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A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States provides an unparalleled dataset that can be used to assess the quality and effectiveness of doctoral programs based on measures important to faculty, students, administrators, funders, and other stakeholders.

The data, collected for the 2005-2006 academic year from more than 5,000 doctoral programs at 212 universities, covers 62 fields. Included for each program are such characteristics as faculty publications, grants, and awards; student GRE scores, financial support, and employment outcomes; and program size, time to degree, and faculty composition. Measures of faculty and student diversity are also included.

The book features analysis of selected findings across six broad fields: agricultural sciences, biological and health sciences, engineering, physical and mathematical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and humanities, as well as a discussion of trends in doctoral education since the last assessment in 1995, and suggested uses of the data . It also includes a detailed explanation of the methodology used to collect data and calculate ranges of illustrative rankings.

Included with the book is a comprehensive CD-ROM with a data table in Microsoft Excel. In addition to data on the characteristics of individual programs, the data table contains illustrative ranges of rankings for each program, as well as ranges of rankings for three dimensions of program quality: (1) research activity, (2) student support and outcomes, and (3) diversity of the academic environment.

As an aid to users, the data table is offered with demonstrations of some Microsoft Excel features that may enhance the usability of the spreadsheet, such as hiding and unhiding columns, copying and pasting columns to a new worksheet, and filtering and sorting data. Also provided with the data table are a set of scenarios that show how typical users may want to extract data from the spreadsheet.

PhDs.org, an independent website not affiliated with the National Research Council, incorporated data from the research-doctorate assessment into its Graduate School Guide. Users of the Guide can choose the weights assigned to the program characteristics measured by the National Research Council and others, and rank graduate programs according to their own priorities.

Now Available: Excel Data Table (revised 4/29/2011). A link to download the data and summary of changes are provided in the Resources section/tab.

RESOURCES AT A GLANCE

Audio/Podcast

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Topics

Suggested Citation

National Research Council. 2011. A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (with CD). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12994.

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Publication Info

322 pages | 8.5 x 11 | 

ISBNs: 
  • Paperback:  978-0-309-16030-8
  • Ebook:  978-0-309-22479-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/12994

Links

  • A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Excel Data Table (revised 4/29/2011)
    The Data Table in Excel (login required) includes data from more than 5,000 doctoral programs offered at 212 universities across the United States. This rich resource allows evaluation and comparison of programs in areas such as faculty research activity, student support and outcomes, and diversity of the academic environment. Three formats of the spreadsheet are available. The Windows and Excel 2004 and 2011 for Mac versions are optimized for users through the use of macros that enable customized filtering and click-through to background data. As Excel 2008 for Mac does not allow for the use of macros, this version offers reduced functionality but contains the same extensive data set. It can be used by anyone whose personal or institutional computer security settings make it difficult to work with files containing macros.
  • Demo Video: User Scenario 1
    The chair of a microbiology department wants to compare her program with other microbiology programs nationally, with an emphasis on faculty research productivity.
  • Demo Video: User Scenario 2
    A dean of engineering is tasked with identifying ways to increase racial and gender diversity in his institution's engineering programs. He wants to begin by investigating how his Ph.D. programs compare in faculty and student diversity with engineering programs across the country, field by field.
  • Demo Video: User Scenario 3
    A college junior is exploring Ph.D. programs in English literature. She is willing to go anywhere in the United States, but she wants a small or mid-sized program.
  • Demo Video: User Scenario 4
    A state board of higher education in the Midwest is evaluating the performance of the public institutions in its state compared to other public schools in the region. The board is particularly interested in the support doctoral programs give to help students complete their degrees.
  • Demo Video: User Scenario 5
    A provost at a large research university is considering a request for two new tenure-track faculty positions in his chemistry program in response to a surge in graduate enrollment. Before deciding, he wants to know more about the number and composition of the faculty in other chemistry programs of comparable size.
  • Summary of Changes - Memo
    Changes to the Excel Data Table for the NRC Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs.
  • Summary of Changes - Tables
    Download the Excel Spreadsheet for the Research Doctorates Summary of Changes Tables (1.16 MB)
  • Corrections Log (PDF)
  • Public Log
    Download the Public Log, an Excel spreadsheet containing comments from 18 universities alerting the National Research Council to elements in the Data Table that they believed to be in error.
  • Message from the Presidents (PDF)

Audio

Podcast:  Report Release Event

Listen to the release of A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States, which took place at the National Academies on September 28, 2010.

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