Based on 2005 data, the University of Utah received five top 10 rankings, the most in the state. Utah State University received one top 10 ranking, as did the private Brigham Young University.

The report by Academic Analytics ranked nearly 7,300 doctoral programs in 104 disciplines at 354 institutions. It judged faculty on several criteria, including journal publications, federal grants and awards.

The U. ranked in areas ranging from medical sciences to education. USU ranked third in fisheries science and management. BYU ranked seventh in counseling psychology.

Such results couldn't have come at a better time for Utah's public universities, which are lobbying the Legislature for money to boost faculty retention. The rankings show the state gets a good return for what it invests in faculty salaries, higher education officials said Wednesday.

"Our tuition rates are really some of the lowest, and the quality of our education is superb," said Amanda Covington, spokeswoman for the Utah System of Higher Education. "Tuition costs are on the rise, but for the level of instruction and types of programs that we offer we do a really good job."

David Chapman, dean of the U. graduate school, realizes the rankings judge only research and scholarly activities, but he says such activities correlate with better teaching.

"One observation I've made, unlike the myth that is sometimes quoted, is that good researchers are often the best teachers," he said.

Lawmakers this year have made spending $8 million on faculty retention a funding priority.

Chapman believes it's a smart move on their part. Schools must pay their in-demand, high-producing researchers to keep from losing them to other schools that offer higher salaries. Competing universities want such researchers because they bring federal grants and produce marketable and profitable research.

He compares the situation to that of star basketball players.

"Nobody would support the Jazz if Larry H. Miller said he would not retain [Carlos] Boozer and [Mehmet] Okur because other teams want to offer them more money," he said. "When a bad player becomes a free agent, you let him go. But when your best players become free agents, you retain them to remain competitive."

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, co-chairman of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said even more funding needs to go into schools.

"[The rankings] reflect to me that our schools combine top-flight research with good teaching," he said. "I'm glad for the rankings, but when you look at the graduates we have in highly skilled areas, it's clear we need to do more."

Fellow subcommittee co-chairman Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, agrees.

"It says we need to continue to invest in our higher education system because it is the one thing we do that grows the economy," he said.

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NICOLE STRICKER and JUDY FAHYS contributed to this story.