Rankings.... How important is ranking for PhD (psychology)?

[iammaffyou]

Hey everyone,

 

I was thinking if I have a choice of schools to attend for my doctoral degree how important is it the ranking of the school?  Does it matter when I apply for grants, faculty positions, post-docs? Are there major differences from a school in the 30's to that in the 60's to that in the 80's?

[ImpulsiveNixie]

I don't know about your program or where your rankings come from but I find the US News reports to be a little BS. The way they generate their stats for SLP are by faculty/staff self reports. Plus, for some programs there was a limited response rate. It would be nice to see the reports based off # of graduates or the job rate success...

That being said, I did a huge search on the faculty and research at the universities I wanted to attend. I wanted to be sure that I was going to have the exposure to the population that I was most interested in serving.

Go with your gut and with the school that you feel with support you the most in what you want to do. That may very we'll mean that you will go to school ranked in the 80s but at least you will be doing what you know is right.

[STEAM116]

There is a paper somewhere (trying to fish out the link) about PhD program as a factor in job placement. It's a big deal. You should absolutely do what you love, but go into this with your eyes open. Depending on your field, placement can be incredibly competitive. Are you cognitive? Social? IO? Clinical? In IO you'll be fine. It's in demand and the pay is great. Clinical is in the middle (the impression I get is that the bottleneck is PhD entry, not employment, but it's not my field so grain of salt). Cog and social are ridiculously competitive. There just aren't enough tenure track jobs. You need a backup plan so you don't end up flipping burgers (or worse, teaching as an adjunct for no benefits and terrible pay). I'll post that link as soon as I find it.

[STEAM116]

Found it: 

 

Stenstrom, D. M., Curtis, M., & Iyer, R. (2013). School rankings, department rankings, and individual accomplishments: What factors predict obtaining employment after the PhD? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(2), 208-217.

 

Here's the abstract: 

 

The outcome of a graduate student’s hunt for employment is often attributed to the student’s own accomplishments, the reputation of the department, and the reputation of the university. In 2007, a national survey of psychology graduate students was conducted to assess accomplishments and experiences in graduate school, part of which was an assessment of employment after completion of the doctorate (PhD). Five hundred and fifty-one respondents who had applied for employment reported whether they had obtained employment and in what capacity. Survey results were then integrated with the National Research Council’s most recent official ranking system of academic departments. The strongest predictor of employment was department-level rankings even while controlling for individual accomplishments, such as publications, posters, and teaching experience. Equally accomplished applicants for an employment position were not equal, apparently, if they graduated from differently ranked departments. The results also show the degree to which school-level rankings, department-level rankings, and individual accomplishments uniquely predict the various types of employment, including jobs at PhD-granting institutions, master’s-granting institutions, liberal arts colleges, 2-year schools, outside academia, or no employment at all.

 

 

I'm not sure what measure they used for department rankings though. Haven't read it in a while.

 

EDIT: They used NRC rankings

DOUBLE EDIT: And Carnegie Classifications

Edited January 30, 2014 by STEAM116