Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
School
UC-Berkeley
MIT
Caltech
Harvard
Stanford
Illinois
Wisconsin
Columbia
Northwestern
Cornell
Texas
North Carolina
Chicago
UCLA
Yale
UC-San Diego
Texas A&M
Purdue
Indiana
Princeton
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Minnesota
UC-San Francisco
Penn State
UC-Irvine
Ohio State
Johns Hopkins
Washington
Colorado
Arizona
Iowa State
Rice
Page 1 of 8
Overall
Rank
1
2
2
4
5
6
7
7
9
10
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
23
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Organic
Physical
Biochemistry
Inorganic
Analytical
Theoretical
Polymer
2006/1996
2006/1996
2006/1996
2006/1996
2006/1996
2006 only
1996 only
2
5
3
1
4
7
8
6
1
3
2
5
4
7
8
10
2
5
4
1
7
3
1
2
9
7
5
8
10.6
6
10
10.4
3
4
10.4
4
10.6
10.2
10.6
10.2
10.4
10.4
10.4
9
10.6
6
10.4
10.4
10.6
10.6
9
10
7
10
10
7
10.4
6
10.6
10.4
10.4
10.2
10.4
9
3
6
10.6
7
1
10.6
10.2
1
5
2
4
7
10
9
3
5
10.4
10.6
10.4
10.6
10.6
10.4
2
6
10.6
8
10.6
10.6
9
10.4
3
10.6
10.6
10.4
10.6
10.4
9
10.6
10.2
10
10.6
9
10
10.4
10.2
10.4
4
9
10.4
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
Utah
Florida
UC-Santa Barbara
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech.
Duke
UC-Davis
Michigan State
Emory
Colorado State
Washington (St. Louis)
Virginia
Southern California
Maryland
Florida State
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
50
51
10.6
10.2
10.6
10.6
10.6
10.6
10.4
Schools in the Top-50
in 1996, but not 2006:
Rochester
SUNY-Stony Brook
Georgia
47
48
52
Polymer Chemistry
Programs listed in 1996
Massachusetts
Case Western Reserve
Virginia Tech
Carnegie Mellon
Akron
Polytechnic (NY)
Southern Mississippi
Page 2 of 8
1
5
8
10
2
6
3
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
Top-10
Adj. Score
Top-10
Rank
US News
2007
Quality
Effectiveness
Low=Best
30%
50%
10%
10%
1
5
2
3.5
3.5
8
10
7
14
6
13
17
10
10
12
18.5
15
24
16
20
25
35
21
23
18.5
36
22
27
28.5
42
N/A
26
28.5
2
3
1
4.5
4.5
7
10
8
11.5
6
19
14
11.5
13
9
18
26.5
16.5
22
16.5
23
26.5
21
15
24
43.5
20
29
35
55
N/A
25
30
3.6
5.0
3.8
5.1
6.5
7.2
7.2
9.3
9.5
10.3
10.0
9.3
9.7
10.2
10.6
10.1
10.1
9.6
10.1
10.8
10.6
10.5
10.3
9.4
10.6
10.6
10.8
10.8
10.7
10.4
10.0
10.6
10.9
Page 3 of 8
1
3
2
4
5
6
6
8
11
20
14
8
13
19
25
16
16
12
16
34
25
23
20
10
25
25
34
34
32
22
14
25
38
1
1
3
3
3
6
7
7
9
9
9
14
14
12
12
18
18
22
24
14
18
17
24
31
22
18
24
24
24
24
38
38
31
NRC (1995)
Overall
Score
Rank
Weighted
1.1
2.2
2.4
3.5
3.8
6.3
7.3
7.4
10.4
11.7
11.9
12.5
13.1
14.0
15.6
17.5
18.0
18.7
20.6
20.9
21.3
21.6
22.2
22.3
22.8
24.5
26.4
27.8
28.0
28.3
29.0
31.6
32.8
Big
Changes
96 to 06
1
2
2
4
5
6
7
7
9
10
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
23
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
▲
▼
▲
▼
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
10.9
10.9
11.0
11.0
11.0
10.9
11.0
10.9
11.0
10.9
10.9
11.0
11.0
11.0
11.0
11.0
11.0
11.0
10.5
10.7
10.9
11.0
10.6
10.8
10.6
Page 4 of 8
38
38
46
46
46
38
46
38
46
38
38
46
46
46
46
34
34
31
34
24
38
34
42
38
45
42
42
45
45
45
31.5
30
33
34
64
44
47.5
39
38
37
55
43
40
52.5
51
28
39.5
43.5
32
56
37.5
37.5
33.5
36
33.5
51
41
45
63.5
72.5
34.4
35.4
46
46
46
50
50
50
31.5
46
49
31
42
65
45.1
23
32
38
46
25
34
25
60
60
60
80
100
100
120
58
71
67
74
116
109
154
47
60.5
53.5
72.5
110.5
110.5
157
47.4
37.0
37.4
37.8
38.6
39.3
39.7
40.2
41.0
43.0
43.2
44.8
47.9
48.7
47.6
50.2
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
50
51
47
48
52
▲▲
▼
▼▼
▼▼
52.8
53.5
68.5
80.2
82.2
98.6
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
Comments on the Six Top-10
Specialties in 2006 (thus omit Polymer)
Rational for this New Ranking System
Sources of the Data, and Ranking Criteria
The Rational for this new Ranking System is to combine:
(1) the current, well-known, overall results from US News,
