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Doctoral Programs by the Numbers

September 30, 2010

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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

Earth Sciences

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
Arizona State U. Geological Sciences	29	77	14	61	38	94	82	116	36	66
Bingham- tonton U. (SUNY) Geological Sciences	121	136	105	134	114	137	60	103	95	124
Boston U. Earth Sciences	19	58	15	65	10	98	7	32	62	101
Brown U. Geological Sciences	23	67	18	70	24	84	34	76	17	41
California Institute of Technology Environmental Science and Engineering	1	3	1	4	15	82	6	30	6	22
California Institute of Technology Geochemistry	7	33	5	27	7	98	51	103	10	48
California Institute of Technology Geology	6	26	4	22	9	111	81	121	1	3
California Institute of Technology Geophysics	3	18	2	20	20	92	33	75	3	10
California Institute of Technology Planetary Science	6	26	5	28	8	86	113	130	2	5
City U. of New York Graduate Center Earth and Environmental Sciences	106	131	103	137	115	130	9	29	85	124
Colorado State U. Earth Sciences	111	132	103	134	92	124	60	103	96	131
Columbia U. Earth and Environmental Sciences	1	10	2	18	38	97	16	46	1	4
Cornell U. Geological Sciences	35	83	27	73	91	121	38	77	39	69
Dartmouth College Earth Sciences	49	95	46	108	24	98	41	78	31	63
Duke U. Environment	21	48	38	87	8	51	7	28	15	32
Duke U. Earth and Ocean Sciences	29	83	28	94	8	98	77	114	38	75
Florida Inter- national U. Earth Sciences	66	105	61	117	23	96	2	13	58	113
Georgia Institute of Technology Earth & Atmospheric Sciences	15	48	8	46	63	112	15	41	28	65
Harvard U. Earth & Planetary Sciences	2	10	4	24	34	93	51	95	2	5
Indiana U. at Blooming- ton Environmental Science	63	109	73	129	7	67	11	31	91	126
Indiana U. at Blooming- ton Geological Sciences	33	78	53	115	6	60	26	54	39	78
Iowa State U. Environmental Science	77	120	67	124	18	95	38	79	87	124
Iowa State U. Soil Science	73	113	36	87	119	132	75	106	14	42
Johns Hopkins U. Earth And Planetary Sciences	43	87	38	94	62	110	90	124	34	63
Kent State U. Main Campus Applied Geology	129	140	114	139	62	127	89	124	135	140
Lehigh U. Earth and Environmental Sciences	47	103	35	93	34	111	105	127	56	124
Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge Geology	64	114	43	115	44	114	6	25	78	120
Massachu- setts Institute of Technology Geology and Geochemistry and Geophysics	10	35	6	35	27	87	101	125	7	25
Miami U. (Ohio) Geology	57	114	44	115	15	105	30	70	102	131
Michigan State U. Geological Sciences	46	100	81	130	2	30	28	67	27	86
Michigan Technological U. Geology	118	137	106	137	102	135	1	8	123	138
Montana State U. at Bozeman Land Resources	57	114	43	116	7	102	61	105	81	131
New Jersey Institute of Technology Environmental Science	39	97	38	111	15	76	1	10	127	138
North Carolina State U. Soil Science	96	132	71	131	114	132	35	71	89	126
Northern Illinois U. Geology	103	131	106	137	14	86	57	101	111	130
North- western U. Earth And Planetary Sciences	36	81	31	83	14	77	25	55	36	75
Ohio State U. Main Campus Environmental Science	91	123	70	126	90	120	13	38	117	136
Ohio State U. Main Campus Geodetic Science and Surveying	89	125	74	129	119	136	61	104	77	122
Ohio State U. Main Campus Geological Sciences	74	117	57	119	36	118	70	104	68	113
Ohio State U. Main Campus Soil Science	74	115	44	97	21	101	45	89	84	133
Oklahoma State U. Main Campus Environmental Sciences	118	137	117	139	117	130	89	117	115	133
Oklahoma State U. Main Campus Soil Science	110	131	130	140	57	99	107	126	129	138
Oregon Health and Science U. Environmental Science and Engineering	20	72	23	87	4	82	10	36	32	75
