Editor’s Note: This essay is excerpted from a new Chronicle special report, “The Future of Graduate Education,” available in the Chronicle Store. It’s dicey to predict the future in the best of times.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s pursuit of research excellence at scale continues, with 12 academic programs in engineering, agriculture and health ranking in the top 10 overall in the U.S.

CU Boulder is a tier 1 university (“R1") with “very high research activity” as designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The R1 classification includes less than 3 ...