A perennial Top-5 school - in 5 Top-10 specialties
A perennial Top-5 school - in 5 Top-10 specialties
A perennial Top-5 school - in 5 Top-10 specialties
(2) their current Top-10 rankings in various specialties,
(3) older Top-20 rankings from the 1998 US News issue, with
A perennial Top-5 school - in 5 Top-10 specialties
A perennial Top-5 school - in 5 Top-10 specialties
(4) the very thorough (but indeed older) results from the 1995 NRC
study. The weighting ratios were developed by Dr. David
In 5 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
The Only school in all 6 of the Top-10 specialties
Fraley, Georgetown College, who is responsible for all content.
Contact him at dfraley@georgetowncollege.edu with your thoughts.
In 3 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
In 2 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
In 3 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
In 2 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
In 2 of the 6 Top-10 specialties
The US News America's Best Graduate Schools, 2007 Ed., is the
source for the US News Top-50 Chemistry graduate schools and for
their Top-10 rankings in 6 specialties. That data was collected in
2006 as part of their biennial survey of the sciences.
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
The US News America's Best Graduate Schools, 1998 Ed.,
On 1 Top-10 list.
is the source for (1) the Polymer rankings and
On 1 Top-10 list.
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
(2) the lower (11-20) rankings for 5 other specialties,
because that year US News listed 20 schools per specialty.
Using that older data (acquired in 1996) enables the rankings to
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
give a small benefit to schools that were in the 11-20 range.
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
UC-SF was not ranked in 1996 by US News; Grad.program only
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
On 1 Top-10 list.
Thus, if a school was in the Top-10 in 1996, but not in 2006, it
earned a 10.2. If it was 11-15, it earned a 10.4. If it was in the 16-20
range, it earned a 10.6 on a 10 point scale . (Yes,the math does work!)
This helped delineate some schools in the rankings and helped
flag those schools that are particularly good in a specialty.
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
On 1 Top-10 list.
No 1995 NRC results, thus their weighted score is approximate
Page 5 of 8
The National Research Council's landmark book,
Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, 1995,
is the source of the data for 2 rankings:
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
(1) the Scholarly Quality of the Faculty and
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
(2) the Program Effectiveness in Educating Research Scientists.
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
School
UC-Berkeley
MIT
Caltech
Harvard
Stanford
Illinois
Wisconsin
Columbia
Northwestern
Cornell
Texas
North Carolina
Chicago
UCLA
Yale
UC-San Diego
Texas A&M
Purdue
Indiana
Princeton
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Minnesota
UC-San Francisco
Penn State
UC-Irvine
Ohio State
Johns Hopkins
Washington
Colorado
Arizona
Iowa State
Rice
Overall
Rank
1
2
2
4
5
6
7
7
9
10
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
23
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
because the data is older and it's found at only a few schools.
Thus a premium is given to those schools which have a specialty
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
in the Top-10 in 2006 and a reduced premium for being in the
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Top-11 thru 20 in 1996. (Note: a recent Top-20 ranking of specialties
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
would be most helpful.)
