Six of the 133 doctorate programs offered at Ohio State ranked in the “top 3 range” of the National Research Council doctorate program rankings: agricultural, environmental and developmental economics; communication; food science and nutrition; pharmacy; theatre; and plant cellular and molecular biology.

The National Research Council released its “Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States” early last week. The study consisted of data and analysis on more than 5,000 doctorate programs from 212 universities to “assess the quality and effectiveness of doctorate programs in the United States.”

Professor Patrick Osmer, dean of OSU’s Graduate School, said anyone reviewing the rankings must be “mindful and aware” of how and when the data was analyzed. However, Osmer said OSU will take information from the rankings into account when making decisions about financial cuts for programs.

Rankings took into account both the opinions of program faculty members and the program’s overall reputation, said Julie Carpenter-Hubin, director of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. And results were provided by giving programs a range of rankings.

Some OSU officials speculate that providing a range of rankings for program placement causes confusion, especially because the data was collected from faculty members in the 2005-2006 school year.

A program that stood out among all others at OSU was the agricultural, environmental and developmental economics program, as it was granted the narrowest and highest range of rankings at OSU.

“Our high (National Research Council) ranking carries much weight,” said Alan Randall, previous department chair. “It will only make our program more attractive to applicants and our graduates more attractive to top-of-the-line employers.”

 

Randall attributes the program’s achievements to “an excellent graduate faculty, the department’s strong performance in refereed publications and citations of published research, and some specific actions we have taken to strengthen our program,” he said.

Tim Haab, department chair of the program as of Friday, said, “The (National Research Council) rankings don’t just reflect our past successes but they provide a glimpse of what a high-quality department of applied economists adds to Ohio State’s journey from excellence to eminence.”

Mike Mangino, OSU’s food science and nutrition interim department chair, was also pleased with his program’s ranking. Mangino said that being granted a high ranking will make the program more appealing to prospective students and employers.

However, he agrees with Damian Bowerman, OSU’s theatre graduate studies and publicity coordinator, that the ranking system is difficult to follow.

“We noticed that there are several errors in the data included in the report,” Bowerman said. “However, we are pleased overall with the ranking of our Ph.D. program.”

He said the program is ranked high because of its academic and professional achievements, as well as its close affiliations with theater personalities, programs and institutes.

The rankings will “help to support the (already established) excellent reputation of the Department of Theatre’s Ph.D. program,” he said.

The full list of National Research Council doctorate program rankings can be found at nap.edu/rdp.