I don't bother doing the specialization thing. My schools are pretty spread out and travel time could wipe out many advantages of it. Then again, I'm playing the United Provinces. I'd imagine it's easier with a faction like GB or some of the landlocked ones in Eastern Europe.

The one I'm using is if I have 2 schools, a college and a university. While I'm researching the tech I want most with the university, I'm researching the next tech I want with the college. Once the university is done, I assign the college to something else and assign what the college was researching to the university. That way, I get a head start on the next tech that I think is a priority.