Although its departments and student body are relatively small compared to other schools in the Ivy League, Dartmouth was ranked 20th among the top research powerhouses by a recent graduate program study.
The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, based on extensive data from 2005, evaluated 354 institutions on the quality and impact of their research rather than on the sheer quantity of research ventures. The study partially replaces the National Research Council's similar rankings of doctoral programs, which have not been released since 1995.
Dartmouth's graduate programs ranked second in environmental science and fourth in public health.
Had the study examined the quantity of research in various institutions, Dartmouth -- with only 17 degree-granting graduate programs -- would have fallen by the wayside, according to Dean of Graduate Studies Charles Barlowe. But the new index doesn't factor reputation into its rankings and measures faculty productivity per capita, benefitting very productive small graduate programs.
Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Sciences C. Robertson McClung said that the College can have both a substantial research commitment and still continue to emphasize undergraduates.
"Many have reputational concerns that Dartmouth is fabulous on the teaching side but not strong on the scholarship side," McClung said. "This is great to have the ranking that shows you can have your cake and eat it too."
The company that compiled the rankings, Academic Analytics, will release its extensive data only through a subscription to their for-profit service, costing client universities up to $30,000 per year. Data on Dartmouth's performance in each field is therefore not available.
Harvard University, which ranked first in the ranking, had 30 graduate programs ranked in the top 10 of their fields while Dartmouth, at number 20 on the list, only had two. Dartmouth ranked so strongly due to the per capita ranking system and possible moderate success in other graduate fields.
In comparison, the 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement, an evaluation based solely on research and reputation, ranked the College 61st.
Dartmouth gives professors resources to help them achieve in both research and education, McClung said, pointing to the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning and departments' internal programs holding teachers to their standards. On the research side, Dartmouth generously funds faculty research, he said.
McClung said that Dartmouth's high ranking will help to recruit faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students by proving the success of Dartmouth as a research and educational institution.
"The notion that undergraduate education suffers when faculty excel in their research reflects a false dichotomy," Dean of the College Dan Nelson said in a BlitzMail message. "Students benefit tremendously from close contact with faculty who are making significant contributions to their fields."
Nelson also said that Dartmouth supports the education of its undergraduates by giving them opportunities to be involved in the research of high-ranking faculty.
Allaying concerns that the administration is putting research quotas on professors, McClung said that departments grant tenure based on both teaching and scholarship standards. Although departments have expectations of their faculty, he explained, they do not place research quotas on teachers.
"The most exciting and meaningful education happens when faculty and students are engaged in learning and in discovery together," Nelson said. "That's education at its best, and that's what characterizes Dartmouth."
