Philosophical Gourmet Report 2006-2008
Brian Leiter's Ranking of Graduate Programs in Philosophy in the English-Speaking World
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Overall Rankings

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This year's overall rankings are based on reputational surveys completed by nearly 270 philosophers throughout the English-speaking world; over 310 philosophers participated in either the overall and specialty rankings, often both. In the overall rankings, evaluators were asked to evaluate faculty lists that did not include the university's name along the following dimension:

Please give your opinion of the attractiveness of the faculty for a prospective student, taking in to account (and weighted as you deem appropriate) the quality of philosophical work and talent on the faculty, the range of areas the faculty covers, and the availability of the faculty over the next few years.

Approximately half the evaluators received the faculties listed 1 through 99, while the other half received the faculty lists in reverse order.

Because evaluators do not have reliable access to information about the quality of graduate teaching and mentoring for most departments, this was not a component of the evaluation. As always, students are advised to talk to current students before enrolling at any program.

Evaluators scored departments on the following scale: 5-Distinguished; 4-Strong; 3-Good; 2-Adequate; 1-Marginal; 0-Inadequate for a PhD program. .5 fractions were permitted. The rank of each department is based on the “overall” mean. (We did not scale score this year, since that introduced distortions of its own, more serious, we concluded, than the limitations that attach to raw scores.) In the next two columns the department's rank in the 2004-06 and 2002-04 Report is given. The “local” mean reflects the scores given only by evaluators in that national region.

All programs with a mean score of 2.2 or higher are ranked, since based on this and past year results, we have reason to think that no program not included in the survey would have ranked ahead of these programs. Other programs evaluated this year are listed unranked afterwards; there may well have been programs not surveyed this year that would have fared as well.

Note: evaluators were not permitted to evaluate either their own department or the department from which they received their highest degree (PhD, DPhil, sometimes the BPhil).

Ranking Of Faculties In The United States

Rank School Mean Median Rank in 2004 Rank in 2002 Local Mean
1 New York University 4.8 5.0 1 1 4.8
2 Rutgers University , New Brunswick 4.7 5.0 2 1 4.7
3 Princeton University 4.4 4.5 3 1 4.4
  University of Michigan , Ann Arbor 4.4 4.5 4 4 4.4
5 University of Pittsburgh 4.3 4.5 4 5 4.3
6 Stanford University 4.1 4.0 6 6 4.1
7 Harvard University 4.0 4.0 9 8 3.9
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4.0 4.0 6 8 3.9
  University of California , Los Angeles 4.0 4.0 9 8 3.9
10 Columbia University 3.9 4.0 6 7 3.8
  University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill 3.9 4.0 12 12 3.9
12 University of California , Berkeley 3.8 4.0 12 13 3.7
13 University of Arizona 3.7 4.0 16 8 3.7
  University of Notre Dame 3.7 3.5 12 14 3.7
  University of Texas , Austin 3.7 3.5 11 14 3.6
16 Brown University 3.5 3.5 17 16 3.4
  Cornell University 3.5 3.5 12 16 3.5
  University of Southern California 3.5 3.5 24 46 3.5
  Yale University 3.5 3.5 24 16 3.5
20 University of California , Irvine 3.4 3.5 17 20 3.3
  University of California , San Diego 3.4 3.5 17 20 3.4
  University of Chicago 3.4 3.5 17 16 3.3
23 City University of New York Graduate Center 3.3 3.5 17 25 3.2
24 University of Massachusetts , Amherst 3.2 3.0 28 30 3.2
  University of Wisconsin , Madison 3.2 3.0 22 22 3.1
26 Ohio State University 3.1 3.0 22 22 3.0
27 Duke University 3.0 3.0 29 28 2.9
  Indiana University , Bloomington 3.0 3.0 29 25 3.0
  University of Maryland , College Park 3.0 3.0 24 30 2.9
  University of Pennsylvania 3.0 3.0 31 25 3.0
31 University of California , Riverside 2.9 3.0 32 32 2.9
32 Syracuse University 2.8 3.0 32 32 2.7
  University of Colorado , Boulder 2.8 3.0 36 28 2.7
  University of Miami 2.8 3.0 44 46 2.6
35 Johns Hopkins University 2.7 2.5 44 36 2.6
  University of California , Davis 2.7 2.5 24 24 2.6
  University of Illinois , Chicago 2.7 2.5 34 36 2.7
  University of Washington , Seattle 2.7 2.5 36 32 2.6
39 Carnegie-Mellon University 2.6 2.5 36 36 2.6
  Georgetown University 2.6 2.5 44 42 2.6
  University of California , Santa Barbara 2.6 2.5 44 40 2.5
  University of Virginia 2.6 2.5 34 42 2.5
  Washington University , St. Louis 2.6 2.5 36 not in top 50 2.6
44 Arizona State University 2.5 2.5 41 46 2.5
  Florida State University 2.5 2.5 44 n/a 2.4
  University of Minnesota , Twin Cities 2.5 2.5 36 32 2.5
  University of Rochester 2.5 2.5 44 46 2.5
48 University of Connecticut , Storrs 2.4 2.5 44 40 2.3
  University of Florida , Gainesville 2.4 2.5 41 n/a 2.4
50 Boston University 2.3 2.5 41 42 2.2
  Rice University 2.3 2.5 51 39 2.3
  University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign 2.3 2.5 53 42 2.3
53 Northwestern University 2.2 2.0 51 46 2.1
  University of Missouri , Columbia 2.2 2.5 not in top 50 n/a 2.2
  Other Faculties Evaluated in 2006 (not ranked)          
  Emory University 1.7 2.0     1.7
  Purdue University 2.0 2.0     2.0
  St. Louis University 1.8 2.0     1.8
  Temple University 2.0 2.0     1.9
  University of Iowa 1.9 2.0     1.9
  University of South Carolina 1.8 2.0     1.8
  University of South Florida 1.6 1.5     1.6

