About Graduate Study at Albany

More than 2,000 full-time graduate students and 3,000 part-time graduate students study in 123 programs leading to advanced certificates and master's and doctoral degrees. Graduate students currently represent over 30 percent of the University's enrollment.

Many graduate programs are nationally ranked:

In the College of Arts and Sciences:
• Anthropology: ranked by NRC in the first quartile in publications per faculty and first quartile in percent faculty publishing.
• Atmospheric Sciences: ranked in the first quartile of NSF rankings in total federal R&D expenditures.
• Biological Sciences: ranked by NRC in the first quartile in percent of faculty supported and percent publishing (cell and developmental biology); first quartile in percent of publishing in ecology and evolutionary behavior; and first quartile in percent supported in genetics.
• English: ranked for the first time by U.S. News in the 2006 edition
• Geology: ranked in the first quartile by NRC in percent of faculty supported and percent publishing.
• Physics: ranked by NRC in the first quartile in publications per faculty
• Psychology: ranked in the NRC first quartile in percent of faculty externally supported, citations per faculty and publications per faculty in 2003 (although it was not published); ranked by U.S. News as 38th in Clinical Psychology (2006 edition).
• Sociology: ranked in the NRC first quartile in citations per faculty, publications per faculty, percent of faculty publishing, and percent of faculty supported in 2003; ranked by U.S. News top 25 (2006 edition); subfields in Sociology ranked even higher—Sex and Gender ranked 13th; Sociology of Population ranked 19th.

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering: the first college in the world devoted to the development and dissemination of the interdisciplinary science and engineering fields of nanotechnology. The College supports internationally recognized programs in nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanoeconomics, and nanobiology. In the first national ranking of nanotechnology, UAlbany placed 2nd in “Top 5 micro facilities,” 1st in “Top 5 nano facilities,” 1st in “Top 5 in micro industry outreach,” and 1st in “Top 5 in nanotechnology.” (Small Times Magazine, May/June 2005)

The School of Criminal Justice: ranked 2nd in U.S. News (2006 edition).

In the College of Computing and Information:

• Library Science: ranked 15th overall in U.S. News (2006 edition)
• Information Technology and Management: ranked by U.S. News in the top 25 (4th in 2006 edition)

In the School of Education:

• School of Education: ranked by U.S. News in the first quartile (36th overall, 2005 edition)
• Education and Counseling Psychology: U.S. News ranks Counseling/Personnel Services as 13th nationally (2006 edition); ranked 151st among all graduate psychology programs nationwide, including programs taught outside schools of education
• Counseling Psychology: ranked fourth highest contributing institution to the Journal of Counseling Psychology for the period 1992-2002 in The Counseling Psychologist (2005), Vol. 33, No. 3, 327-339
• #2 in the nation, by 2007 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index produced by Academic Analytics, for its doctoral program in reading
• #10 in the nation, by 2007 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index produced by Academic Analytics, for its doctoral program in curriculum and instruction
• #10 in the nation, by 2007 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index produced by Academic Analytics, for its doctoral program in educational psychology
• #56 in the nation, by U.S. News and World Report, for graduate schools of education (2009)

In the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy: ranked 10th overall in U.S. News (2006 edition)

• Information Technology and Management: ranked 4th by U.S. News (2006 edition)
• Political Science: ranked in the NRC first quartile in percent of faculty publishing
• Public Administration and Management: ranked 6th by U.S. News (2006 edition)
• Public Finance & Budgeting: ranked 9th by U.S. News (2006 edition)
• Public Policy Analysis: ranked 25th by U.S. News (2006 edition)

The School of Social Welfare: ranked 19th by U.S. (2006 edition); ranked 6th in total publications in professional journals and second in per capita faculty publication in professional journals in Journal of Social Work Education

On the basis of its doctoral programs and federally funded research, the University has been classified as a Carnegie Research II Public Research University. Albany is thus one of only 71 public research universities so designated nation-wide and one of only 11 research universities within New York State. Sponsored funding in support of research has more than tripled over the past decade to a total of nearly $230 million a year in external funding. These funds support the research, graduate training, and other scholarly activities of 175 faculty directors of some 559 projects. Federal awards account for 47 percent of total funding.

The University is committed to the discovery and expansion of knowledge particularly through the training of graduate students. The University actively assists and encourages its members to engage in scholarly and creative research and to make the results widely available. The University also understands its special role as an intellectual resource. Scholars are encouraged to share their skills and competence, and the University regularly invites the community to use its talents, resources, and facilities.

A variety of centers, clinics, institutes, laboratories, and other special units offer access to unique, state-of-the-art laboratory, research, and special training facilities. Several of the research facilities represent collaborations with other institutions and/or private industry. For example, the School of Public Health's programs utilize the facilities of the Wadsworth Laboratories of the New York State Department of Health, which is the most comprehensive state public health laboratory in the nation.

The University's location in New York's capital provides unique research and internship opportunities that enhance many academic programs and promote the public service mission of the institution. For example, with $1 million per year in State funding, the University's Center for Technology in Government (CTG) uses faculty and graduate student expertise in information science and public administration to assist State agencies and computer companies in developing innovative technological solutions for critical public problems. The School of Education has received a $4.5 million grant from the New York State Department of Transportation to support School work training programs in the areas of transportation and construction. The University at Albany also is home to the New York State Writers’ Institute, which provides opportunities for students to participate in seminars with numerous visiting writers throughout the academic year.

Other unique research facilities include the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center's Whiteface Mountain observational facility; the Physics Department's nuclear accelerator and advanced materials facilities; large fine arts work areas, including a state-of-the-art sculpture studio; a peptide synthesis facility; and recombinant DNA sequencing laboratories. The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering occupies the newest set of research facilities.

At the same time, some graduate students also prepare for the professoriate and gain experience as Teaching Assistants. Others prepare for professional fields with appropriate Master’s degrees in business, education, social welfare, public administration and policy, information science, and public health. Many students who complete Master’s degrees in the liberal arts and sciences disciplines decide to continue on in doctoral programs; other students apply and are admitted directly into doctoral programs after their B.A. or B.S. degrees.