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Universities With the Most Doctorate Recipients in the Humanities and Arts, 2015

By Chronicle Staff April 2, 2017

The top 50 institutions granted more than 60 percent of the 5,600 doctorates in the humanities and arts that were awarded during the 2014-15 academic year. The 10 institutions that produced the most doctorate recipients in letters were public institutions, and so were seven of the top 10 institutions producing doctorates in foreign languages and literature. In contrast, private universities predominated among the top 10 for granting doctorates in history.

All humanities and arts

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1.New York U.120
1.U. of California at Los Angeles120
3.U. of California at Berkeley119
4.Harvard U.116
5.Columbia U.113

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The top 50 institutions granted more than 60 percent of the 5,600 doctorates in the humanities and arts that were awarded during the 2014-15 academic year. The 10 institutions that produced the most doctorate recipients in letters were public institutions, and so were seven of the top 10 institutions producing doctorates in foreign languages and literature. In contrast, private universities predominated among the top 10 for granting doctorates in history.

All humanities and arts

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1. New York U. 120
1. U. of California at Los Angeles 120
3. U. of California at Berkeley 119
4. Harvard U. 116
5. Columbia U. 113
6. City U. of New York Graduate Center 109
7. U. of Chicago 107
8. U. of Texas at Austin 103
9. Boston U. 100
10. U. Wisconsin at Madison 99
11. Indiana U. at Bloomington 91
11. Yale U. 91
13. U. of Virginia at Charlottesville 87
14. Florida State U. 85
15. Ohio State U. 81
16. Princeton U. 80
17. U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor 77
18. U. of Pennsylvania 74
19. Stanford U. 70
20. Emory U. 68
21. Arizona State U. 63
22. U. of California at Santa Barbara 60
23. U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 59
24. U. of California at Riverside 58
25. U. of Florida 56
25. U. of Notre Dame 56
27. Duke U. 55
28. Rutgers U. at New Brunswick 54
28. U. of Southern California 54
30. U. of California at Irvine 53
30. U. of Kansas 53
32. Brown U. 52
32. U. of Arizona 52
32. U. of Pittsburgh 52
35. U. of Colorado at Boulder 51
35. U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 51
37. U. of Washington 50
38. U. at Buffalo 48
38. U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities 48
38. Vanderbilt U. 48
41. Cornell U. 47
41. Pennsylvania State U. at University Park 47
43. U. of California at Davis 46
44. U. of Iowa 44
45. Northwestern U. 40
45. Purdue U. at West Lafayette 40
45. Stony Brook U. 40
45. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 40
45. Washington U. in St. Louis 40
50. Catholic U. of America 39
50. U. of Maryland at College Park 39

Total at 237 institutions with recipients in category
5,600

Foreign languages and literature

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1. U. of California at Berkeley 26
2. Ohio State U. 24
3. U. Wisconsin at Madison 23
4. U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 21
4. U. of Virginia at Charlottesville 21
6. Columbia U. 19
6. Harvard U. 19
6. New York U. 19
9. U. of Texas at Austin 18
10. Indiana U. at Bloomington 16

Total at 86 institutions with recipients in category
656

History

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1. U. of Chicago 36
2. U. of California at Berkeley 31
3. Harvard U. 29
4. U. of Pennsylvania 28
4. Yale U. 28
6. Columbia U. 26
6. New York U. 26
6. U. of California at Los Angeles 26
6. U. of Texas at Austin 26
10. U. Wisconsin at Madison 23
10. Princeton U. 23

Total at 163 institutions with recipients in category
1,145

Letters

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1. City U. of New York Graduate Center 35
2. Florida State U. 33
3. U. Wisconsin at Madison 31
4. Georgia State U. 29
5. U. of Texas at Austin 28
6. Indiana U. at Bloomington 27
6. U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor 27
8. Indiana U. of Pennsylvania 26
9. Pennsylvania State U. at University Park 24
10. U. of California at Berkeley 24

Total at 162 institutions with recipients in category
1,590

Other humanities and arts

Rank
InstitutionNumber of recipients
1. Boston U. 77
2. New York U. 64
3. U. of California at Los Angeles 58
4. City U. of New York Graduate Center 50
5. Harvard U. 47
6. Columbia U. 45
6. U. of Chicago 45
8. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 40
9. Yale U. 39
10. U. of California at Berkeley 38

Total at 179 institutions with recipients in category
2,209

Note: The top-50 and top-10 lists are drawn from data that cover all individuals who received a research doctorate from an academic institution in the United States or Puerto Rico from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015. “Letters” refers to fields like classics, comparative literature, English literature, and linguistics. Tied institutions are listed alphabetically.

Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates by National Science Foundation and five other federal agencies

A version of this article appeared in the April 7, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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