The Institute's doctoral programs were ranked 6th in the United States this year by U.S.News & World Report, among more than one hundred such programs nationally. This is an improvement of 12 positions over the 2004 ranking of 18th and shows a consistent ranking in the top 10 for the past five years. A longitudinal study ranked the doctoral programs first in the Southeast.
The Institute's doctoral programs have grown in recent years and are among the largest in the University. The doctoral programs prepare mature students for positions in higher education administration and for work in higher education agencies, such as statewide coordinating boards or university systems. They also produce a small number of researchers who work for such groups or become professors of higher education at other universities. IHE students are typically in their thirties or forties and have substantial experience before coming to the program, which has a placement rate that exceeds 80 percent.