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Doctoral Programs by the Numbers

September 30, 2010

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Select a Field:

Aerospace Engineering | Agricultural and Resource Economics | American Studies | Animal Sciences | Anthropology | Applied Mathematics | Astrophysics and Astronomy | Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology | Biology/Integrated Biology/Integrated Biomedical Sciences | Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering | Celland Developmental Biology | Chemical Engineering | Chemistry | Civil and Environmental Engineering | Classics | Communication | Comparative Literature | Computer Engineering | Computer Sciences | Earth Sciences | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Economics | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Engineering Science and Materials | English Language and Literature | Entomology | FoodScience | Forestry and Forest Sciences | French and Francophone Language and Literature | Genetics and Genomics | Geography | German Language and Literature | History | History of Art, Architecture and Archaeology | Immunology and Infectious Disease | Kinesiology | Languages, Societies and Cultures | Linguistics | Materials Science and Engineering | Mathematics | Mechanical Engineering | Microbiology | Music | Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Nursing | Nutrition | Oceanography, Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology | Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering | Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health | Philosophy | Physics | Physiology | Plant Sciences | Political Science | Psychology | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Health | Religion | Sociology | Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature | Statistics and Probability | Theatre and Performance Studies

Astrophysics and Astronomy

The National Research Council assessed programs according to 21 different criteria. Here are the NRC’s five major ratings summarizing those criteria. For a detailed explanation, see our FAQ.

S-Rank: Programs are ranked highly if they are strong in the criteria that scholars say are most important.
Research: Derived from faculty publications, citation rates, grants, and awards.
Students: Derived from students’ completion rates, financial aid, and other criteria.
Diversity: Reflects gender balance, ethnic diversity, and the proportion of international students.
R-Rank: Programs are ranked highly if they have similar features to programs viewed by faculty as top-notch.

Institution, program	S-Rank High	S-Rank Low	Research High	Research Low	Students High	Students Low	Diversity High	Diversity Low	R-Rank High	R-Rank Low
Boston U. Astronomy	16	32	20	34	5	20	1	8	17	31
California Institute of Technology Astrophysics	1	4	1	4	6	25	7	17	1	7
Columbia U. Astronomy	5	17	6	23	3	21	2	11	10	28
Cornell U. Astronomy and Space Sciences	7	23	10	31	1	12	20	33	6	23
Georgia State U. Astronomy	29	34	28	34	3	15	19	33	28	34
Harvard U. Astronomy	6	16	7	23	9	26	18	31	3	15
Indiana U. at Blooming- ton Astronomy	18	34	18	34	10	28	25	33	10	30
Johns Hopkins U. Astronomy and Astrophysics	8	24	6	20	27	33	15	28	2	22
Massachu- setts Institute of Technology Astrophysics and Astronomy and Planetary Science	6	17	6	22	14	31	17	30	1	8
Michigan State U. Astrophysics and Astronomy	12	27	9	26	5	18	33	34	25	34
New Mexico State U. at Las Cruces Astronomy	14	31	9	28	16	32	4	15	17	33
Ohio State U. Main Campus Astronomy	5	15	6	21	2	18	11	24	9	28
Pennsyl- vania State U. Astronomy and Astrophysics	2	7	2	9	1	16	17	30	6	23
Princeton U. Astrophysical Science	1	2	1	3	1	6	22	33	1	10
U. of Arizona Astronomy	6	19	5	21	9	24	9	20	5	22
U. of Arizona Planetary Sciences	15	32	19	33	6	25	16	32	6	25
U. of California at Berkeley Astrophysics	2	8	2	9	9	26	13	27	1	6
U. of California at Los Angeles Astronomy	19	33	13	32	22	32	11	25	8	23
U. of California at Los Angeles Space Physics	14	32	7	27	33	34	1	8	24	34
U. of California at Santa Cruz Astronomy and Astrophysics	5	16	4	14	8	29	2	12	8	26
U. of Chicago Astronomy and Astrophysics	3	9	2	9	2	12	22	32	6	23
U. of Colorado at Boulder Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences	17	33	14	32	8	23	25	34	4	21
U. of Florida Astronomy	27	34	25	34	27	33	1	9	25	34
U. of Hawaii- Manoa Astronomy	17	33	12	31	14	30	14	28	13	32
U. of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign Astronomy	19	33	15	31	12	32	3	13	13	34
U. of Maryland at College Park Astronomy	17	32	15	33	16	30	2	12	8	23
U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor Astronomy and Astrophysics	13	29	8	24	24	33	1	8	16	32
U. of Minnesota- Twin Cities Astrophysics	18	33	16	33	7	25	15	30	13	31
U. of Texas at Austin Astronomy	9	24	14	32	5	21	9	23	1	28
U. of Virginia Astronomy	10	23	10	28	13	29	22	33	8	26
U. of Washing- ton Astronomy	4	11	4	13	1	14	13	26	8	24
U. of Wisconsin at Madison Astronomy	8	22	12	31	1	8	1	11	9	27
Yale U. Astronomy	17	32	11	30	23	32	8	18	24	33
Methodology: This interactive tool is based on rankings developed by the NRC. For a complete explanation of the methods the research council used, go to its site; registration may be required.