Graduate Programs Rank High in U.S. News Survey

OHIO STATE GRADUATE PROGRAMS RANK HIGH IN U.S. NEWS SURVEY

     COLUMBUS -- Ohio State University graduate programs, 
led by the College of Education, fared well in survey 
results announced March 7 by U.S. News & World Report.

     The seventh annual survey of graduate programs will be 
published in the March 18 edition of the magazine, which 
appeared on newsstands Monday (3/11).  It also will be 
contained in the guidebook "1996 America's Best Graduate 
Schools," which is to appear on newsstands March 26.

     Ohio State's College of Education ranked sixth among 
the nation's 191 education programs offering doctoral 
degrees and third among public universities.  The college's 
program in vocational and technical education was ranked 
first in the country and the college was among the top four 
in five other areas:  counseling, second; secondary 
education, third; and administration, curriculum and 
instruction, and elementary education, fourth.  The college 
was ranked third in the nation in "research activity."

     "Once again, this study reveals the comprehensive 
quality of the College of Education," said Dean Nancy 
Zimpher.  "That we are ranked so highly in so many areas 
shows the breadth and depth of our faculty.  We offer a 
superb range of programming to teachers, administrators and 
educators in related professions.  Our commitment to the 
life of schools is significant.  As a complement to our 
teaching focus, we place a premium on research excellence, 
as this study clearly shows.  There is no better example 
than this of Ohio State's commitment to top quality teaching 
and research working hand in hand."

     Tied for first were Harvard and Columbia universities.  
Stanford University was third, followed by the University of 
California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin.

     Also highly rated at Ohio State were graduate programs 
in the colleges of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 
Engineering, Business, and Law.

     Ohio State's doctoral programs in chemistry and physics 
were ranked 20th and 23rd, respectively, overall.  Among 
public universities, the chemistry program was 10th, and 
physics was 13th.  The numbers theory program in mathematics 
was ranked fifth best among both public and private 
universities.

     "We're delighted," said James C. Garland, dean of the 
College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.  "The 
recognition that our programs have received is a tribute to 
the hard work and dedication of faculty, staff and students.  
The excellence of our Ph.D. and research programs is 
reflected in our entire instructional program."

     Ohio State's College of Engineering was ranked 20th 
among 219 schools, and 12th among public institutions.  The 
Master of Business Administration degree program in the 
Fisher College of Business was ranked 28th among 292, and 
10th among the public programs.  In addition, the Fisher 
College's graduate program in real estate was ranked fourth 
among all such programs in the nation.  The College of Law 
was ranked 48th among 178 law schools, 25th among publics.

     The "1996 America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings are 
posted in the "Colleges & Careers" section of U.S. News 
Online at http://www.usnews.com and the college directory 
will be posted on Monday (3/11).

     Doctoral programs in the sciences were based on surveys 
of department heads and directors of graduate studies and 
ranked on reputation for scholarship, curriculum and the 
quality of the faculty and graduate studies.

     Rankings for other programs were determined by using 
different criteria in each category.  Frequently used 
criteria included:

     -- Student selectivity, as measured by graduate 
entrance test scores, and percentage of applicants accepted;

     -- Faculty resources, including faculty to student 
ratios and percentage of full-time faculty holding doctoral 
degrees.

     -- Research activity, including the dollar total of 
publicly and privately funded research expenditures and that 
total divided by the number of faculty involved in research.

     -- Placement success, calculated on percentage of 
graduates employed within a few months of graduation and on 
median salaries.

     -- Reputation, as determined by surveys of deans and 
other top faculty at similar schools, as well as 
practitioners and employers in the field.

     This year, the magazine did not issue new rankings for 
programs in social and behavioral sciences, the arts, 
architecture, or health sciences other than medicine.

     The 1996 guidebook includes the previous year's 
rankings for these programs.  Last year, Ohio State had 
several programs ranked highly in these areas, including the 
master's degree program in nursing, 14th among 214; and 
doctoral programs in political science, 17th among 100; 
psychology, 24th among 210, and sociology, 25th among 104.  
In addition, the graduate program in public policy and 
management was ranked 18th among 223 schools.

                             #

Contact:  Malcolm Baroway, executive director of University 
Communications, (614) 292-6895, or Tom Spring, managing 
editor of news services, (614) 292-8309.


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Thu, 14 Mar 1996 13:18:45 -0500]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.