USNews Rankings - PhD: FSU vs UF vs USF vs UM

Colleges & Universities Florida State University
21

<p>Taxol is but one accomplishment cited as an example. When strong personalities and large amounts of money are involved, clashes occur. T.K. Wetherell is right when he stated publicly that no one person has the right to direct the affairs a state university.</p>

<p>I think I’ve already illustrated that the US News rankings are imperfect.</p>

<p>Regardless, the CC has a special section for passionate UF defense. Feel free to post your arguments wherein you’re more likely to feed your audience.</p>

22

<p>You guys should all be working for your corresponding schools!!!</p>

23

<p>Thank you both, but this is not going anywhere.
It depends on the candidates as well. Both Universities are both a good place to start education. They each have good professors, and everything. Disparaging an institution or advocating another will not make any school superior.</p>

24

<p>Still an interesting string.</p>

25

<p>From an outside POV… of someone who lives in Florida.
FSU is nothing sompared to UF.
People who dont get accepted to UF go to FSU… but I have yet to hear of someone who got accepted to UF and is going or went to FSU. Even people who are FSU fans go to UF if they get accepted because they know its better.</p>

26

<p>Actually, I know of students that had a choice of either school and determined that FSU provided substantial scholarship money which UF did not provide above and beyond the FAS. Also, the beauty and atmosphere of the campus and Tally area sold them. As already has been stated, there are some programs like the prestigious FSU Film School that are just not available at UF.</p>

27

<p>For anac - I have two children, one of which applied to UFL and was accepted but selected Florida State, and another in the top 4% of her high school class who would have been acccepted at UFL but did not bother to apply.</p>

<p>There are at least two students who don’t fit your assertion. I know of more.</p>

28

<p>as someone who holds no ill will against FSU, I would like to point out that the overwhelming public opinon is that UF is the better university, with the exception of the arts program at FSU. Of the top people in my high school class, the top 10-15 students are all going to UF, with only a couple of exceptions, one of which being for UCF and the other for northwestern. Talk to most anyone from the street and UF is percieved as the better school, no matter what rankings say, and I think everyone has to concede this point. Perception is a self propogating cycle though, if to potential employers and graduate schools UF is the better school, that’s where you want to go for better opportunities, besides the fact taht everyone wants recognition among their peers which is better at UF than at FSU. Reguardless of the actual strength of the programs, it is hard to argue that that perception is not there.</p>

29

<p>I’m sure those of us who are Seminoles appreciate the kind words you offer. </p>

<p>However, make no mistake about it - UF has some great programs and right now they have the more qualified freshmen coming in - but UF is not ‘better’ except in it’s areas of emphasis than Florida State. The sheer arrogance included in such a statement or the propagation of such a perception baffles me if it comes from allegedly intelligent and educated people.</p>

<p>That is marketing nonsense and any serious student would do well to select a university based on their personal goals, not abstract and inaccurate ratings or a feeling of superiority. Such nonsense appeals to the worst apects of personality in terms of attempts at some kind of compensation for weakness.</p>

30

<p>good for another read</p>

31

<p>LOL. Erin Andrews is a UF alum. From someone without a dawg or gator or seminole in this fight, case closed, guys!</p>

32

<p>For one thing, Erin Andrews wouldn’t be in the Top 25% of women on the FSU campus. Please check out 2005 Playboy Playmate of the Year and FSU alum Tiffany Fallon. Or check out TV Host Courtney Hansen. Or Traylor Howard. Or Gabrielle Reece. Or 1997 Miss America Tara Dawn Holland Christenson. Or Jenn Sterger. I could go on and on, but I’ll digress…</p>

<p>As for the FSU/UF debate, Parent2Noles seems to have a nice handle on the situation. Both are great schools that are becoming exceedingly difficult to gain admittance. FSU has several disciplines that are ranked higher than UF’s, and others that are similarly ranked. And vice versa. UF has a much more seasoned medical school, and that’s not up for debate. FSU’s law school (#53) is gaining ground swiftly on UF’s (#41), and is considered one of the most diverse in the country. UF has a superior engineering school.</p>

<p>FSU has a Top 25 public business school and was ranked 4th in Black Issues’ Top 100 for its success in awarding the doctorate in business to African Americans. In the Academy of Management Journal, the Management Information Systems was ranked 15th and is the highest ranked MIS program in the State of Florida. It has a Top 15 real estate program (one of the 3 largest in the country) and a Top 25 accounting department. The Risk Management program is very highly ranked as well, ranked #6 nationally, and is the 4th largest in the country. The Entrepreneurship program is Top 50.</p>

