Program Rankings, how important are they for graduate school?

While waiting in line at a local pharmacy the other day, I picked up the latest U.S. News and World Report.  Thumbing through the pages, I turned to the rankings for my discipline and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my program had jumped up a notch in the rankings.  While the U.S. News and World Report rankings provided me with a nice starting point when looking for graduate schools, the only person who really cares that my program jumped one slot in the rankings is probably my mother.  That said, where your graduate program ranks for U.S. News and World Report and the United States National Research Council will likely have a legitimate impact on your career. 

When starting my graduate school search, the National Research Council rankings (which come out every decade) were a bit outdated.  That said, they provided a nice starting point, listing the top twenty-five programs in my field.  I then turned to U.S. News and World Report, which also ranks graduate programs (make sure to check when they were last rated, as many fields are not reassessed every year).  In that publication, my field had been ranked the previous year and the magazine broke down some detailed rankings by sub-field in my discipline.  As I've later learned, the rankings were far from perfect. Any ranking system which heavily weighs peer-perception of other programs can move slowly. Harvard may have been a great program in your field twenty years ago, and it may be that older faculty asked to rate other programs haven't noticed major changes in the department.  Upstart programs bringing in exciting young faculty and graduate students may be forced to wait several years before their position is accurately reflected in the rankings.  

While program rankings may be slow to catch up to reality - perception of how strong your program is matters in terms of winning extramural funding and applying for jobs once you've completed the program.  Brand names of elite institutions may not matter as much as they do for undergraduate programs, but they do matter when a job search committee is trying to justify a hire to a dean.  Graduates of Harvard may have an advantage here, even if the strongest faculty in your field are at Michigan State.  Deep in the recesses of my soul, I hate this sort of elitism, but it is to your benefit to recognize that it exists across many fields before choosing a graduate program.   

In sum, perception matters in terms of program ranking, but it isn't the end-all-be-all for graduate education.   Ask the graduate programs to which you are admitted for information about placement rates.  Where are people getting jobs?  Are people languishing for years on the job market before leaving the profession or the academy?  Or are they getting nice jobs right away?  Rankings can help you choose where to apply and help you choose where to attend graduate school, but remember they are but one of many factors in choosing a graduate program.  

"The Path of Least Resistance"

So here is the thing - when it comes to many of the problems you face in graduate school, the answer is often to take the path of least resistance.  

Choosing an advisor?  Well, figure out who wants to work with you.  Professor Bigshot may have a lot of connections, but if he isn't willing to take the time to read your chapters or get your letters of recommendation in on time, he won't be a whole lot of good to you.

Selecting what courses to take?  You can find numerous ways to challenge yourself in graduate school while maintaining some flexibility.  Join a journal reading group.  Join a workshop.  Go to talks in or out of your field.  You don't necessarily need to enroll in astrophysics 101 because it sounds interesting.  When the semester gets tough at the end of the term, you'll wish you had some flexible time in your schedule to give to your top priority. 

There are numerous ways in which a graduate student can apply this adage.  When you enter graduate school, the tendency is often to treat the workload much like you did when you were an undergrad.  Spend a couple of weeks/months feeling out the coursework before joining the Juggling Club.  If Professor Bigshot is a jerk to you now, he will probably be a jerk even after you've asked him to be your dissertation advisor.  Take the path of least resistance instead, surround yourself with supportive faculty and don't opt to take on anything you can't handle.