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PBA Home > Institutional Research & Analysis > NRC Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs > Resources for UCB programs > About primary and other field assignments

About primary and "other" field assignments

NOTE: 8/30/06 - New NRC rulings and listserv discussion on use of "other" fields. We will NOT be submitting our program lists before 9/15/06.

NRC collects data on and evaluates PhD programs.  The Steering Committee assigned each UCB program (N=38) to one (only one) "primary field" from the NRC list of 62 fields.

We send our list of programs and field assignments to NRC in early September.  At that time we can assign each program to up to 9 "other fields" - fields in addition to the primary field.  The "other fields" must also come from the NRC list of 62 fields.  The list of 62 fields includes both expected fields such as history and physics, and "emerging fields" such as bioinformatics. "Other fields" can include both.

NRC also lists "subfields" in its taxonomy.  Subfields come later in the data collection process, and may be used to characterize only individual faculty members' work, rather than entire programs.

The Steering Committee wants to list as many "other fields" for UCB programs as is appropriate.  What NRC will do with the "other fields":
- Assess interdisciplinarity
- List programs in multiple places (with cross-references) for prospective students
- Assess activity in emerging fields.

Listing "other fields" will not interfere with data collection or be used to allocate faculty productivity.

In the Steering Committee's view listing "other fields" -- both emerging and not -- seems to have little or no downside unless the list includes fields “implausibly related” to the program.

UPDATED 9/11/06 We have gathered various ways of looking at UCB primary/other field assignments in an Excel workbook.  It shows
 - listings by program and by NRC field,
 - reciprocity among UCB programs -- and lack thereof, and
 - primary and other-field assignments made by AAU programs with identical or similar names to UCB programs. 

Steering will use the information in the workbook to adjust final "other field" listings.  We invite programs, colleges, and colleagues to study it as well.

Caution: Workbook may not reflect all changes to other-field assignments made by UCB programs.  Update date is on the first tab. 
 

Last revision 09/11/06


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