A study released Wednesday ranked UT Austin as Texas' second most productive research university.

Academic Analytics, the company that conducted the Texas study, specializes in ranking universities according to the output of their graduate programs. Universities must have at least 15 Ph.D. programs in four or more of 11 major disciplines designated by the company to be ranked.

The company then analyzes a number of factors, including the number of publications the institution's faculty publishes and the amount of federal research funding granted to the Ph.D. programs. The data is plugged into an algorithm, or equation, that computes the program's score.

Juan Sanchez, vice president for research at UT, said he was not surprised by the study's findings.

"We want to be the No. 1 public university in research," he said.

Sanchez also commented on the University being ranked behind Rice University, which was ranked first.

"It's like comparing pears with apples. Rice is a private school, and we are a public school," Sanchez said.

Stefanie Altman, Academic Analytics's marketing manager, said the company has conducted the national survey of universities since 2005. The 2006 national study has yet to be released.

"The data takes a long time to process, so the 2006 study will be released at the end of this year," Altman said.

According to a January issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, Academic Analytics' 2005 study reverses many misconceptions students have about graduate programs. For example, the rankings find that many Ivy League universities do not qualify as top 10 institutions in certain disciplines.

The 2005 national study ranked UT as a top 10 institution in applied mathematics, chemical engineering and teacher education and professional development.

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