Ranking Of Faculties In The United Kingdom

Rank School Mean Median 2004 Rank 2002 Rank Local Mean
1 Oxford University 4.7 5.0 1 1 4.7
2 Cambridge University 3.7 4.0 2 2 4.0
3 University of St. Andrews 3.6 3.5 3 3 4.0
4 Birkbeck College , University of London 3.3 3.5 6 4 3.7
  University College London 3.3 3.5 4 7 3.9
6 King's College, London 3.1 3.0 5 4 3.6
  University of Sheffield 3.1 3.0 7 10 3.9
8 London School of Economics 2.8 3.0 7 7 3.3
9 University of Bristol 2.6 2.5 14 Not in top 15 3.2
  University of Edinburgh 2.6 2.5 11 9 3.0
  University of Leeds 2.6 2.5 11 11 3.3
  University of Nottingham 2.6 2.75 13 15 3.1
  University of Reading 2.6 2.5 9 4 3.1
14 University of Warwick 2.3 2.5 10 n/1 3.0
15 University of York 2.2 2.0 Not in top 15 Not in top 15 2.9
  Joint Program          
  University of St. Andrews/University of Stirling 3.8 4.0     4.2
  Other Faculties Evaluated in 2006 (not ranked)          
  University of Durham 2.1 2.0     2.6
  University of Essex 1.5 1.5     2.2
  University of Glasgow 1.9 2.0     2.5
  University of Southampton 1.7 2.0     2.3

Ranking Of Faculties In Canada

Rank School Mean Median 2004 Rank 2002 Rank Local Mean
1 University of Toronto 3.7 4.0 1 1 4.1
2 University of Western Ontario 2.7 3.0 2 2 3.1
3 McGill University 2.4 2.5 4 3 2.8
4 University of British Columbia 2.2 2.0 2 3 2.6
  Other Faculties Evaluated in 2006 (not ranked)          
  Queen's University 2.0 2.0     2.5
  Simon Fraser University 2.0 2.0     2.4
  Tri-University (note: this joint program of Guelph , McMaster, and Wilfrid Laurier may be disbanding in the near future) 1.8 2.0     2.1
  University of Alberta 2.1 2.0     2.6
  University of Calgary 2.0 2.0     2.4
  University of Waterloo 1.7 2.0     1.9
  York University , Toronto 1.8 2.0     1.9

