The Ohio State University - Academics - Rankings and Recognition

Rankings and Recognition

In 1916, Ohio State became the first university in Ohio to be extended membership into the Association of American Universities, and remains the only public university in Ohio among the organization's 60 members. The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2000) by Howard and Matthew Greene listed Ohio State as one of a select number of public universities offering the highest educational quality.

U.S. News & World Report’s widely read rankings of undergraduate colleges in America currently places Ohio State as the 18th best public university and 55th overall ranked university in America. Ohio State ranked 14th in US News' new "Up and Coming" colleges section. The list includes the top colleges in the nation "that are making improvements in academics, faculty, students, campus life, diversity, and facilities. These schools are worth watching because they are making promising and innovative changes."

Internationally, in 2011 QS World University Rankings ranked Ohio State University 111th in the world, and awarded the university with the maximum five stars for excellence. It scored 88th in Social Sciences in the international subject rankings. Four years back, China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University placed Ohio State as the 61st ranked university in the world in their 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities.

The Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance at Arizona State University detailed analysis and rankings of American universities currently places Ohio State as the 24th ranked university in America, the 10th ranked public university in the country and the top overall university in Ohio. Of their nine ranking criteria, Ohio State ranked in the top-25 in four categories and between 26–50 in an additional four categories. The Washington Monthly college rankings, which seek to evaluate colleges' contributions to American society based on factors of social mobility, cutting edge research, and service to the country by their graduates, currently place Ohio State as 12th in the nation and 10th among public universities.

Ohio State is also the only public university in Ohio to which the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has given both its highest overall classification of Doctoral/Very High Research Activity and highest undergraduate admissions classification of more selective.

US News ranks the undergraduate program at Ohio State's Fisher College of Business 12th in America and the top undergraduate business school in Ohio. The graduate program of the Fisher College is ranked 21st in America and is the top graduate school of business in Ohio. The Economist ranked The Fisher College as the 29th ranked MBA program in the world in their 2005 "Which MBA?" issue. Fisher's Executive MBA program was ranked 3rd nationally for return on investment by The Wall Street Journal in 2008 citing a 170 percent return on an average of $66,900 invested in tuition and expenses during the 18-month program. In 2006, The Public Accounting Report ranked Ohio State's accounting department 9th in the nation for undergraduate programs and 10th in the nation for graduate programs. In each case, the ranking was the highest among Ohio universities.

The Ohio State law school is ranked by US News as top of the nine law schools in Ohio and 36th overall in America. Ohio State's medical school is ranked as the top public medical school in Ohio, 31st for research, and 38th for primary care. US News ranks Ohio State's undergraduate engineering program tied for the 28th best program in America and the top undergraduate engineering program in Ohio. Its graduate program in engineering is ranked 26th in the country and highest in Ohio. Ohio State's College of Education was ranked 17th in America by US News and the highest in Ohio. The Counseling/Personnel Services graduate program at Ohio State is ranked 4th in America by the 2008 'US News & World Report'. The Department of Geography is ranked 5th in America. In total, US News & World Report ranked 19 Ohio State graduate programs or specialties among the nation's top ten, and 30 among the nation's top 25.

Ohio State's political science department is ranked 13th in the country by US News & World Report, with the American politics section fifth, international politics 12th and political methodology 10th. A study by Simon Hix of The London School of Economics ranked it as the fourth best political science department in the world, based on publications. Foreign Policy Magazine recently ranked it as the 15th best Ph.D. program in the world for the study of international relations. Professor Alexander Wendt was ranked the most influential scholar of international relations in the world in a 2011 survey of American professors of international relations. The history department was recently ranked 18th in the nation (6th among public universities) by the National Research Council.

Ohio State is one of a select few top American universities to offer multiple area studies programs under "Comprehensive National Resource Center" (often called "Title VI") funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The most notable of these is the Center for Slavic and East European Studies founded in 1965 by Professor Leon Twarog. Subsequently, Ohio State's Middle Eastern Studies Center and East Asian Studies Center also achieved Comprehensive National Resource Center status. The university is also home to the interdisciplinary Mershon Center for International Security Studies, which was founded in 1952 through a bequest of 7 million dollars (54.3 million in 2006 value) from alumnus Colonel Ralph D. Mershon. In 2003, it was decided by the United States Department of Homeland Security to base the National Academic Consortium for Homeland Security at The Mershon Center.

U.S. News & World Report ranked the graduate program in Design at #5 in the nation in their 2009 rankings. Overall, the graduate Art program ranked #21, with the ceramics and glass programs at #6. In its 2008 edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools, the journal DesignIntelligence ranked the undergraduate Industrial Design program #3 nationwide, and the graduate program in Design #10 nationwide. The DFC conducted their research by polling 270 corporations regarding how design schools were preparing their students for the future of professional practice in design. OSU was in the top ten rankings of the corporate leaders' assessments in all regions (#4 in the south, #2 in the midwest, #7 in the east, and #4 in the west). The graduate program placed at #3 in the south and #2 in the east, resulting in 10th overall in the nation.