Oregon State U. Soil Science	32	80	43	104	21	105	6	27	59	100
Oregon State U. Geology	34	87	27	94	4	77	115	129	25	55
Pennsyl- vania State U. Geosciences	9	31	11	43	30	86	67	107	7	20
Pennsyl- vania State U. Soil Science	32	89	59	118	6	52	1	4	33	127
Princeton U. Geosciences	4	20	3	22	6	53	11	31	14	35
Purdue U. Main Campus Agronomy- Soils	11	39	29	94	2	24	6	22	15	58
Purdue U. Main Campus Earth Science	45	97	51	116	11	78	72	106	31	66
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Geology	13	46	13	45	15	96	3	25	15	74
Rice U. Earth Science	22	70	21	77	14	86	74	107	55	92
Rutgers U. at New Brunswick Environmental Sciences	36	87	28	84	71	113	22	49	50	90
Rutgers U. at New Brunswick Geological Sciences	72	111	47	101	66	113	77	116	45	75
Stanford U. Geological and Environmental Sciences	3	16	4	27	28	86	47	94	4	12
Stanford U. Geophysics	5	25	7	33	80	117	33	63	7	21
State U. of New York at Albany Geology	63	116	49	122	4	44	139	140	69	112
State U. of New York at Stony Brook Geosciences	24	68	11	52	63	109	66	104	48	79
Syracuse U. Main Campus Geology	39	100	30	100	30	116	27	63	78	121
Texas A&M U. Geology & Geophysics	131	140	103	135	132	139	27	55	24	97
Texas A&M U. Soil Science	116	138	73	130	91	126	99	124	129	139
U. at Buffalo (SUNY) Geological Sciences	60	108	50	123	89	125	26	56	59	96
U. of Alabama Geology	85	124	87	134	5	59	79	114	99	128
U. of Alaska at Fairbanks Geology	90	124	61	122	109	128	22	55	76	122
U. of Alaska at Fairbanks Geophysics	58	112	27	91	117	138	60	104	47	103
U. of Arizona Geosciences	7	33	11	50	17	71	60	99	8	21
U. of Arizona Hydrology	11	40	24	77	6	52	74	110	27	67
U. of Arizona Soil Water & Environmental Science	49	100	50	111	114	134	8	28	17	49
U. of Arkansas Main Campus Environmental Dynamics	51	96	101	137	1	3	97	123	45	91
U. of California at Berkeley Earth and Planetary Science	1	4	1	9	27	86	30	65	4	15
U. of California at Davis Geology	46	95	38	104	28	94	15	43	52	85
U. of California at Irvine Earth System Science	2	15	1	10	21	90	23	53	12	34
U. of California at Los Angeles Geology	9	36	3	23	67	110	111	133	9	29
U. of California at Los Angeles Geophysics	5	21	3	20	35	112	92	121	12	37
U. of California at Riverside Geological Sciences	53	99	60	118	12	73	102	124	40	76
U. of California at Riverside Soil & Water Sciences	23	73	20	69	22	101	6	28	51	106
U. of California at Santa Barbara Geological Sciences	36	80	33	85	16	72	70	111	24	47
U. of California at Santa Cruz Earth Sciences	7	30	7	35	4	32	30	73	19	43
U. of Chicago Geophysical Sciences	15	46	19	62	15	74	69	112	5	16
U. of Cincinnati Main Campus Geology	92	120	89	128	5	37	97	127	84	115
U. of Colorado at Boulder Geology	13	44	14	57	9	52	34	74	40	66
U. of Delaware Climatology	82	121	35	96	119	136	45	95	66	107
U. of Delaware Geology	120	137	122	139	63	124	124	133	86	122
U. of Florida Geology	20	60	24	72	2	26	29	68	37	76
U. of Florida Soil and Water Science	23	68	32	94	2	23	9	31	84	121
U. of Georgia Geology	99	124	124	138	18	100	66	100	13	35
U. of Hawaii- Manoa Geology and Geophysics	69	116	39	106	65	115	55	93	72	110
U. of Houston main campus Geology	109	133	67	124	135	139	45	80	88	124
U. of Houston main campus Geophysics	114	135	96	134	84	119	71	114	126	138
U. of Idaho Geology	65	115	64	126	26	105	45	105	57	122
U. of Illinois at Chicago Earth & Environmental Sciences	11	44	8	42	8	87	99	125	76	118
U. of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign Geology	18	52	24	72	13	77	51	93	22	48
U. of Iowa Geoscience	56	103	57	116	23	83	33	71	34	66
U. of Kansas Geology	69	110	68	126	69	112	43	77	71	109
U. of Kentucky Geology	82	123	85	135	34	106	135	138	62	110
