The counseling psychology program at Iowa State ranks third in the nation in its research productivity, according to a 2001 study by the University of Akron.

The 1994 research productivity study surveyed counseling psychology programs in the late 1980s through early 1990s and listed Iowa State’s counseling psychology program as 29th in the United States in the amount of research produced.

The latest study, released in 2001 by the same group, monitored productivity from 1995 to 2000. This time Iowa State jumped 26 places — the largest jump of any program surveyed — to claim a third place in ranking.

There are about 65 programs nationally, and it’s satisfactory to be able to successfully compete, said Lisa Larson, professor of psychology. The program has sought the high ranking through submitting articles to top publications, such as the Journal of Counseling Psychology and the Journal of Vocational Behavior, among others, Larson said.

“Across the area we’ve made a concerted effort to publish in top journals,” Larson said. “It’s really the scholarship of the field.”

Findings published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior consist of research focused on career development, career choice, vocational interests, job satisfaction and other job-related issues, she said. The Journal of Counseling Psychology publishes more broadly, including issues such as counselor training, multicultural issues and many other topics.

The second key to their success as a program is hiring quality faculty, said Larson and Douglas Epperson, professors of psychology.

“Our policy has been to hire people that are very productive,” Larson said.

The increase in faculty began in 1995, Epperson said. “They could see the progress we’d made in strengthening the program,” he said. “We excited them with our vision for the future.”

Larson agrees the program is attractive to potential faculty.

“We have been successful in recruiting the person we make the offer to,” she said.

“I think they saw the program and the department as very strong in terms of the people here as well as the work environment, such as classes they get to teach, quality of students, work space and research opportunities,” Larson said. “They’re an attractive package. Iowa State may undersell itself — they might not realize what a good place this is.”

Having quality faculty is also important for research, Epperson said. “The more faculty you have publishing, the better.”

New faculty members appreciate the quality of the program as well, said Meifen Wei, assistant professor of psychology.

“I feel the department is like a family, that’s very attractive to me, too,” she said. “In a lot of places, if you’re new, they give the difficult things that no one else wants to do to the new person; here it’s just the opposite. They help you and give you time to concentrate on research.”

Teaching, like research, is another important aspect of the program, Larson said. “All of us are very committed and are excellent teachers and see that as an important part,” Larson said. “We also mentor doctoral students, and there’s a lot of counseling psychologists in the counseling center that work closely with us. They help make us a great program.”