Rankings rankle some folks, but lots of people rely on them when making major decisions. Of course, ranking methodologies are as varied as the statistical weights of the criteria used, but, no matter what weights are assigned, UCSB’s Department of Geography consistently does extremely well. We are internationally recognized as one of the best Departments of Geography in the world, and we have been ranked among the top doctoral programs in the U.S. by a variety of indices for the last 20 years. Back in 1995, the National Research Council ranked us number 4 in the nation, based upon reputation by peer review. In 2010, the National Research Council ranked UCSB Geography between number 1 and number 6, depending upon the criteria one uses for evaluation, and, in the same vein, phds.org ranked us the number 1 “large, prestigious program” among Departments of Geography in the USA” in 2009, and the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked us number two in the nation on its “Top Research Universities Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index” in 2008.
The 2010 NRC rankings did not specifically include Graduate Geography Programs, so the interpretation of the general Geography Department rankings varied considerably. For example, our own Graduate Division rated us number 2 in the nation, a ranking based on the NRC’s “sort by S-weight 5th, then 95th percentile rank,” while Cornell University concluded that UCSB Geography is number 1, using an NRC ranking “sorted by R Mid.”
Justin Holman, who has a PhD in Geography from the University of Oregon and who writes a blog called “Geographical Perspectives: A geographer’s thoughts on business, real estate, and education,” puts it this way: “Unfortunately, because these rankings were produced by academic types who are masters of creating difficult-to-understand prose for publication in peer review journals, you almost need a PhD to interpret their rankings.” Holman, a self-confessed fanatic about lists, especially ranked lists, aggregated the Geography Program rankings from all available sources and, in February 2012, came up with his own list of the top 20 Geography Programs in the U.S. On this list, UCSB Geography ranked number 9, with Boston University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Maryland College Park, University of California – Los Angeles, and Penn State University, in that order, taking the top 5 spots.
However, Holman covered his bets by stating, “If you don’t like the rankings below, take my survey and let your opinion be counted!” In his latest “Geographical Perspectives” blog of June 8, Holman’s rankings of The Top 20 Geography Departments, based on his survey, were topsy-turvy. According to this “peer review,” UCSB was number 1, BU was number 9, and the top 5 were UCSB, Penn State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Ohio State University, and Arizona State University, in that order. Go figure.
Article by Bill Norrington. Many thanks to Mike Goodchild for suggesting it!