U. of Kentucky Soil Science	94	130	73	131	46	119	75	113	127	138
U. of Maryland at College Park Geology	12	40	10	40	16	93	4	23	13	46
U. of Massachu- setts at Amherst Geosciences	67	108	44	100	105	132	43	83	35	74
U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor Geology	11	39	12	47	36	94	48	85	9	25
U. of Minnesota- Twin Cities Geology	27	69	20	59	55	108	38	75	16	40
U. of Minnesota- Twin Cities Geophysics	5	29	2	22	2	76	39	98	17	57
U. of Minnesota- Twin Cities Soil Science	42	104	51	118	3	125	7	27	69	128
U. of Missouri at Columbia Geology	35	92	48	123	1	20	47	87	95	127
U. of Missouri at Columbia Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences	34	93	44	120	4	52	128	136	74	115
U. of Missouri at Kansas City Geosciences	138	140	134	140	110	136	109	131	128	138
U. of Missouri at Rolla Geological Engineering	132	140	134	140	26	111	126	135	139	140
U. of Missouri at Rolla Geology & Geophysics	112	136	71	126	119	138	2	11	120	136
U. of Nebraska at Lincoln Geosciences	83	121	64	121	40	102	109	129	77	116
U. of Nevada at Reno Environmental Science & Health (Environmental Toxicology & Health)	128	138	128	139	112	134	74	122	66	113
U. of Nevada at Reno Geo-Engineering	121	138	84	133	139	140	131	138	94	130
U. of Nevada at Reno Geology	103	131	75	129	132	137	125	134	66	105
U. of Nevada at Reno Hydrogeology	99	137	62	126	123	140	133	138	47	119
U. of Nevada at Reno Hydrology	83	122	60	123	96	125	128	135	87	123
U. of New Hampshire Earth and Environmental Sciences	23	68	7	43	129	137	73	112	48	88
U. of New Mexico Main Campus Earth And Planetary Sciences	41	94	39	105	27	97	35	74	61	99
U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Geological Sciences	97	128	64	122	39	113	138	140	60	115
U. of North Texas Environmental Science	119	137	110	138	107	133	11	36	114	132
U. of Oklahoma Norman Campus Geology	62	115	56	123	33	111	98	125	54	94
U. of Oregon Geological Sciences	28	73	22	76	32	98	22	52	74	110
U. of Pennsyl- vania Earth and Environmental Science	44	101	79	132	2	30	54	109	83	121
U. of Rhode Island Earth Sciences	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R
U. of Rochester Geological Sciences	31	89	12	57	29	111	38	77	86	126
U. of South Carolina at Columbia Geology	38	87	35	100	7	44	34	67	73	111
U. of Southern California Geological (Earth) Sciences	29	74	28	77	14	76	54	96	24	52
U. of Tennessee Earth And Planetary Sciences	48	93	49	102	13	87	63	109	30	66
U. of Texas at Austin Geological Sciences	57	102	52	116	73	110	98	123	25	65
U. of Texas at Dallas Geosciences	85	125	37	101	111	128	88	122	111	137
U. of Utah Geology and Geophysics	73	111	96	132	10	86	91	121	46	82
U. of Virginia Environmental Sciences	28	74	19	64	96	123	44	87	19	45
U. of Washing- ton Geological Sciences	22	66	24	82	14	84	41	92	16	42
U. of Washing- ton Geophysics	35	90	25	80	66	107	111	131	20	44
U. of Wisconsin at Madison Geology	18	59	13	53	23	91	30	72	28	59
U. of Wisconsin at Madison Land Resources	49	99	53	117	85	115	18	49	20	55
U. of Wisconsin at Madison Soil Science	35	89	31	101	10	62	2	14	59	114
Virginia Tech Geosciences	40	87	43	101	21	81	71	110	36	69
Washing- ton State U. Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences	73	116	78	132	90	118	26	64	85	129
Washing- ton State U. Geology	49	106	43	115	18	98	135	138	92	130
Washing- ton State U. Soil Sciences	18	61	47	115	3	64	2	16	56	98
Washing- ton U. in St. Louis Earth And Planetary Sciences	60	109	62	122	32	93	20	57	62	99
Western Michigan U. Hydrogeology	114	135	104	136	42	118	123	133	82	121
Yale U. Geology & Geophysics	17	49	11	40	27	83	121	133	6	16
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.