Is the NRC data accurate?

[wannabee]

I've been searching for doctoral programs in Poli Sci that will let me do comparative politics with an emphasis on the Middle East. I have a very strong background in Arabic language and Middle Eastern Studies. There aren't too many polisci programs that have a Middle Eastern specialist. When I took a look at the University of Chicago, I was very excited at the program and the fact that Prof. Wedeen does research in this area, and her methodology is close to my own.

That is I was happy till the NRC rankings came out.... I really don't care about a list of ranked schools, but there are three things I do care about: length of time to get the degree, percent who finish the program, and job placement figures. I was stunned to see the data recorded by NRC about Chicago. According to the survey, it took an AVERAGE of 9.0 years to finish the doctorate. Just 6% get it within 6 years. About 23% find academic jobs of any kind -- teaching, post docs, etc. Overall, %55 find some kind of job. Only %12.5 finish the program.

I understand these figures reflect 2005-2006. However, they are much worse than comparable poli sci programs. They pulled the Chicago department down in the rankings, though I am much less concerned about the ranking than the raw data that was reported. What do I do? Should I write the graduate advisor and politely ask for a sense of recent figures on job placements, time till completion of degree, and and percent who finish the program? Dare I politely mention that the only access to figures that I have are on the NRC and I was not sure about the accuracy of those (without saying anything else disparaging)? Chicago was my first choice and I feel I can not simply ignore this dismal set of statistics.

Oh,yes, here is a link to the NRC rankings overall if you want to look and go in to look at poli sci or another program: http://chronicle.com/page/NRC-Rankings/321/

[adaptations]

My initial suggestion is to check out the actual NRC methodologies so you can gain a better understanding of what the data do and do not tell. You can get the full data and reports under the "free download options" at http://www.nap.edu/rdp/ Second, although a trend of the department as a whole is important, I would be more concerned with the specific subfield you are focusing on (specifically in time to degree). I would also prepare yourself for a longer than average time to degree, given that the field work for comparative politics typically increases the time it takes candidates to complete their research. This point may be worth considering, because if Chicago happens to be good at what you do, they may have a longer time to degree because they focus on this area(I don't actually know if this is true or not, but that's the type of question I would be asking myself.)

[eucalyptus]

I think emailing the graduate secretary or DGS or someone similar to ask for those figures is a great idea. It's important information that a department should be happy to give to a prospective student - it shows you're asking some of the right questions. I wouldn't mention the NRC rankings - just say you're very interested in applying to the program and ask if they have any recent information on those topics.

[unclejoecannon]

I want to start by saying I have not reviewed their methodology. I do know, however, that some of their numbers appear to be off for programs that I have some information about. For example, one program is listed as funding none of its first-year students. This is not entirely accurate as they do fund most of their first-year PhD students. That said, there could be something strange about how certain stats are calculated.

[unclejoecannon]

I want to start by saying I have not reviewed their methodology. I do know, however, that some of their numbers appear to be off for programs that I have some information about. For example, one program is listed as funding none of its first-year students. This is not entirely accurate as they do fund most of their first-year PhD students. That said, there could be something strange about how certain stats are calculated.

I am also interested to know the time span of their data. Primarily because one school is listed as having only 52% of its PhDs in academic jobs. This contrasts with the last five years of placement which seems to suggest that the number is closer to 80 or 90%.

[Penelope Higgins]

The data in the rankings is mostly from before 2005. Take them with a large grain of salt. That said, time-to-degree is worth asking about - but I would expect to get a fuller answer after admission than before application.

I am also interested to know the time span of their data. Primarily because one school is listed as having only 52% of its PhDs in academic jobs. This contrasts with the last five years of placement which seems to suggest that the number is closer to 80 or 90%.