Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia graduate programs continue to rank among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools. UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs ranked fourth among graduate schools of public affairs; the College of Education ranked 38th, up from 46th last year; the School of Law ranked 34th, up one position from last year; and the Terry College of Business ranked 57th nationwide.
“The fact that UGA is consistently ranked highly by a variety of publications for the quality and value of the education provided here is testimony to the talent, hard work and quality of the students, faculty and staff,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “The consistently good ranking of our graduate programs bodes well for both the graduates of those programs and the state of Georgia.”
UGA Graduate School Dean Maureen Grasso said, “These rankings are an acknowledgement of the excellent graduate education provided by the University of Georgia. Our graduate programs, which bring together outstanding faculty and students to address the many complex issues we are facing today, are essential to realizing Georgia’s goals of economic growth and global competitiveness.”
The School of Public and International Affairs ranked fourth among graduate schools of public affairs, according to the 2013 U.S. News and World Report rankings. At the core of SPIA’s reputation in public affairs is its master of public administration degree program, which was created in 1966 and has earned a reputation of excellence. SPIA is now alone in the fourth position, having surpassed Princeton University with whom it was previously tied. The only Schools ranked above SPIA are Harvard (#3), Indiana University (#2) and Syracuse (#1).
SPIA also has four highly ranked specialty programs: the specialization in public management administration was ranked second; public finance and budgeting was ranked fifth; nonprofit management was ranked 15th; and the public-policy analysis program was ranked 20th.
“I am very pleased that our School continues to be ranked among the top four in the nation,” said Dean Thomas P. Lauth. “This ranking is a great tribute to the faculty of our department of public administration and policy.”
Moving up eight positions in the rankings from the previous year, the UGA College of Education tied for the 38th position with the University of Colorado in Boulder and the University of Illinois in Chicago, tied for 29th among public colleges and universities, and was fourth among graduate education schools in the South. In subspecialty categories, the college placed in 10 categories: second in student counseling and personnel services; second in vocational and technical education; fifth in elementary education; fifth in higher education administration; fifth in secondary education; 10th in curriculum and instruction; 13th in special education; 19th in educational psychology; 21st in education administration and supervision; and 52nd in speech-language pathology.
“To be recognized among the best education colleges in the country affirms the quality of our graduate programs and the tremendous productivity of our faculty,” said Arthur M. “Andy” Horne, dean and Distinguished Research Professor in the College of Education. “Equally important, however, is our profound commitment to make a positive difference in the lives of children and families in Georgia by preparing world-class education and health professionals.”
While coming in at 34th overall, UGA’s School of Law was ranked among the top 13 public law schools in the nation and among the top three public schools in the Southeast. Each of these rankings was up one position from last year.
The graduate program in the Terry College of Business tied for the 57th with George Washington University, the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. In subspecialty categories, Terry College ranked 16th in information systems and 32nd in its accounting program.
“We continue to see improvement in the placement of our graduates from our full-time M.B.A. program,” said Robert Sumachrist, dean of the college. “I am proud that Terry continues to be ranked among the country’s best.”
Other UGA colleges and schools ranked in the report include the College of Pharmacy at 26th and the School of Social Work at 37th.
The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences continued to have a major presence in the rankings. The master of fine arts program tied for the 22nd position with five other leading institutions in the nation, up 11 positions from last year. The college’s subspecialty areas of clinical psychology and printmaking were ranked 32nd and seventh, respectively.
“Successful graduate programs are crucial to the overall success of the university, and these rankings are welcome indicators on the vibrancy of our programs,” said Hugh Ruppersburg, interim dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “The diversity of disciplines represented in these rankings reflects a strategic vision for excellence that stretches across Franklin College. That is the result of efforts of many faculty and staff working to make sure UGA is among the best and most competitive American universities.”
UGA’s department of biological and agricultural engineering in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences ranked 11th in the nation among similar programs.
UGA’s online education program also had a presence in the rankings. In the category “admissions selectivity,” the university ranked 24th; in “student engagement and accreditation,” the ranking was 94th and in “student services and technology,” the ranking was 130th.
Several other UGA colleges, schools and programs have been ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the past; however, updated rankings were not conducted for this year’s report.
The rankings, with methodology used by U.S. News & World Report, are available online at
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools. Highlights of the graduate school rankings will be published in the Best Graduate Schools 2013 edition.
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