High marks for doctoral programs
Harvard University’s doctoral programs received exceptionally high evaluations in the National Research Council’s Assessment of Research Doctoral Programs, which was released on Tuesday (Sept. 28). The long-anticipated report, a significant study of doctoral education across the nation, rated nearly 5,000 programs at 212 institutions on the basis of quantitative and faculty-assessed data concerning research productivity, student outcomes, and diversity of environment, among other variables. Programs were given two overall ranking ranges to reflect the complexity of the data. Of the 52 Harvard programs in the survey, 27 placed as high as first in at least one of the overall rankings. Ninety percent of the University’s programs placed as high as fifth in at least one of the overall rankings. “This report shows that in the dominant, core disciplines that are crucial to the overall strength of any institution of higher learning, our Ph.D. programs are remarkably strong, vibrant, and successful,” said Dean Allan...