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News Release

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Writer: Ben Benson, bbenson@uga.edu

Contact: Judy Milton, 706/425-2953, jmilton@uga.edu

University of Georgia doctoral programs place high in National Research Council

Report

Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia doctoral programs place high in the National
Research Council’s third assessment of doctoral research program released Tuesday.

The latest report identifies six UGA doctoral programs that are among the best in the
country. Food Science is one of the top 11 programs in its field. Public Administration,
Exercise Science and Forest Resources are among the top 12 programs in each of their
fields. Plant Biology is one of the top 20 programs and Mass Communication is among
the top 24 programs in their respective fields

The NRC’s report, “A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the

United States,” provides an in-depth look at doctoral programs over a period of time.
Using advanced statistical methods to analyze a number of program characteristics, the
NRC placed programs within a range relative to other doctoral programs in the study.

“This is indeed good news for the University of Georgia and the state as a whole,” said
UGA President Michael F. Adams. “High-quality graduate education and research are
important functions of a flagship university. The 21st century is an age of advanced
education and competitive, market-based research, and the economic benefits to Georgia
of a strong and vibrant graduate program at UGA cannot be overstated.”

Maureen Grasso, dean of the UGA Graduate School, said, “The National Research
Council’s report speaks to the high quality of the University of Georgia’s doctoral
programs. It confirms what we already know – we have outstanding programs across our
university. Our doctoral research programs are a strategic asset for Georgia.”

The NRC study aims to create a common benchmark for doctoral research programs and
provide universities with information on how to improve their own programs. After
collecting data in 2006 and 2007, the NRC carefully developed its statistical methods
over three years to ensure the data’s validity.

The study incorporates variables pertaining to research activity, program diversity and
student support services.

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NRC rankings, page 2

“We will use this report to understand better the strengths of our doctoral programs and
learn where we can make improvements,” said Grasso. “These results will help us
strengthen our national competitiveness as a research institution.”

The Graduate School has led a number of initiatives in the past six years focused on
continuous improvement of doctoral degree programs. Grasso has worked with doctoral
programs across campus and the Office of Institutional Research to improve doctoral
completion at UGA, an effort in which UGA is seen as a national leader. The Graduate
School’s Office of Outreach and Diversity works to recruit and retain a diverse graduate
student population through a number of ongoing programs.

“Our efforts to improve completion of doctoral degrees have resulted in the faculty’s
increased awareness of the factors that contribute to student success,” said Grasso.
“These efforts go hand in hand with the data provided by the NRC report.”

The NRC collected the data from institutions, faculty members and doctoral students
through a series of questionnaires and surveys and by calculating citation rates of
departments in academic journals. The final report contains data characteristics and
ranges of rankings for more than 5,000 doctoral programs in 62 academic fields at 212
universities.

The full report, data table and methodology guide are available online at
http://www.nap.edu/rdp. For more information about the UGA Graduate School, see
www.grad.uga.edu.

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