If you’re looking at doctorate programs, one of your research tools should be the ranking by the National Research Council, or NRC. College lists list the rankings provided by the NRC are great tools for students to learn more about the schools they are considering, though it is important to remember that these rankings provide just one piece of the puzzle. Your final decision should be based on more than just one organization’s list of the top programs.

Who is the NRC?

The NRC is one of the four organizations that make up the United States National Academies. It was first organized in 1916 to help encourage the development of technologies used to fight World War I. Today, the organization is not involved in the military and is instead run jointly by the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine.

Why should you trust the NRC?

Many consider the NRC rankings to be the best rankings of doctorate programs available. Data collection for this report is extensive, and the last report was released in 1995. In 2006, the NRC began collecting data to update their rankings. There are about 200 programs participating in this ranking system for the next list release.

What is their Methodology?

Because there is some much time between the released reports, the NRC has been able to update and perfect their methodology for each list. For their current rankings, they asked a number of PhD faculty members to list the characteristics they believed to be most important in a successful doctorate program.

In order to rate each program, five questionnaires were sent out:

• Institutional (for institutional statistics and a list of their available programs)
• Program (for statistical information about each program)
• Faculty (to learn about education, work history, publications, and more about each faculty member)
• Student (to learn about the educational background, research opportunities, program practices, and future goals of each student)
• Rating (sent to select faculty members who agreed to rank other programs in their field)

Overall, all of this data is divided into three categories:

• Research Activity
• Student Support and Outcomes
• Diversity of the Academic Environment

In each category, specific data (such as publications by professors or employment of students after graduation) was weighted according to how important faculty members thought the characteristics to be in a successful program, as was studied in the initial survey by the NRC.

The NRC reports typically don’t “rank” colleges from first to last like you’ll find with traditional college lists. They instead provide an overall look at each program, along with a rating, rather than a relative rank. Others, however, have analyzed the data in the past to come up with more traditional lists of the top schools rated by the NRC.

With the current situation of our job market, employers' demands for individuals with college degrees is higher than ever. Earning a degree from an online college offers the affordability and flexibility that most brick-and-mortar campus-based colleges cannot offer. Below, we present the top onine colleges for 2010.

Top 10 Online Universities

	University of Phoenix — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate. Founded in 1976 as a upstart college, today the University of Phoenix is the largest private university in North America with students at over 200 campus locations and online learners studying dozens of programs all over the world.
	Ashford University — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's. The mission of Asford University is to foster a sense of accessible, flexible, and innovative learning in its student body. Ashford offers accelerated external degree program for adult learners in numerous subjects, including social sciences, criminal justice, technology, business, healthcare, and more.
	Boston University — Degree Levels: Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate. Founded in 1839, Boston University is one of the oldest universities in the nation to offer online degree programs. With two main campuses in the city of Boston, dozens of study abroad programs around the world, and an online program available globally, Boston University's presence is second to none.
	Liberty University — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's. Founded in 1971 by Rev. Jerry Falwell, Liberty University is the largest evangelical Christian university in the nation with an enrollment of over 20,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students.
	Walden University — Degree Levels: Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate. Walden University has designed all of its online coursework for busy adult professionals who demand affordability and flexibility from their schooling. With degrees offered in several subjects, including healthcare, criminal justice, and business, Walden is sure to be a good fit for most students.
	DeVry University — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's. With approximately 100 campus locations across North America, DeVry University is one of the more well-known names in the online education industry. Originally founded in 1931, today DeVry offers most of its degree programs online. Subjects of study include business, science, IT, liberal arts, and more.
	Capella University — Degree Levels: Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate. "Knowledge means solving problems no one else can" is the official motto of Capella University. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Capella offers over 1,000 online courses in subject such as legal studies, criminal justice, business, IT, healthcare, education, and more.
	Kaplan University — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's. The online degree programs offered at Kaplan University are tailored to each student, customized for flexibilty so that students are able to study on their schedule. Kaplan offers more than 100 degrees in subjects ranging from business to criminal justice to nursing and more.
	Strayer University — Degree Levels: Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's. Founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College, today Strayer University boast an enrollment of over 50,000 students across the United States. Degrees are offered in business, computer technology, education, health administration, criminal justice, and more.
	Grand Canyon University — Degree Levels: Bachelor's and Master's. Frequently cited as one of the top online colleges in the United States, Grand Canyon University was originally founded as Grand Canyon College in 1949. Today, GCU offers dozens of degrees online in subjects such as nursing, healthcare, business, and more.
	Argosy University — Degree Levels: Bachelor's, Master's, and PhDs. Headquartered in Chicago, IL and with over a dozen campus locations nationwide, Argosy University provides accredited online degree programs for busy professionals in subjects including psychology, healthcare, business, and more.
	Westwood College — Degree Levels: Associate's and Bachelor's. Originally established in 1953, Westwood College is composed of 17 campus locations in six states and an online program offered through their Denver North campus. Programs of study offered online include business, criminal justice, fashion merchandising, healthcare, and more.
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