked in the top 25 in the 
     country.

--   The physics program jumped 15 places, from 39th to 
     24th, and had the highest rated improvement in program 
     quality in the last five years of any physics program 
     in the country.

--   The psychology program improved from 32nd to 21st, and 
     had the second highest improvement in programs quality 
     of all those psychology programs surveyed.

--   The linguistics program improved from 11th to 8th, and 
     is the top program of its kind in the Big Ten.

--   OSU ranked in the top half of the Big Ten public 
     universities in 26 of the 38 programs (68%).

--   In terms of actual score for program quality, 
     psychology ranked the highest (63) of the programs 
     evaluated at OSU, followed by chemistry and geography 
     (both 62), political science (61), and physics and 
     electrical engineering (both 60).


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Thu, 14 Sep 1995 12:24:47 -0400]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.