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Graduate Studies

Making Your Mark:
A Message from the Dean

The University of Rochester occupies a particular niche in the academic world—a high quality research university modest in size relative to many of its peers among the best private institutions. Because class sizes tend to be smaller at Rochester than at comparable schools, students doing graduate work here typically are able to interact with faculty on a more informal basis while at the same time having available the finest research facilities.

In 2006 we awarded our 8,000th Ph.D. degree, a number that might seem high but is a fair amount lower than the totals for most other schools in our peer group. Moreover, while the first degree was awarded in 1925, the great majority of Rochester graduate students have completed their work much more recently. In fact, more than half of our Ph.D. degrees have been awarded in the last fifteen years. Yet Rochester alumni have had a significant impact inside of academia and without.

There are, of course, many indicators of the quality of graduate programs. Most schools can point out graduates who have had impressive professional success and Rochester has many who fall into this category. Several others are identified elsewhere, but the following list gives some indication of the rich variety of positions our alumni now hold. They include senior vice president and director of research at IBM (a graduate of the physics department), president of the NCAA and former president of Indiana University (philosophy), senior vice president for advanced technology and research at Microsoft (computer science), curator of contemporary art at the St. Louis Museum of Art (visual and cultural studies), director of the Office of Testing and Research at the FDA (toxicology), Edgar Award-winning mystery novelist (English), and senior scientist at the Carnegie Institute (geological sciences).

Perhaps the most valid measure of the impact of doctoral education, however, is the academic work of program graduates. There is no greater compliment that can be paid a department than having a prestigious university ask its graduates to join their faculty. Here, Rochester has made a mark far beyond what would be expected from a graduate school's alumni given their ages and number. The National Research Council has ranked departments offering doctoral degrees by the quality of their faculty and the effectiveness of their program. Professors holding the Rochester Ph.D. degree are in faculty positions in all of the top 25 research universities (identified in an article published in the May-June, 1996 issue of Change).

In fact there are well over 400 Rochester Ph.D.s in teaching positions at highly ranked universities, many of whom hold named chairs (at Harvard, Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford, Chicago, Yale, and UC-Berkeley among many others). Over 30 Rochester doctoral programs are represented in this group, providing a good sense of the breadth of impact our doctoral students have had in academe.

As you think about applying to graduate programs, we hope you will consider Rochester as a place where you can prepare to make your own mark.

Bruce Jacobs
Vice Provost and University Dean of Graduate Studies

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