It has, for example, become the center for many international and interdisciplinary programs. The college also approves new academic programs and evaluates existing programs at the graduate level. T he college's programs include strong links to research. Through its administration of scholarship, fellowship, and research funds, the college encourages research and the strengthening of departments and graduate programs. I owa's graduate programs have both depth and breadth.
Students actively participate in the life of a large and multifaceted university community.
They receive specialized attention within their own disciplines while they exchange ideas with people from throughout the University's 11 colleges and more than 100 graduate degree programs. The University of Iowa's nationally recognized programs, students master a body of knowledge and ultimately contribute to it through their own scholarship and research. S tudents work with faculty in an atmosphere of academic freedom and intellectual verve that stimulates creative and innovative thinking. Among 131 public research universities recently ranked in Hugh Davis Graham's and Nancy Diamond's 1997 book The Rise of the American Research Universities , The University of Iowa ranked among the top 20 based on the quantity and quality of research performance.