About US News physics subject ranking: What is the difference between USA domestic ranking and global ranking?
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:42 pm
Hey guys, I was going through the physics subject rankings on US News and something peculiar caught me. It seems that sometimes the USA domestic ranking doesn't match up with the global ranking. Here are some examples:
Domestically, Brown is ranked at #29, and globally ranked at #95;
Domestically, U of Tennessee, Knoxville is ranked at #65, and globally ranked at #94 (on par with Brown)
Domestically, Georgia Tech is ranked at #29 (on par with Brown), and globally ranked at #180
Domestically, Purdue U is ranked at #44, and globally ranked at #59
Domestically, UC-Santa Cruz is ranked at #39 (on par with Purdue), and globally ranked at #146
Domestically, New York U is ranked at #36 (on par with Purdue), and globally ranked at #137
Domestically, UMass-Amherst is ranked at #50 (after NYU), and globally ranked at #117 (above NYU)
All of the rankings mentioned above are Physics Subject rankings. I know that ranking cannot represent everything and should be treated more as a suggestion. A good professor and a productive lab is a billion times more important than rankings. However, some of the ranking difference between domestic university and global university seem quite extreme.
Since students still widely consult rankings in grad school selection, can someone please explain why such (extreme) difference exist? Is this the result of different ranking methodology? (For example, not everywhere in the world use GRE in application.) And everybody please feel free to share your thoughts on rankings and a successful Physics PhD career.
USA domestic Physics ranking:
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sc ... s-rankings
Global Physics ranking:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-g ... es/physics
Domestically, Brown is ranked at #29, and globally ranked at #95;
Domestically, U of Tennessee, Knoxville is ranked at #65, and globally ranked at #94 (on par with Brown)
Domestically, Georgia Tech is ranked at #29 (on par with Brown), and globally ranked at #180
Domestically, Purdue U is ranked at #44, and globally ranked at #59
Domestically, UC-Santa Cruz is ranked at #39 (on par with Purdue), and globally ranked at #146
Domestically, New York U is ranked at #36 (on par with Purdue), and globally ranked at #137
Domestically, UMass-Amherst is ranked at #50 (after NYU), and globally ranked at #117 (above NYU)
All of the rankings mentioned above are Physics Subject rankings. I know that ranking cannot represent everything and should be treated more as a suggestion. A good professor and a productive lab is a billion times more important than rankings. However, some of the ranking difference between domestic university and global university seem quite extreme.
Since students still widely consult rankings in grad school selection, can someone please explain why such (extreme) difference exist? Is this the result of different ranking methodology? (For example, not everywhere in the world use GRE in application.) And everybody please feel free to share your thoughts on rankings and a successful Physics PhD career.
USA domestic Physics ranking:
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sc ... s-rankings
Global Physics ranking:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-g ... es/physics