August 17, 2007
Duke University remains in the eighth position in the latest annual ranking from U.S. News & World Report magazine of national universities that offer doctoral degrees.
U.S. News also singled out Duke in four of eight categories of "programs to look for," which it called "outstanding examples of academic programs that are commonly linked to student success." Duke was cited in the service learning category and in three others for which it was recognized last year: senior capstone, writing in the disciplines and undergraduate research and creative projects.
The recognition for service learning follows the February launch of DukeEngage, a major new program that will provide funding for any Duke undergraduate who wants to pursue an immersive service experience that contributes to the public good.
Also unchanged is Dukes No. 10 ranking in a category called "great schools, great prices," for which the magazine compares a school's academic quality with the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid. "The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal," the magazine said.
Duke's biomedical/biomedical engineering programs again ranked second, and its undergraduate engineering program tied again at No. 25 among doctoral universities.
Duke also appears again in an "economic diversity" analysis of national universities, this one showing that 9 percent of Duke undergraduates received federal Pell grants for low-income students.
"We're gratified that the quality of our faculty and students has been recognized once again, said Provost Peter Lange, the university's top academic official. "I'm especially pleased that Duke was recognized this year in the 'service-learning' category, reflecting the priority we have given to expanding such opportunities for students and to putting knowledge in the service of society more broadly.
"As always, we acknowledge the limitations of these and other rankings and urge anyone considering applying to college to use the rankings as only one, and certainly not the most informative and important, of many possible sources of information."