Two departments in the University of California, San Diego’s Division of Physical Sciences achieved top national rankings recently. Chemistry was in the top 10 for research funding, and mathematics made the top 10 for its graduate program in mathematics education.

UCSD was fifth among schools with the most federal support for chemical research and development, according to rankings published November 5 in Chemical and Engineering News based on data from the National Science Foundation. UCSD jumped from 11th place in last year’s rankings. It also moved up to second place in spending on chemical research equipment, sixth place in spending on chemical research and development and sixth place in overall research and development spending.

“UCSD’s strong showing in these rankings underscores that UCSD is one of the preeminent places in the country for scientific research, not just one of the best among public institutions,” said Mark Thiemens, dean of the Division of Physical Sciences, which comprises the departments of chemistry and biochemistry, mathematics and physics. “UCSD is the youngest of the top ranked universities. It is a significant achievement to have come so far so quickly.”

UCSD’s graduate program in mathematics education, offered jointly with San Diego State University, was ranked seventh nationally in a study published in the November issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society. The results are based on a national survey of seventy mathematics education doctoral programs conducted in early 2007. Faculty members at each institution were asked to identify “particularly strong” doctoral programs in mathematics education. The UCSD/SDSU Mathematics and Science Education Ph.D. program received 17 nominations.

The supply of mathematics educators with doctorates is considerably lower than the demand, according to the Notices of the American Mathematical Society study. Last year more than 40 percent of the institutions of higher education searching for mathematics education faculty were unable to fill those positions. Graduates of mathematics education doctoral programs also take positions in state departments of education, in the publishing industry and as K-12 mathematics supervisors.

The UCSD/SDSU Mathematics and Science Education Ph.D. provides students with a strong foundation in mathematics content as well as a deep understanding of how diverse students learn mathematics.

The Chemical and Engineering News study is published at: http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/85/i45/html/8545sci1.html

The Notices of the American Mathematical Society study is published at: http://www.ams.org/notices/200710/