The National Research Council publicized its extensive Data-Based Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs Tuesday. Duke is among the 212 U.S. graduate schools included in the study.
Thirty-nine Duke graduate programs were included in the report. The departments will use the data to compare Duke programs with those of other universities, Graduate School Dean Jo Rae Wright wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.
“My top priority is to discuss the data with our departments,” Rae Wright wrote. “We will help them look through the data and understand how the information can be used to think about ways to strengthen our programs even further.”
Rather than a definitive list, the report provides ranges of the middle 90th percentile of 500 randomized ratings per program. The report provides data on schools based on ranges, which were created to be more accurate than clear-cut rankings, according to the report’s methodology guide.
Because schools have yet to review the data extensively, Wright declined to comment on the details of the report’s findings. She added that analyses will be conducted by the Office of Institutional Research, Wright and individual departments.
Although the study was released yesterday, it takes into account data compiled from the 2005-2006 academic year. The report ranks more than 5,000 programs in 62 fields, according to a variety of “dimensional rankings,” categorized into three groups: student support and outcomes, diversity and research activity.
Other overall ranking measures include average number of Ph.D.s graduated from 2002-2006 and average Graduate Record Examination scores. Researchers used a combination of surveys and data mining of publications through the Institute for Scientific Information and 224 scholarly societies.
Rae Wright and former Graduate School Dean Lewis Siegel collaborated with the NRC to provide data about the University, Rae Wright said.
Although the NRC rankings may affect a prospective graduate student’s choice of school, Graduate and Professional Student Council President Daniel Griffin said the report will not necessarily become a major factor.
“Rankings on the whole, I think, will probably have little impact, especially given that the data is just about [2005-2006],” Griffin said.
According to the NRC, however, results are likely to be relevant today because of low faculty turnover in recent years.
The data also reveals larger trends about graduate schools. Doctorate programs are 72 percent public universities, and the minorities are underrepresented among faculty, contributing five percent or less in professorships to all broad fields except the social sciences and the humanities.
“If anything, I’d say that at this point, the study reaffirms in my mind the importance of routinely evaluating programs by external reviews and providing important information like time to degree, completion rates and placement for prospective students in a transparent way,” Wright said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.