Ohio State is a leader in granting Ph.D’s to African Americans

COLUMBUS –The Ohio State University once again remains a national leader in granting doctorate degrees to African Americans, according to recently released data from the Higher Education and National Affairs American Council on Education.

University officials say they are proud that Ohio State, a tier 1 research university, is ranked in the top five and plan to continue the momentum in the future.

“I am pleased to see The Ohio State University continues to be among the leaders in doctoral-granting institutions for minority students,” said Mac Stewart, vice provost for the Office of Minority Affairs. “While we are doing very well in this particular regard, we have to be mindful and continue to put forth an effort to maintain the ranking.”

Ohio State records show that the education fields were the most popular doctoral programs for African Americans from 1995 to 1999, the years data was compiled for the rankings.

Stewart said many university programs contributed to Ohio State’s being consistently ranked in the top five, including the Graduate and Professional School Visitation Days. The two-day program, which began in the 1970s, offers a glimpse of Ohio State’s graduate and professional studies programs to college seniors who are minority honors students, and their faculty liaisons. Last year, more than 250 of the “best and brightest” minority students from 55 colleges and universities attended the event, Stewart said.

He said the program is a way for Ohio State to showcase its offerings to graduate students.

“We reach out to the students and their institutions to show them that we would like to have them here in our classrooms pursuing graduate degrees,” he said. “It is our concern to try to get as many of the academically talented minority students into our graduate school and to try to ensure they will have a successful experience once they enroll.”

Susan Huntington, dean of the Graduate School, said a diverse student population is vital to the success of the graduate studies at Ohio State. Out of more than 300 institutions reporting, Ohio State is joined in the top ranks by Howard University, the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan and Nova Southeastern University.

“Many universities don’t even make the list,” Huntington said. “We are honored to be listed as one of the best doctoral-granting institutions for African Americans.”

According to the rankings, Ohio State is one of the top 20 institutions for granting doctoral degrees to American Indians and Alaskan Natives.