Customer Reviews

The Gourman Report: A Rating of Undergaduate Programs in American and International Universities

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The idea of a guide that ranks undergraduate programs by area of study seems compelling at first. However, Jack Gourman's book falls far short. He fails to provide an explanation of rationale and methodology. Perhaps the greatest disservice Gourman does to the reader is a very strong bias in favor of big state schools. Smaller (but very distinguished) liberal arts schools almost never make a showing, even in programs where they have an established reputation. Schools like Williams College, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, Amherst College, and the College of William and Mary, all of which emphasize teaching over faculty research, have astonishingly poor ratings in Gourman's rating of overall academic quality, while some mediocre public schools, such as the University of Missouri campus in my hometown of St. Louis, get a thumbs-up.

The Gourman report is a very good source for the evaluation of undergraduate programs across the country. There is an obvious bias of Professor Gourman that forces him to favor large state institutions instead of smaller liberal arts schools. When he ranks the top 100 schools, he gives Harvard and Princeton the number 1 and 2, at number 3 he lists the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. Swarthmore College weighs in at 97. A lot of people would disagree with this ranking, but Gourman makes a point I agree with. Gourman argues that the larger state schools (especially schools that draw from all over the country and not just their home state such as Michigan, Wisconsin, California-Berkeley, and Virginia) are the best schools to receive a degree from. I agree with him because the strength of programs he evauluates are obviously better at the larger schools than such schools as Williams, Swarthmore and Amherst. While you may disagree with his rankings, it is hard to argue with the depth of support and statistics he deals with. It is also impossible to argue with his ranking of the U of M. Go Blue!