National Research Council (NRC)
Assessment of
Research Doctorate Programs
NRC at Illinois
In 2006, the National Research Council (NRC) began its third assessment of research-doctorate programs in the United States. Like the two earlier projects, this survey is designed to help institutions improve the quality of their programs, help potential students identify the university that best fits for their needs and interests, and make information about doctoral programs at U.S. institutions more transparent to the public.
What differs from the two previous surveys, however, is the rating rather than ranking of programs, the availability of this rich data to students and public, and increase in the number of programs assessed. NRC will provide an overall rating for each program based on twenty variables customized by discipline. In addition to those, sub-ratings for areas of faculty productivity, student support and outcomes, and diversity were measured.
NRC plans to release its revised methodology report on December 2008, and the survey results in early 2009. Data will be released in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, Science, and one or two additional national papers.
Dean Wheeler has charged an NRC Assessment of Doctoral Programs Advisory Task Force to guide plans to educate key stakeholders on our campus for the release of these data.
Upcoming activities will include:
Brownbags - Time, date, and location TBA pending release of data by NRC.
Useful links:
NRC Web Site
Illinois Programs Included in the Assessment
Program Contacts
Data Collection Activities and Information, including survey questionnaires
Seeking additional information?
E-mail the Graduate College at gradnrcsurvey@uiuc.edu.
