I have heard it claimed that UNC may have a better Chemistry department than Duke. What does this claim mean? Is it true? Would a better department necessarily be better for an undergraduate student?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: The infamous U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate programs most recently did rank the UNC Chemistry program higher than Duke’s (tied for 14 versus tied for 43). UNC also ranked 1 in analytic chemistry and 9 in inorganic chemistry. The magazine’s rankings are based on surveys of academics as well as empirical data gathered from universities: peer assessment, student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate proformance, and alumni giving rate. You can find the latest report at the library’s reference desk, and teaser information at their website: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/rankguide/rghome.htm
It must be that the bigger program at UNC just has more alumni to give! And perhaps there’s been a kickback from the makers of the Junior Chemistry sets that they use in their labs.
Even if you put any faith in these rankings, what I quote above relates specifically to grad programs. And obviously it doesn’t look at individual professors’ specialties and specific resources that might be important for study in particular subfields (perhaps there’s a bias towards large departments). The Wikipedia article on “College and university rankings” hints at flaws and subjectivity in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
As you suspect, undergraduate education necessarily needs to be more broad, and in the Report’s overall ranking Duke is 5th nationally versus Carolina’s #27 (tied with Wake Forest).
Finally, regarding Duke’s high rankings, overall and in several other areas, Duke Provost Peter Lange says, “Even as we welcome this news, however, we remind high school students and their families to recognize the limitations of these surveys. No ranking can fully capture the life of a university, and students should look beyond the numbers to evaluate carefully which institutions will provide the best fit for their own interests.”