Utah
Florida
UC-Santa Barbara
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech.
Duke
UC-Davis
Michigan State
Emory
Colorado State
Washington (St. Louis)
Virginia
Southern California
Maryland
Florida State
The Overall Ranking is thus based on 4 values:
Schools in the Top-50
in 1996, but not 2006:
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Their data was collected in 1993, but it is very thorough and accurate.
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
The study is scheduled to be updated in 2007. The new data
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
will be included in this ranking as soon as it's available.
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Big Boost up… Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
To determine the influence on Top-10 Rankings, the Big-3:
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Organic, Physical, and Biochemistry each have a maximum
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
weighted value of 1.0, while Inorganic is 0.8. The less
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
prestigious Analytical is dropped to 0.7. Theoretical is weighted at
Big Drop down… Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
only 0.25 (since it's a part of P.Chem.) and Polymer is also at 0.25
Not listed in any of the Top-10 specialties
Rochester took a big drop from 1996 to 2006
50% on the current US News ranking,
30% on Top-10 Specialties,
10% on NRC Scholarly Quality, and
Rochester
SUNY-Stony Brook
Georgia
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
50
51
47
48
52
10% on NRC Educational Effectiveness.
Polymer Chemistry
Programs listed in 1996
The Big Changes note those schools that made a
significant move + or - in the past 10 years (1996 to 2006).
This is based only on their US News rankings. It took a move
of at least +/- 7 places to be noted with ▲ or ▼arrows and a
move of +/- 13 places to be noted with ▲▲ or ▼▼ arrows.
(No statistical significance is implied with these changes. A move of
+/- 5 in the top part of the rankings indicates a much larger relative
Massachusetts
Case Western Reserve
Virginia Tech
Carnegie Mellon
Akron
Polytechnic (NY)
Southern Mississippi
change than a similar movement in the lower part of the rankings.
Thus, the arrows are designed to only show major trends.)
Page 6 of 8
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
US News
1996
2006
Change
in Rank
Flag
Changes
Athletic
Conference
Division-I
1
1
0
Pac-10
2
1
1
New England
3
2
3
-1
SCIAC
3
2
2
3
3
-1
-1
Ivy League
Pac-10
8
6
2
Big-10
10
7
3
Big-10
6
7
-1
12
9
3
6
16
9
9
-3
7
15
14
1
8
14
-6
University
10
12
12
12
-2
0
Pac-10
Ivy League
20
18
2
Calif. Collegiate
19
18
1
Big-12
16
22
-6
16
12
24
14
-8
-2
20
18
2
Ivy League
20
17
3
Big-10
20
24
-4
Big-10
27
31
22
5
None
Big-10
28
18
10
20
24
-4
Big-10
20
24
-4
Centennial
28
20
24
24
4
-4
Pac-10
Big-12
37
38
-1
28
38
-10
32
31
1
Page 7 of 8
Other than
Ivy League
Big-10
▲
Ivy League
Big-12
ACC
3
2
Big-10
▼
N/A
▲
Big-10
Ivy League
No sports
Big West
3
Pac-10
▼
Big-12
C-USA
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011
Evaluating the Top-50 Graduate Programs in Chemistry
A New, Comprehensive Ranking by David Fraley that includes the Top-10 Listings in 7 Specialties
28
32
34
34
-6
-2
Mountain West
37
31
6
40
34
6
40
24
16
32
40
38
34
-6
6
32
42
-10
40
38
2
32
45
-13
46
40
42
42
4
-2
University
ACC
40
45
-5
Pac-10
46
45
1
ACC
46
45
1
ACC
37
>50
46
>50
America East
46
>50
SEC
SEC
Big West
Big East
▲▲
ACC
ACC
Big West
▼
Big-10
University
▼▼
▼▼
3
Mountain West
University
3
3
-0.32 Average
5.34 Std. Dev.
Atlantic-10
University
3
ACC
University
3
Mid-America
Skyline
C-USA
Page 8 of 8
3
The Overall Ranking is based on 4 Ranking Parameters:
2007 US News , 1995 NRC (Scholarly Quality and Effectiveness), and the Top-10 List of 7 Specialties
6/30/2011