A study by the National Research Council confirmed what most of us already know: Cornell is a great place to pursue a graduate degree in horticulture.
The 2010 NRC study, based on data collected in 2006, compares 4,838 individual research doctorate programs in 62 subject areas across 212 surveyed institutions. It does not give each program a specific numbered ranking overall, but rather produces a range of rankings for each graduate program, derived from 20 key variables.
One ranking, based on a regression analysis linking reputational factors to program factors (the R-ranking) placed the Graduate Field of Horticulture among 29 Cornell research doctorate graduate fields in the top 10 range of rankings.
The Graduate Field of Horticulture ranked second out of the 18 horticulture programs in the plant science category based on the midpoint of the R-ranking, and 31st out of all 115 plant science programs.
“Most of the top-ranked plant science programs are plant biology, plant pathology and similar departments that do not put as much effort in extension and outreach,” says Marvin Pritts, chair of Cornell’s Department of Horticulture. “To be ranked so high in graduate study while also investing so much in making sure our research gets used is what makes us unique.”
More info:
- Graduate Field of Horticulture
- CALS graduate programs are cream of the crop (CALS news release)
- NRC survey places Cornell research doctorate fields among top in U.S. (Cornell Chronicle story)
- Information on the Cornell Graduate School rankings