Tufts or Case Western?

Mastadon
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:26:48 +0000

-123
You appear to be an aspiring engineer at Case, so I am curious about the data source behind your strong opinions. If one does some research into grad programs (which tend to drive a school’s reputation within a discipline) one finds the following:

“According to Thomson Reuters’ Science Watch, Tufts University School of Medicine’s research impact rates sixth among U.S medical schools for its overall medical research and within the top 5 for specialized research areas such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, urology, cholera, public health & health care science, and pediatrics.[3][4][5][6] “

If one is into data-driven international rankings, then there is the Times Higher Education rankings for clinical medicine/health. Tufts is in the top 50, CWR is not listed.

[Top 50 clinical, pre-clinical and health universities](Subject Ranking 2010-11: Clinical, Pre-clinical & Health | Times Higher Education (THE))

If one is into data-driven rankings of Phd programs, then there is an interactive engine available to produce rankings from the latest National Research Council (these are the top engineers and scientists in the country) study. This tool tends to be appealing to those with a technical bent.

If one plays with the microbiology ranking, one finds that the two schools are within statistical error of each other when you manipulate program size. If you rank factoring in women, there is a considerable difference, with Tufts ranked much higher.
[Ranking of Microbiology Graduate Schools — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/microbiology/rank/women)

If one plays with the nutrition ranking, the relative rank of the schools does not change based on size or women- and Tufts ranked slightly higher
[Ranking of Microbiology Graduate Schools — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/microbiology/rank/women)

Since you made an unbelievably broad statement about “the sciences” I figured that I would include the rank for the particular narrow branch of science that I am most familiar with – computer science (where there are lots of jobs). Here, Tufts is in the top 25 for smaller programs and #1 for women. Not sure where CWR is ranked.

[Ranking of Computer Sciences Graduate Schools — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide](http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/computer-science/rank/women)

So, in summary, the data I found is inconsistent with your unsubstantiated opinion.

My opinion is that, in the area the OP is interested in, the schools are of equal caliber, but Tufts offers a non-traditional (less cutthroat and competitive, with more women) learning environment that appeals to many people.

If you include the fact that Tufts has an undergrad major in community health (CWR does not) that includes a supervised internship (during the school year) and that Boston is the #1 life sciences cluster in the country:

[Community Health:About Community Health](About | Department of Community Health)

http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/ResearchLevel1/Global_Life%20Sciences%20Cluster%20Report_2011_gb.pdf

Add to this the fact that Boston has all the benefits of being the number one college town in the country, and I think that Tufts would be a better fit for the OP – hands down.