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• Step 1: Choose field
• Step 2: Set priorities
• Step 3: Your ranking of Ecology programs

• Choosing a program
• Your application
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• Funding / Scholarships
• Other rankings
• Should you go?
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The rankings below have been generated just for you using the priorities you set on this page. You can change your priorities or get rankings for a different field.

How to Read Your Ranking

• Programs are ranked by their score, a weighted sum of the items you chose. (Details)
• Descriptions of each item are listed at the bottom of the page. (You can also see a description by mousing over items at the top of the table.)
• Your weight for each item is shown beneath the item at the top of the table. Weights range in magnitude from 0 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
• A positive weight means that you prefer larger values for the item. A negative weight means that you prefer smaller values for the item.
• Green values are at least one standard deviation better than the mean. Red values are at least one standard deviation worse than the mean.
• Data sources can be found below.

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Rank	Department	Your Score	Yrs (-4)	Job (4)	Ed Eff (5)	Pub / Fac (3)	Cite / Fac (3)	Fac Qual (5)	Deg / Yr (-5)	# Fac (-4)	Stu / Fac (-5)	UG Acc (-2)	SAT-M (2)	SAT-V (2)
Adjust your weights →			-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+
1.	Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University	55.8	5.3	86%	4.2	8.8	54.2	4.4	3.6	92	0.1	27%	710	675
2.	Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago	38.6	5.5	69%	4.3	6.9	31.1	4.5	3.8	30	1.3	40%	715	725
3.	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University	19.5	6.3	83%	4.0	3.4	8.5	4.3	5.8	11	2.4	11%	745	735
4.	Ecology & Evolution, Stony Brook University	18.5	6.7	77%	3.9	7.6	34.2	4.1	3.8	29	1.6	51%	610	570
5.	Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental Bio, Columbia University in the City of New York	18.2	6.2*	78%*	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	2.4†	65*	1.6*	13%†	725†	715†
6.	Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The University of Texas at Austin	12.7	6.5	81%*	3.8	5.4	19.1	4.1	2.6	54	1.6	51%	630	605
7.	Ecology, University of Louisville	12.4	5.4	100%	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	1.0	65*	1.6*	81%	550	555
8.	Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University in the City of New York	11.5	6.2*	78%*	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	15.0†	65*	1.6*	13%†	725†	715†
9.	Ecology, Cornell University-Ny State Statutory Colleges	10.8	6.3*	71%*	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	1.2	65*	1.6*	30%	680	665
10.	Quantitative Ecology and Resource Mgmt, University of Washington-Seattle Campus	10.1	6.7	70%	4.2	6.4	35.5	4.3	1.8	41	2.9	67%	610	590
11.	Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	9.8	6.6	76%	3.8	6.5	23.5	3.9	4.8	66	1.4	70%	630	600
12.	Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia	8.5	6.1	71%	3.7	6.7	31.0	3.9	9.6	84	1.6	62%	615	610
13.	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	7.7	7.2	76%	4.0	6.0	29.5	4.1	12.8	52	1.9	57%	680	640
14.	Ecology, Indiana University-Bloomington	7.6	6.0	82%	3.5	5.7	39.6	3.5	7.4	27	1.6*	85%	560	550
15.	Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut	6.4	5.2	78%	3.5	3.2	8.4	3.4	4.0	28	1.3	51%	600	585
16.	Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Florida	6.3	5.7	37%	3.4	6.8	30.0	3.6	1.2	45	1.3	57%	640	620
17.	Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	4.6	6.3	73%	3.4	4.0	13.9	3.3	1.0	28	1.6	36%	650	640
18.	Ecology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	3.3	6.3*	71%*	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	1.2	65*	1.6*	59%*	612*	594*
19.	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona	0.5	6.2	75%	3.8	4.5	31.4	3.8	6.8	26	2.3	88%	565	560
20.	Ecology (Intercollege Graduate Program), Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	-0.9	6.1	52%	3.5	5.6	14.6	3.3	4.4	109	0.2	58%	610	580
Rank	Department	Your Score	Yrs (-4)	Job (4)	Ed Eff (5)	Pub / Fac (3)	Cite / Fac (3)	Fac Qual (5)	Deg / Yr (-5)	# Fac (-4)	Stu / Fac (-5)	UG Acc (-2)	SAT-M (2)	SAT-V (2)
Adjust your weights →			-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+	-+
21.	Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway	-1.9	6.1	54%	3.5*	5.5*	21.4*	3.5*	2.2	65*	1.6*	61%	615	580
22.	Ecology, Utah State University	-2.1	6.7	83%	3.4	4.2	10.9	3.4	4.0	70	0.2	92%	555	550
23.	Ecology and Evolution and Organismal Bio, Iowa State University	-5.6	6.2*	71%	3.0	5.1	11.8	3.0	2.2	25	1.4	90%	620	595
24.	Ecology, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus	-5.9	6.2*	78%*	3.1	3.6	8.7	3.1	0.8	41	1.4	86%	612*	594*
25.	Ecology, Colorado State University	-6.0	5.2	88%	2.9	5.9	24.6	3.0	8.0	17	3.1	88%	565	555
26.	Ecology, University of California-Davis	-7.6	6.5†	66%†	4.1	7.2	27.4	4.4	30.4†	197	1.5	55%†	615†	565†
26.	Joint Program in Ecology with SDSU, University of California-Davis	-7.6	6.5†	66%†	4.1	7.2	27.4	4.4	30.4†	197	1.5	55%†	615†	565†
26.	Population Biology, University of California-Davis	-7.6	6.5†	66%†	4.1	7.2	27.4	4.4	30.4†	197	1.5	55%†	615†	565†
29.	Ecology, Texas Tech University	-8.8	6.2*	78%*	3.0	3.7	11.1	2.8	1.0	26	1.5	71%	575	555
30.	Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University-Main Campus	-9.8	5.7	63%	3.1	4.1	12.8	3.3	6.2	105	0.9	73%	580	560
31.	Ecology & Evolutionary Bio, The University of Tennessee	-11.7	7.7	66%	3.3	4.6	15.8	3.4	4.6	61	0.9	44%	555	555
32.	Ecology, The University of Montana	-16.6	5.7	61%	2.8	2.5	8.6	2.5	2.2	21	0.7	84%	532	547
33.	Ecology, Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	-17.0	6.2*	78%*	2.9	4.8	13.7	2.4	1.4	21	3.1	51%	565	555
34.	Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry	-19.4	6.7	47%	2.9	6.6	24.8	2.3	1.6	12	2.2	66%	570	565
35.	Ecological Sciences, Old Dominion University	-21.7	6.7	83%	2.3	4.1	4.2	2.2	3.4	14	1.1	69%	530	530
36.	Ecology, Kent State University-Kent Campus	-34.7	8.0	78%*	2.3	4.3	10.1	1.9	1.6	8	1.4	94%	515	515
37.	Ecology, University of North Texas	-37.6	6.2*	78%*	2.2	4.7	7.2	1.7	0.8	11	4.3	69%	555	545