<p>The Creative Writing program is Top 5, if not #1. Theatre is Top 10. The Music Department has consistently been ranked in the Top 10.</p>

<p>The School Library Media program ranked 2nd and the Services for Children and Youth specialization program tied for 2nd. The college also has the largest online MLS program in the nation. </p>

<p>Some other notable programs include Criminology (Ph.D. program ranked 11th), Library Science (graduate program ranked 12th), Public Affairs (Masters program ranked 26th), Political Science (Ph.D. program ranked 37th), Physics (Ph.D. program ranked 38th), Sociology (Ph.D. program ranked 42nd), and Clinical Psychology (Ph.D. program ranked 44th). </p>

<p>Other top-notch programs include Chemistry (Ph.D. program ranked 51st), Applied Mathematics (Ph.D. program ranked 54th), Fine Arts (M.F.A. ranked 61st), Mathematics (Ph.D. program ranked 73rd), English (P.D. program ranked 79th), Biological Sciences (Ph.D. program ranked 87th), Psychology (Ph.D. program ranked 99th), and Education (Ph.D. program ranked 53rd).</p>

<p>FSU also has very highly ranked programs in Hospitality, Film, Meteorology, Oceanography, Statistics, Ecology and Evolutionary Sociology, and Information.</p>

<p>FSU’s Computer Science program is the only Florida school that is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAE) by the National Security Agency. </p>

<p>The faculty current includes two Nobel Laureates, and has previously had 4 others. There are also two Pulitzer Prize winners on staff.</p>

<p>Clearly, FSU has a lot to offer in many, many different disciplines and departments, as does UF. Every student is different. To say one school or the other is clearly “better” is very, very subjective.</p>

33

<p>“I believe the UF administration also claims the title ‘Harvard of the South’. This is equally false, and pretentious. If any southern school has a claim to such a title it is the University of Virginia.”</p>

<p>Not to get in the middle of this because I think it’s petty…
But UF takes the most National Merit Scholars in the nation, second only to Harvard. I think that’s where they get off saying they are the “Harvard of the South.”</p>

<p>And for what it’s worth, I’ve taken classes at a well-funded Ivy League institution, and the facilities, instruction, and professors were verifiably WORSE than those I’ve encountered at my state school. The biology and American History texts used at the Ivy school was the same ones I used in high school. In my opinion, if the text is the same, it would take a damn good professor to put a new spin on American History and make my 40,000+ tuition worthwhile…</p>

34

<p>Speaking of UF’s merit scholar program, expect their numver to drop significantly:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/12/State/UF_to_slash_merit_sch.shtml[/url]”>http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/12/State/UF_to_slash_merit_sch.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I give them kudos for this brilliant PR move. They recruited a ton of NMSs, get a bunch of publicity for doing so, then decide to slash the program. As Parent2Noles mentioned previously, these things are cyclical, as FSU had a NMS program in the late 1990s and were ranked first in the state and very high nationally as well.</p>

35

<p>I wouldn’t really say UF got a “ton of publicity” for their NMS program (although that’s relative to the way you want to perceive it, so be that is it may), but the way it is now, these National Merit kids are essentially being PAID to go to school at UF (when combined with 100% BF and the possibility of also having Pre-Paid) which seems a little absurd. I can’t really blame the university for wanting to cut the program, as they ARE, technically, losing money on the National Merit Scholars. When there is such a strong pool of applicants to begin with, why not take those kids who don’t require scholarships from the school? </p>

<p>Granted, UF’s rankings may have gone up somewhat due to the NMS program, but from what I’ve seen, rankings don’t mean a whole lot to the majority of people on this thread anyway…</p>

36

<p>I think UF got a ton of statewide publicity from the print media on that one, which in turn helps raise the perception of their relative superiority, at minimum, to other state schools. Perception, as they say, is sometimes reality. </p>

<p>It also gave their alums plenty to crow about, which they certainly do.</p>

<p>I don’t disagree with you on the other stuff. It’s basically the same decision that FSU made in the late 1990s. The NMSs were basically just breaking the bank our administration felt the money would be better spent recruiting two slightly “inferior” students for every one NMS.</p>

37

<p>With regard to the Harvard comment, some NMS kids do not a Harvard make. </p>

<p>That’s silly. Especially in terms of being able to ‘buy’ national merit kids (the exact words of an FSU admissions officer). The NMS stat is merely a reflection of an advertising expense a university is willing to tolerate. UF is finally coming to their senses as are many other schools. Pity the NM kids coming from poverty, but that’s what scholarships are for. </p>

