Popular American universities prove their reputation by ranking high in the graduate divisions of humanities and literature. Humanities and literature programs from three Ivy league schools have made it to the top five. Berkeley tops the humanities list in 2008, while Harvard comes in second. However, in the general English department, Harvard is on top while Berkeley is second. The three other universities in the top five have also reshuffled their rankings. So, the following list is in no particular order:
Harvard University
Harvard offers unique humanities programs, including a specific take on the Classics. The humanities sector also provides focus on several cultures, not only providing degrees on European literature, but also providing studies in East Asian, Near Eastern, Tibetan and Himalayan culture and literature. You can also take up a modern area by pursuing a degree in film studies instead, or you can also explore prose and poetry by taking a graduate degree in comparative literature.
University of California – Berkeley
Berkeley’s humanities graduate degrees include broad ones, such as Art degrees. It also offers the Classics, somewhat similar to what Harvard offers. UC-Berkeley offers a wide range of degrees in terms of modernity. For example, notice the contrast of a History of Art degree and an Urban Design degree. The university also offers several language programs, including Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Slavic languages.
Stanford University
Proud of its achievements in world rankings of academic programs, Stanford continues to provide quality graduate education. The departments of core humanities, fine arts, and languages and literature are included in the school of humanities and science. Stanford’s humanities departments include Drama, English, History, and Divisions of Literatures, Cultures and Languages.
Yale University
Yale’s graduate students have an opportunity to participate in the institution’s non-degree programs as well. The university’s humanities and literature degrees include in-depth studies of cultures, such as in African Studies and East Asian studies. It also combines language and literature studies, as is evident in degrees such as Italian Language and Literature, or Slavic Languages and Literature.
Princeton University
Princeton aims to provide its students ample knowledge at a short period of time. So that focus and attention can be given for each student, classes have a limited number of students. Though its humanities and literature graduate programs do not include theology, its graduate programs include near eastern studies.
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The best social sciences programs in the United States are offered by top-ranked universities. These universities include some that belong to the Ivy League, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The top five universities per specific social sciences vary, but some are fairly consistent with all their programs. These universities are the ones that made the list of universities offering the five best social sciences programs.
University of California – Berkeley
UC-Berkeley’s social sciences programs have proven themselves to be competitive. The university is able to reach the top five for each program, creating for itself a strong overall social sciences department. Even the institution’s other graduate programs have consistently made it to the top ten of best lists. It prides itself for its community of culturally diverse students.
Yale University
Yale offers doctoral degrees for its social sciences programs. The graduate division of this Ivy League school provides more-than-adequate information to its prospective students regarding its graduate academic programs, the faculty, and specializations. This is to show these interested individuals about what life is really like when pursuing higher education, especially at Yale.
Stanford University
Stanford University has six social sciences departments. These are anthropology, communication, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. The social sciences department belongs to the largest Stanford school, the school of Humanities and Sciences. This school includes both social and natural sciences. Stanford University has one of the best social sciences graduate programs in the country. Its faculty members come up with significant research in various academic journals.
Harvard University
Harvard’s social sciences department belongs to a large school, the School of Arts and Sciences. Like Stanford, the school includes humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Harvard offers non-degree status to graduate students. This includes the Visiting Fellow status for students who only need to finish their dissertation at Harvard because they have finished their course work at other universities.
Princeton University
Princeton offers a great environment for graduate studies, plus it promotes a healthy professor-student relationship for better learning. The Ivy League school also provides financial support for deserving students who cannot afford the tuition. Princeton offers interdepartmental and joint degrees for students who have many interests.
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In the United States’ 2008 rankings, there are five universities with over-all excellent performances, which are hailed as having the best offerings of engineering and sciences graduate programs. So, for those who want to pursue a graduate degree in engineering or in any other related sciences, the following universities may be just for you.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT has consistently proven itself as an institution that offers one of the best engineering courses. It has also been known to offer other competitive degrees in the sciences. There are many specialized degrees in the sciences that one can take up from this institution, and its students are mentored by top scientists and engineers in the world today. If you want a university with a proven track record in engineering, a budding sciences department, and over a century of experience, MIT is for you.
Stanford University
Stanford University offers one of the best Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering programs in the country. Its 2006-2007 enrollment showed a very strong graduate school enrollment; the number of graduate students exceeded the number of undergraduates. Its graduate academic programs are known as one of the most competitive in the world today.
University of California – Berkeley
UC Berkeley places a strong emphasis on innovation, and prides itself with its internationally recognized faculty. Early UC Berkeley alumni provided the microelectronics to Silicon Valley and was part of the structuring of Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. It boasts of seven topnotch engineering departments.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech’s 2007 enrollment saw 3,559 graduate students into its engineering department. Its students are not only highly competent, they are also active in Greek organizations and sports conferences. So, you can be rest assured that there is room for holistic development.
University of Illinois (Urbana – Champaign)
In 2007, the University of Illinois’ engineering graduate program ranked fifth in the nation. Among its individual engineering and science programs, the program Physics with a focus on Condensed Matter ranked the highest at number one. The University of Illinois’ civil engineering graduate degree is also a top ranker. There is no program ranked below 20. Its lowest ranked degree, Industrial/Manufacturing, is at number 16.
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Rankings of business schools and graduate school programs can be quite controversial and trifling. To date, there is no single authoritative body that ranks graduate school programs in the US. Different organizations and institutions employ different methodologies in gathering and analyzing their data, which consequently yield varying results. The methodologies used are often based on certain criteria, like tuition amount or fees and number of enrollees.
Another factor that makes ranking compilations problematic is that the ranking results published by magazines and organizations are often disaggregated into different fields of study. The university that offers the best computer and engineering graduate school programs may rank quite low in their business and medical programs. So to make things easier, here is a compilation that lists five oft-cited top graduate school programs in the US (in no particular order) according to different academic disciplines.
Top five graduate school programs: Computer and Engineering
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. University of California – Berkeley
3. Schulich School of Engineering of Stanford University
4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC or U of I)
5. California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Top five graduate school programs: Business and Administration
1. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
3. Harvard University – Harvard Business School (HBS)
4. Kellogg School of Management – Northwestern University
5. Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Top five graduate school programs: Law
1. Yale University Law School
2. Harvard University Law School
3. New York University School of Law
4. Stanford University Law School
5. Columbia University Law School
Top five graduate school programs: Medicine
1. Harvard University Medical School
2. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
3. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
4. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
5. University of California – San Francisco School of Medicine
The medical school rankings results published by US News and World Report were arrived at by combining two criteria; the research and primary care facilities and programs of medical schools. As for business school rankings, results are often disaggregated into varying types of MBA programs: full-time, executive, dual, part-time, online, etc.
As you will see on the lists above, Harvard University and Stanford University are among the top universities that offer prestigious programs in various fields. Their excellence in diverse disciplines is one of the reasons why they remain as two of the most exclusive Ivy League schools in the US. Harvard and Stanford are known for their highly selective admission procedures and criteria, and have alumni rosters that boast of Nobel Prize winners, politicians, CEOs, Pulitzer Prize winners, and personalities who are recognized in their respective industries.
Whether you will be applying for graduate studies in law school, medical school, MBA, engineering or other programs, you need to write a graduate admission essay. If your records in college are not that outstanding, coming up with a well-written graduate admission essay can help you get into the graduate school of your choice.
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