Brandeis Doctoral Programs Go to Head of Class in National Survey

The university’s graduate research programs in the sciences, history and literature are among the finest in the United States, according to an extensive, in-depth evaluation conducted by the National Research Council (NRC) and released last fall.

Neuroscience, American history, biochemistry and English and American literature all were rated among the top programs in their fields. Mathematics and music were also rated highly. The full NRC report took into account data from more than 5,000 programs in 62 fields at 212 universities nationwide and evaluated them on factors that included the publication record of program faculty, the diversity of faculty and students, the performance of students and the resources students are given.

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said that the impressive results “validate the strength of our commitment to scholarship and to graduate education. Across the humanities, social sciences, sciences and arts, we are offering Ph.D. programs that compare favorably with those of many larger universities.”

Although the top three programs were not ranked in order, Brandeis’ neuroscience Ph.D. program was listed in the company of MIT’s, Harvard’s and Stanford’s. In American history, the university’s doctoral program was celebrated alongside those of Yale, Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley, with high marks for faculty research intensity, student diversity, student support and student professional success.

The NRC functions under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. All are part of a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology and health policy advice under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.