<p>I would suggest the ‘Harvard’ label has a lot more to do with origin, history and long-term excellence. It is not a title given to ones self out of arrogance, but earned over many years and delivered by the acclamation of peers.</p>

<p>The only school even close to that in the South is UVA, due to origin, history, performance and acclamation.</p>

38

<p>from what I read FSU gives a virtually idnetical NMF packacge as UF does, how does UF buy them but FSU doesn’t?</p>

39

<p>Every university ‘buys’ them.</p>

<p>FSU decided several years ago to give distribute monies to deserving kids based on academic performance and need, not to just recruit NM numbers to crow about. UF just recently made the decision to follow this lead.</p>

<p>See: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=213336[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=213336&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

40

<p>HERE IS THE REAL RANKINGS: excluding USF</p>

<p>Business:
FSU NR; UF 41; UM NR
Business – Accounting: FSU NR; UF 14; UM NR
Business – Finance: FSU NR; UF 24; UM NR
Business – Marketing: FSU NR; UF 14; UM NR</p>

<p>Law School:
FSU 53; UF 41; UM 65
Law - Environmental: FSU 14; UF 12 UM NR
Law - Tax: FSU NR; UF 2; UM 5
Law - International: FSU NR; UF NR; UM 19</p>

<p>Medicine:
FSU NR; UF 50; UM NR
Medicine - Primary: FSU NR; UF 52; UM NR
Medicine - Research: FSU NR; UF 50; UM 56
Medicine - Geriatrics: FSU NR; UF 23; UM 17
Medicine - AIDS: FSU NR; UF NR; UM 11</p>

<p>Engineering:
FSU NR; UF 26; UM NR
Engineering – Aerospace: FSU NR; UF 29; UM NR
Engineering – Chemical: FSU NR; UF 21; UM NR
Engineering – Civil: FSU NR; UF 24; UM NR
Engineering – Computer: FSU NR; UF 39; UM NR
Engineering – Environmental: FSU NR; UF 28; UM NR
Engineering – Industrial: FSU NR; UF 16; UM NR
Engineering – Materials: FSU NR; UF 6; UM NR
Engineering – Mechanical: FSU NR; UF 31; UM NR
Engineering – Nuclear: FSU NR; UF 9; UM NR</p>

<p>Education:
FSU 53; UF 35; UM 66
Education – Counseling: FSU NR; UF 2; UM NR
Education - Special: FSU NR; UF 9; UM NR
Education - Higher Ed Admin: FSU 16; UF NR; UM NR
Education - Elementary: FSU NR; UF 12; UM NR
Education - Curriculum/Intsruct: FSU NR; UF 22; UM NR</p>

<p>Sciences
Physics: FSU 45; UF 35; UM NR
Computer Science: FSU NR; UF 47; UM NR
Chemistry: FSU 45; UF 34; UM NR
Biological Sciences: FSU 90; UF 56; UM 90
Mathematics: FSU 67; UF 56; UM 94
Earth Sciences: FSU 70; UF 60; UM 43</p>

<p>Library Science
FSU 11; UF NR; UM NR</p>

<p>Social Sciences
Criminology: FSU 11; UF 11; UM NR
Economics: FSU NR; UF 44; UM NR
English: FSU 79; UF 46; UM 83
History: FSU NR; UF 46; UM 87
Political Science: FSU 37; UF 48; UM NR
Psychology: FSU 99; UF 66; UM 99
Sociology: FSU 42; UF 46; UM NR</p>

<p>Health
Audiology: FSU NR; UF 8; UM NR
Clinical Psychology: FSU 44; UF 20; UM 26
Community Health: FSU NR; UF NR; UM 24
Health Admin: FSU NR; UF 29; UM NR
Nursing: FSU 115; UF 39; UM 115
Occupational Therapy: FSU NR; UF 15; UM NR
Pharmacy: FSU NR; UF 11; UM NR
Physical Therapy: FSU NR; UF 25; UM 10
Physician Assistant: FSU NR; UF 17; UM NR
Rehab Counseling: FSU 20; UF 9; UM NR
Social Work: FSU 28; UF NR; UM NR
Speech Pathology: FSU 32; UF 17; UM NR
Veterinary Medicine: FSU NR; UF 9; UM NR</p>

<p>Public Affairs
FSU 26; UF NR; UM NR</p>

<p>Fine Arts
FSU 61; UF 74; UM 129</p>