A Few Notes Regarding

U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" Rankings:

On an annual basis, the news magazine U.S. News and World Report ("U.S. News") issues a series of rankings of U.S. colleges, evaluating both undergraduate institutions and graduate schools overall, as well as certain specific academic programs, including computer science. Based on those evaluations, U.S. News issues a variety of lists of the "best" colleges/programs - that is, those colleges/programs that score highest. Basic information concerning the rankings of computer science programs (which focused just on doctoral programs in computer science) is given below - more detailed information can be obtained at the U.S. News website at www.usnews.com/usnews/rankguide/rghome.htm. Please note that while the rankings can be used as a tool to help you select and compare schools, it should not be used (and is not intended to be used) as the sole criteria in selecting a college/graduate program.

Computer Science Doctoral Program Rankings - Overall Program Rankings:

The U.S. News ranking of computer science doctoral programs is based solely on the judgments of program administrators surveyed (deans and department heads or directors of graduate studies), who rated each program they are familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). Those schools with an overall average assessment score of 2.5 or higher were subsequently included by U.S. News in their final ranking list. The specific computer science programs surveyed were based on the National Science Foundation report, "Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 1999."

For the 2002 rankings (the last year computer science programs were ranked), 57 percent of those surveyed returned ratings. A total of 70 schools ended up being ranked (i.e., 70 of the schools considered received an average assessment score was 2.5 or above).

Computer Science Doctoral Program Rankings - Specialty Rankings:

In surveying program administrators regarding computer science doctoral programs as a whole, respondents were also asked to nominate the best programs in identified specialty areas; those specialty programs receiving the most mentions were subsequently listed as top-ranked.

For the 2002 rankings (the last year computer science programs were ranked), the following 3 specialty areas were considered:

Artificial Intelligence, where a total of 15 schools were listed as top-ranked.

Systems, where a total of 20 schools were listed as top-ranked.

Theory, where a total of 18 schools were listed as top-ranked.