Folklore department doctoral programs ranked top in nation

IU’s Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology has recently been ranked among the top in the country for doctoral programs.

The National Research Council released the Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs, a comprehensive survey that measures 21 different aspects of programs from 63 fields of study at universities across the United States, last month.

IU’s department was ranked between first and third in overall rankings.
The department placed particularly high in diversity, productivity of faculty and achievements of graduates.  

John McDowell, chairman of the department, described the study of folklore and ethnomusicology as “the study of creativity in everyday life, how people create and change traditions. The art of the people.”

IU was the first campus ever to adopt folklore as an area of academic study, and since then, the department has grown in size and esteem, producing alumni that have gone on to become museum curators, teachers, archivists and even employees of the Smithsonian Institution and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I think the survey captures the excellence of our program,” McDowell said. “We are a lively community of people who cherish the expressive arts.”

Though the department ranked well, McDowell recognized that there is always room for improvement.  

He said that in the future, he hopes to not only continue to demonstrate the department’s strength, but also to bolster resources available for graduate and undergraduate students.

The survey evaluated the doctoral programs of universities and did not include any programs at the undergraduate or graduate level, but McDowell is confident that the results are indicative of both.

“The top quality of our faculty reaches all the way down to introductory level courses and permeates all of our teaching, which is especially advantageous for our growing number of majors and minors,” McDowell said.