Unranked Ecology Graduate Schools

Item Descriptions

Your Score

Your customized program score is a weighted sum of points for each item. The weights were selected on this page. For an item with importance weight W, a program receives W × S points for being S standard deviations above average. Larger values are better.

Years to Degree (Yrs)

Median time lapse from entering graduate school at the doctorate-granting institution to receipt of doctorate in years. Note that time spent obtaining a master's degree at a different institution is not counted. Your weight = -4. Smaller values are better. (SED, 2000-2004)

Placement Rate (Job)

Percentage of doctorate recipients from the program with definite plans at graduation (either a job or a postdoctoral position). Your weight = 4. Larger values are better. (SED, 2000-2004)

Educational Effectiveness (Ed Eff)

Program effectiveness in educating research scholars and scientists, 1993. Scale of 0 to 5, with 0 denoting "Not Effective" and 5 denoting "Extremely Effective." Your weight = 5. Larger values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Publications per Faculty Member (Pub / Fac)

The ratio of the number of program publications in the period 1988-1992 to the number of program faculty. Your weight = 3. Larger values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Citations per Faculty Member (Cite / Fac)

The ratio of the number of citations of program publications in the period 1988-1992 to the number of program faculty. Your weight = 3. Larger values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Faculty Quality (Fac Qual)

Scholarly quality of program faculty, 1993. Scale of 0 to 5, with 0 denoting "Not sufficient for doctoral education" and 5 denoting "Distinguished." Your weight = 5. Larger values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Doctorates Granted per Year (Deg / Yr)

The average number of doctorates granted by the program per year between 2001 and 2005. Your weight = -5. Smaller values are better. (IPEDS, 2001-2005)

Number of Faculty (# Fac)

Total number of faculty participating in the program. Your weight = -4. Smaller values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Grad Student / Faculty Ratio (Stu / Fac)

The number of graduate students per faculty member. Your weight = -5. Smaller values are better. (NRC, 1995)

Undergraduate Acceptance Rate (UG Acc)

The percentage of applicants the institution accepts into its undergraduate programs. Your weight = -2. Smaller values are better. (IPEDS, 2005)

Math SAT Score (SAT-M)

The average of the 25th and 75th percentile mathematics SAT scores for undergraduates at the institution. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (IPEDS, 2005)

Verbal SAT Score (SAT-V)

The average of the 25th and 75th percentile verbal SAT scores for undergraduates at the institution. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (IPEDS, 2005)

Missing Values

Missing values have been replaced with the average value for all programs in the field.

Data Sources

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

IPEDS is an annual, comprehensive set of surveys of all colleges and universities in the United States. The surveys are conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.  Learn more

National Research Council

The National Research Council conducts assessments of doctoral programs in the United States every 10 to 15 years). The data we use are from the most recent assessment, the 1995 study Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Continuity and Change. Learn more about the NRC study's methods here; order a copy here. The next NRC assessment is scheduled for release in Summer 2009.  Learn more

Survey of Earned Doctorates

The NSF/NIH/NEH/USED/USDA/NASA Survey of Earned Doctorates is an annual survey of all new recipients of doctorates from US universities at graduation. The average of the response rates for the 2000–2004 surveys was 92%.  Learn more

Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

The Survey is an annual assessment of the number and characteristics of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in science, engineering, and health-related fields. It is conducted by the National Science Foundation.  Learn more