Strength of Graduate Programs Advances UCF's Status With Education Board

The strength and growing number of graduate programs have propelled the University of Central Florida to the highest rating possible from a nonprofit organization that works with education leaders in 16 states.

UCF has learned that it has been upgraded to a “Four-Year 1” classification – the highest level possible – by the Southern Regional Education Board, which strives to improve pre-K through postsecondary education.

The rankings issued by the board are impacted mostly by the number, breadth and comprehensiveness of graduate degrees offered by a university.

Even during a time of financial uncertainty due to state budget cuts, UCF continues to add and expand graduate programs designed to prepare students for high-tech jobs, boost the region’s economy and educate well-trained teachers, law enforcement officials and other professionals who serve the community.

“The Southern Regional Education Board’s higher classification is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff who have developed a first-class graduate program at UCF,” said Patricia Bishop, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies. “This recognition will help us attract the best and brightest students and faculty as we strive to build on our successes.”

UCF offered 28 doctoral programs in the fall – more than double the number available in 2000 -- along with 97 master’s degree programs and three specialist-level programs. The graduate enrollment was 7,211 in Fall 2007, up from 4,953 ten years ago.

UCF awarded 212 doctoral degrees in 2006-07, more than double the number awarded in 2000.

In March, the Board of Trustees voted to add a new master’s program in Biotechnology that will prepare students for a variety of biomedical careers, including local opportunities at the UCF College of Medicine, Burnham Institute for Medical Research and planned Veterans Administration hospital. New master’s degrees in Digital Forensics, Technology and Applied Learning and Instruction also have been approved this year.

Doctorates in Nursing Practice and Physical Therapy were among the degrees approved in 2006-07. In 2006, the first graduates of UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy – a master’s degree program that prepares students for high-paying jobs in video game development – walked across the stage.

The university also will begin offering M.D. degrees through the new College of Medicine, which is scheduled to open in fall 2009.

The Southern Regional Education Board’s classifications are based on factors such as the types and numbers of degrees that universities offer, the number of program areas in which degrees are granted and the comprehensiveness of subject areas in which degrees are awarded. An institution must award a total of at least 100 doctoral degrees distributed among 10 categories to be granted the “Four-Year 1” status.

To attain “Four-Year 1” status, UCF was required to meet the criteria for the past three years. UCF had been a “Four-Year 2” university since 1995-96.

The Southern Regional Education Board’s enhanced rating comes as several UCF programs recently were ranked among the best in the nation in the 2009 U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate School guide.

The university’s Electrical Engineering graduate program was the highest-ranked UCF program at number 65. Education, Physics, Public Administration and Speech-Language Pathology programs were also ranked in the top 100.
Strength of Graduate Programs Advances UCF's Status With Education Board
By Chad Binette