Durham University DBA

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by ravenclawed, May 18, 2016.

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  1. JP007

    JP007 Member

    Disagree. The discussion is what weight to give to national VS international rankings. Both are facts.

    By your logic, Dartmouth would be a distant weak school....Which, I'm sorry, is not a fact.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'd like to weigh in on this a bit. First, I wouldn't use Wikipedia as an authoritative source. I haven't looked at the wiki article so maybe I shouldn't dismiss it so quickly but I'm going to anyway because the University League Tables (generally the authoritative source) ranks Durham at #6 out of 127. That's top 5% so I'd say "elite" is an accurate description. The Times Higher Education World rankings list Durham at #70 (out of 600?) so I'd say that's also elite. Nice work Durham.

    Now, the "Ivy League" is 8 schools. Only 8. There is no such thing as "mid-tier Ivy League." Ivy League schools are generally considered to be elite schools but they are not universally the best. There's MIT, Stanford, others that routinely rank better than some of the Ivies.

    Now Dartmouth does rank below Durham in the Times World rankings but there are over 30 US schools that rank above Durham in those World Rankings. So, I guess you're correct when you say Durham could be seen as inside the Ivy League but clearly the Ivy League is not uniformly "the best."

    Finally, I'd like to point out that all these rankings are focusing on the respective school's undergrad programs and so it's not clear how relevant any of these rankings are to a grad program(s).

    To me it feels like "my Dad can beat up your Dad." or "Who is faster, Superman or the Flash." All are elite schools ranked among the best in the world. Isn't that enough?
    btw, the Flash is definitely faster.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2016
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I'm not employing "logic." I just stated a few facts. The argument you're having is with those--and yourself.
     
  4. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    If the rankings are facts, then Durham beat out Dartmouth in at least one world ranking. Ergo, ipso facto, they're equivalent to the lower echelons of the Ivy league...unless, of course, you're going to contend that Dartmouth doesn't belong, which I dare say I'd love to see you attempt to back up (and I know Dartmouth quite intimately, having dreamed of attending there and once driven by campus and seen a graduation ceremony.

    What you make of that is your own business.
     
  5. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Quite true, Rich, you're most certainly not employing logic.
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Really? That's what you're reduced to? Go argue with yourself. (I mean, continue to do it.)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2016
  7. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Maybe group ranking of tens for the top one hundred then increasing wider group ranking for the lower tiers may be less controversial.

    There may be no difference between #1 vs # 6; or # 91 vs #100. Who cares about the differences between # 4203 vs # 4671? It may be fairer to have group ranking that individual ranking.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2016
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    What?? No way!!!!

    Superman can fly so fast, he can alter the rotation of the Earth. Or something like that.
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Superman's ability to alter planetary rotation is not exclusively a function of speed, it's also a function of torque. The Flash may not have the torque that Superman but he has more rpms.
     
  10. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Reduced to? That assumes I ever possessed more class and dignity than one who'd throw that snark.

    The essential problems here are: 1). Both of us are unwilling to admit that neither particularly has the expertise to make an informed pronouncement on this, especially considering that panels of experts so-called cannot seem to create world rankings that match up all that well, thus raising legitimate concerns about their usefulness, and presumably, neither of us has taken a single course at Durham (I haven't even set foot on campus); 2). I am a hypocrite because I appealed to rankings (the UK Tables, which are themselves not entirely reliable) to make a point about the quality of Durham while simultaneously mocking your use of rankings to make a counterpoint; 3). finally, and the larger point here, both of us evidently take ourselves a mite too seriously or we wouldn't have thrown any effort into what is a pure hijack of a reasonable thread. Were I the OP, who is probably long gone and onto more important things than petty bickering, and took a look at how his/her thread evolved, I'd think those on this forum tend to major in minors--and that would apparently be the correct take. So, sorry for my end of it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2016
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Besides, Superman wears that silly cape. No one wears a cape. Ever. Except maybe Zorro. Let's not get into Zorro. Hispanic Robin Hood (who also did not wear a cape). But he did wear tights. They all wear tights. Except Zorro. Let's stay away from Zorro, OK?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 24, 2016
  12. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Capes are just so cheesy, so 1938.
     
  13. ravenclawed

    ravenclawed New Member

    FTFaculty,

    I am the OP and I did not mean for this thread to take this turn. I have, however, made contact with a great source of information on this school and my PhD studies in general, so the post was not in vain.

    I know academics and a relative who was born, raised, and educated (through PhD) in England (currently tenured at US liberal arts college) and what I hear from them is typically a bit like this, ‘if not Oxbridge, then surely Durham’. There are other great Universities in the north of the UK (St. Andrew, Edinburgh, etc), that should be included, but Durham is always in the conversation. Probably doesn't mean much to a lot, but that tells me all I need to know about the reputation of Durham.

    Thanks again to those who responded positively and thanks to those who wished me luck. I will surely keep you all aware of my progress.
     
  14. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Definitely wishing you well. Not an easy place to enter, according to the Univ League Tables (4th toughest admissions in all of UK), but if you get in, sky's the limit.

    As for the thread taking that puerile turn (in which I quite eagerly and unfortunately participated), my bad, sorry about that. To our credit, we typically provide some valuable information before we degenerate into internecine squabbles.
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    There is no "both of us." You're an anonymous poster. I'm not. You're taking a stance on this issue. I'm not.
     
  16. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    I should hope you'd be able to grasp, given my profession, reasons for staying anon. I have revealed exactly who I am via other means to a number whom I think can be trusted not to make things difficult for me at the university. But never mind, Rich, keep that stiff upper lip, never concede that you might ever be a party to anything untoward--just realize that the bile you taste now is on you, not me. Posters here can decide what they will of this exchange and the demeanor of the parties--assuming they care about the weak sword crossing of two unfortunately petty men. Final word will be yours should you desire it, I'm done.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 25, 2016
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    There is no "you." And it's not "bile." You're the one who made the personal and insulting comment, not me. So lah-dee-dah.
     
  18. TheTick900

    TheTick900 New Member

    Obviously, you don't remember Wonder Woman.
     
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    It's possible to find images of WW with a cape but mostly she went without.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. John of Gaunt

    John of Gaunt New Member

    Durham is an excellent university in the UK. It is more prestigious than a significant amount of universities in the US. As a former alumnus, I can attest for the very high standards of teaching and research!
     

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