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IU doctoral program in health education ranked first in nation in scholarly review
Nov. 18, 1999
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University doctoral program in health education has been ranked first in the nation in a study presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Chicago.
The study of doctoral programs in health education was prepared by Stephen Notaro and Thomas O'Rourke at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and James Eddy of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. This is the first study to utilize actual data, involving eight major variables dealing with faculty productivity and the scholarly activities of doctoral students, rather than perceptions.
The Indiana program is part of the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER).
Tony Mobley, dean of HPER, said, "We are extremely delighted that our doctoral program in health education has been ranked as the top program in the nation. There are many excellent programs at first-rate institutions throughout the country. To have our program ranked first is a great tribute to our faculty, graduates and students."
Placing second in the rankings was the University of Texas at Houston, with the University of North Carolina, University of Illinois-Chicago and University of South Carolina following.
Mohammad Torabi, chair of the Department of Applied Health Science, termed the ranking "a major success for the Department of Applied Health Science due to the fact that we have competed against well-established schools of public health like the University of North Carolina, University of Michigan and University of Illinois-Chicago. I am extremely pleased with the results of the study. As we enter the next century, our challenge is to maintain a high-quality doctoral program. This will help us to continue to recruit top students to our program."
James Crowe, who stepped down as department chair on June 30, said, "I am very pleased with this news. It has been the goal of the administration and faculty to maintain what we have always thought to be a top program in the nation. The results of this study provided data to suggest that we have been successful in that endeavor."
The programs were ranked on the basis of four areas of faculty productivity and four areas of scholarly activity of doctoral students.
The eight measured variables included articles published, citations received, journal editorships, external research funding, scholarly student activity, student/faculty ratio, faculty mentoring and placement, and student support for teaching and research.
In the ranking variables, IU placed first in editorships, third in student activity, fourth in student support, and fourth in citations. The IU program was the only one of the top 20 programs in the study to receive a top 10 ranking for all eight measured variables. The information was gathered for the period 1993-97.
In completing the survey, the researchers contacted 44 health education doctoral programs and received responses from 28.
The project's abstract stated, "The methodology in this research is unique to ranking studies by using a multiple set of variables weighted by scholars and leaders in the field of health education." Reputation, a common measure used in rankings, was not included in this project because it is highly subjective, according to the report.
The health education program has been part of HPER since the school was formed in 1946 as the first school of health, physical education and recreation in the United States. The school offers 15 degree programs in 40 different areas of study through three departments: applied health science, kinesiology, and recreation and park administration. Enrollment totals for the school include 1,063 undergraduates and 233 graduate students.
(Richard Doty, 812-855-0084, rgdoty@indiana.edu)