Ranking of Religion Graduate Schools

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Your Ranking of Religion PhD Programs

Programs 1–30
RankProgramRegres QualitySurvey QualityStudent OutcomesJobs at GradDiversityStudentsFacultyStudent / Faculty
1-5Duke University Religion1-71-41-874%13-1987571.5
1-5University of Chicago Divinity1-61-512-2565%14-21194593.3
1-5Emory University Graduate Division of Religion2-115-102-1073%3-8143751.9
1-6University of Notre Dame Theology1-74-101-1182%17-2698611.6
3-7Harvard University The Study of Religion4-175-107-1778%14-2266750.9
3-8Princeton University Religion6-221-41-676%3-1033261.3
6-11Brown University Religious Studies5-195-111-1190%14-2421201.1
6-11University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Religious Studies4-181-55-1869%29-3640371.1
7-12Vanderbilt University Religion7-2211-2119-3172%3-10117751.6
7-11Yale University Religious Studies4-145-102-1266%26-3364441.5
9-15Boston College Theology8-219-176-1970%17-2694432.2
9-16Graduate Theological Union Theology and Religious Studies6-2828-3621-3056%5-12207992.1
10-17Indiana University-Bloomington Religious Studies2-148-1718-3473%11-1725231.1
11-17University of Virginia-Main Campus Religious Studies1-1116-269-2072%25-3293332.8
13-18University of California-Santa Barbara Religious Studies10-2313-2112-2367%4-1272362.0
RankProgramRegres QualitySurvey QualityStudent OutcomesJobs at GradDiversityStudentsFacultyStudent / Faculty
13-19Boston University Religious Studies9-2211-2326-3556%11-17164453.6
11-22Stanford University Religious Studies16-319-221-2780%9-1622141.6
16-22Loyola University Chicago Theology12-2527-356-17100%20-3059212.8
16-23Syracuse University Religion17-299-178-2260%6-1340152.7
16-23University of Pennsylvania Religious Studies6-1910-1910-2550%28-3425221.1
17-28Boston College Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry18-3814-251-1470%1-22154.2
18-27Southern Methodist University Religious Studies20-3322-3326-3792%19-2729310.9
19-30Baylor University Religion7-2214-289-2760%38-3966203.3
21-28Columbia University in the City of New York Religion8-2025-3314-2581%26-3542113.8
21-32Catholic University of America Church History16-3718-2822-3462%14-2517161.1
22-33Drew University Religion19-3915-2637-4050%1-2189306.3
24-33Claremont Graduate University Religion27-3728-3636-4057%4-11191484.0
24-33Marquette University Religious Studies18-3028-3621-3168%31-36111284.0
21-35Rice University Religious Studies30-4023-366-3074%*3-724161.5
22-35Catholic University of America Religion and Culture28-4012-278-3562%21-3115160.9

Item Descriptions

Rank
A range indicating how this program ranked in 500 simulated rankings based on your priorities. Programs are sorted by their median rank. Learn more.
NRC regression-based quality measure (Regres Quality)
The NRC's measurements of overall program quality are based on 20 key variables (19 in the humanities) such as GRE scores, student support and faculty publications. To calculate the regression-based quality measure, the relative importance, or weight, of a variable was set by the extent that it correlated with programs viewed most favorably by evaluators in each field. Learn more. Your weight = 3. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
NRC survey-based quality measure (Survey Quality)
The NRC's measurements of overall program quality are based on 20 key variables (19 in the humanities) such as GRE scores, student support and faculty publications. To calculate the survey-based quality measure, evaluators in each field identified the variables that they considered to be the most important indicators of program quality. Learn more. Your weight = 5. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
Student support and outcomes (Student Outcomes)
This variable is a composite of other measures of student support and outcomes, including 6-year or 8-year graduation rates (for non-humanities programs and humanities programs, respectively), time to degree, job placement within academia, percentage of first-year students with full financial support, and whether a program collects data about the employment outcomes of its graduates. The relative importance of these variables was determined by the direct assessments of some 50 faculty in each field. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
Placement Rate (Jobs at Grad)
This variable shows the percentage of students with definite plans at graduation (either a job or a postdoctoral position), based on data from the student questionnaire. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (Source: SED, 2000–2004)
Diversity in the academic environment (Diversity)
This variable shows a composite measure of diversity generated by the National Research Council. It includes data on percent of faculty and students from underrepresented minorities, percent of female faculty and students, and percent of international faculty and students. The relative importance of these variables was determined by the direct assessments of some 50 faculty in each field. Your weight = 1. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
Total students (Students)
This variable shows the total number of doctoral students enrolled in the program in fall 2005 as reported in the program questionnaire. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
Total Faculty (Faculty)
This variable reports the total number of faculty participating in the program. Your weight = 2. Larger values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)
Grad Student / Faculty Ratio (Student / Faculty)
This variable shows the number of graduate students per faculty member in the program. Your weight = -1. Smaller values are better. (Source: NRC, 2010)

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 periodic assessments of doctoral programs in the United States. Our data comes from the most recent assessment in 2010.   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
* Value is missing. The value shown is based on the average for other programs in the same field. Learn more.

The graduate school rankings on PhDs.org have been made possible by grants from The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
The National Postdoctoral Association and The Center for Science and the Media have served as the project's fiscal sponsors.