Rankings Of Faculties In Australasia

Rank School Mean Median 2004 Rank 2002 Rank Local Mean
1 Australian National University 3.7 4.0 1 1 3.9
2 University of Sydney 2.9 3.0 3 5 3.6
3 University of Melbourne 2.8 3.0 2 2 3.1
4 Monash University 2.5 2.5 5 3 3.0
  University of Auckland 2.5 2.5 4 3 3.2
  Other Faculties Evaluated in 2006 (not ranked)          
  University of Canterbury 1.5 1.5     2.2
  University of Otago 1.8 2.0     2.5

Ranking Of Top 50 Faculties In The English-Speaking World

Note that departments in the U.S. tend to be larger than elsewhere, which tends to confer an advantage on such faculties for evaluation purposes.

Rank School Region Mean Median
1 New York University U.S. 4.8 5.0
2 Oxford University U.K. 4.7 5.0
  Rutgers University , New Brunswick U.S. 4.7 5.0
4 Princeton University U.S. 4.4 4.5
  University of Michigan , Ann Arbor U.S. 4.4 4.5
6 University of Pittsburgh U.S. 4.3 4.5
7 Stanford University U.S. 4.1 4.0
8 Harvard University U.S. 4.0 4.0
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology U.S. 4.0 4.0
  University of California , Los Angeles U.S. 4.0 4.0
11 Columbia University U.S. 3.9 4.0
  University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill U.S. 3.9 4.0
13 University of California , Berkeley U.S. 3.8 4.0
  University of St. Andrews/University of Stirling Joint Program U.K. 3.8 4.0
15 Australian National University Australasia 3.7 4.0
  Cambridge University U.K. 3.7 4.0
  University of Arizona U.S. 3.7 4.0
  University of Notre Dame U.S. 3.7 3.5
  University of Texas , Austin U.S. 3.7 3.5
  University of Toronto Canada 3.7 4.0
21 Brown University U.S. 3.5 3.5
  Cornell University U.S. 3.5 3.5
  University of Southern California U.S. 3.5 3.5
  Yale University U.S. 3.5 3.5
25 University of California , Irvine U.S. 3.4 3.5
  University of California , San Diego U.S. 3.4 3.5
  University of Chicago U.S. 3.4 3.5
28 Birkbeck College , University of London U.K. 3.3 3.5
  City University of New York Graduate Center U.S. 3.3 3.5
  University College London U.K. 3.3 3.5
31 University of Massachusetts , Amherst U.S. 3.2 3.0
  University of Wisconsin , Madison U.S. 3.2 3.0
33 King's College, London U.K. 3.1 3.0
  Ohio State University U.S. 3.1 3.0
  University of Sheffield U.K. 3.1 3.0
36 Duke University U.S. 3.0 3.0
  Indiana University , Bloomington U.S. 3.0 3.0
  University of Maryland , College Park U.S. 3.0 3.0
  University of Pennsylvania U.S. 3.0 3.0
40 University of California , Riverside U.S. 2.9 3.0
  University of Sydney Australasia 2.9 3.0
42 London School of Economics U.K. 2.8 3.0
  Syracuse University U.S. 2.8 3.0
  University of Colorado , Boulder U.S. 2.8 3.0
  University of Melbourne Australasia 2.8 3.0
  University of Miami U.S. 2.8 3.0
47 Johns Hopkins University U.S. 2.7 2.5
  University of California , Davis U.S. 2.7 2.5
  University of Illinois , Chicago U.S. 2.7 2.5
  University of Washington , Seattle U.S. 2.7 2.5
  University of Western Ontario Canada 2.7 2.5

Unranked PhD Programs outside the top ranks in the US, UK, Canada, and Australasia

There are, by almost everyone's admission, too many PhD programs, perhaps especially in the United States; students should think very carefully before enrolling in the programs that are not well-ranked overall, though some have, to be sure, particular niches of excellence, that are reflected in the specialty rankings later in this Report. For those specialty niches, programs not well-ranked overall may be a good choice. Be sure, in any event, to get a complete report on job placement from these programs before enrolling: some have better records than others.

 

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