Purdue News
Purdue NewsFebruary 20, 1998
The survey ranks Purdue's graduate program in speech pathology fifth in the country. Graduate programs in the Schools of Engineering rank eighth overall, and the audiology program ranks 18th. The Krannert Graduate School of Management ranks 24th overall.
This year's edition of U.S. News & World Report's list of "America's Best Graduate Schools" appears in the March 2 issue of the magazine, available on newsstands Monday (2/23). New rankings were released for 19 specialty disciplines, including those mentioned above. Rankings for other disciplines and additional rankings beyond those included in the print issue are available on the magazine's Web site, http://www.usnews.com
This is the first year the magazine has ranked speech pathology and audiology programs.
"I wasn't surprised with our rankings," said Jackson Gandour, head of Purdue's Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences. "We've been telling student and faculty prospects for years that our department is among the nation's elite. Having our self-assessment confirmed by an independent ranking organization will prove especially helpful in recruiting top-quality students and faculty."
Rankings for speech and audiology programs were based on surveys filled out by deans, faculty and administrators in accredited graduate programs. Ratings were based on scholarship, curriculum and the quality of faculty and graduate students.
Gandour says Purdue's reputation is well-earned. "In the latest edition of the Journal of Speech Language Hearing Research, the premier journal in our field, seven of 16 articles and reports in the area of speech and language represented the work of Purdue faculty or persons who earned their doctorates from our department," he said.
Gandour also points out the strength of Big Ten institutions in the area of speech pathology: "Out of the schools ranked in the top five, four of them were Big Ten universities." Joining Purdue at the top were Northwestern and the University of Wisconsin in a tie for first place, with the University of Iowa rated third.
In addition to overall rankings, the engineering school survey also calculates the 10 best schools in 12 specialties. Purdue's industrial engineering program ranked second; aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering each ranked sixth; and nuclear engineering ranked ninth.
The engineering schools' rankings were based in part on surveys of engineering school deans, corporate recruiters and practicing engineers. Other factors affecting the survey results include student's scores on the graduate record exam, research activity, and the ratio of full-time graduate students to full-time faculty.
"I am very pleased to have our engineering graduate program again recognized as one of the best in the nation," said Richard J. Schwartz, dean of the Schools of Engineering. "It is particularly gratifying to note that we were ranked third in the country by the corporate recruiters, who represent the companies that hire our graduates. The top schools are very tightly grouped, with only two points out of 100 separating second and eighth place in the overall rankings."
The graduate engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was ranked first overall for the 10th year, followed by Stanford University. Other Big Ten schools ranked in the top 10 are the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan, tied for fourth.
In addition to being No. 24 overall in the country, Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Management ranked fifth in the area of production/operations management. Other schools ranked in the top five in that category are Carnegie Mellon, Stanford and Harvard universities and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"We, of course, are pleased to be recognized as one of the top 25 business schools in the country, even though there is much more that makes an outstanding business school than what its rankings measure," said Dennis J. Weidenaar, dean of the school. "Our production/operations management program is consistently regarded as among the best in the nation, and it's clear that a Krannert education has a high value-added factor when one compares our tuition to the salary earned upon completion of our master's programs. The success our students have in acquiring highly desirable jobs is extraordinary. The world's finest firms hire our students."
The business school rankings were determined through student selectivity and reputational surveys of business school deans and corporate recruiters. The survey results were combined with statistical data on placement success and graduation rate to produce the rankings.
Harvard and Stanford universities shared the survey's top spot for overall business school rankings. The Indiana University business school ranked 21st overall.
Sources: Jackson Gandour, (765) 494-3788
Richard J. Schwartz, (765) 494-5346; e-mail, schwartz@ecn.purdue.edu
Dennis J. Weidenaar, (765) 494-4366; e-mail, weidend@mgmt.purdue.edu
Writers: Amanda Siegfried, (765) 494-4709; e-mail, amanda_siegfried@purdue.edu
Beth Forbes, (765) 494-9723; e-mail, beth_forbes@purdue.edu
Kate Walker, (765) 494-2073; e-mail, kate_walker@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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