U.S. News Rankings Recognize University's Success

The University of Maryland continues to edge into the upper ranks of major research universities, according to the latest rankings of graduate schools by U.S. News and World Report magazine.

Preliminary reviews of the rankings to be published in the April 5 edition of the magazine and the annual guide to graduate schools indicate that Maryland now has 69 programs ranked in the top 25 nationally.

The university's Colleges of Education and Engineering and the School of Public Affairs rank 20th, 16th and 21st, respectively, and all have multiple programs ranked in the top 25. The School of Business ranks 33rd, up nine spots from last year, and has five specialty areas ranked in the top 25.

Education has nine specialties ranked in the top 25, five of them in the top 10, including Counseling and Personnel Services, which ranks first in the nation.

"The College of Education is now ranked among the top 20 in the nation," said Dean Edna Szymanski. "Over the past years, its ranking has steadily increased. We attribute this steady increase to the quality and productivity of our excellent faculty, staff, and students. No other college of education in Maryland or greater Baltimore-Washington institutions is ranked in the top 20."

Six engineering specialties are top 25, including aerospace, which is ninth.

"These achievements are a testimony to the quality of the Clark School's faculty, staff and students and a reflection of our collective commitment to excellence," said Dean Nariman Farvardin. "We have established our leadership in engineering education by recruiting outstanding faculty members, launching new research initiatives and strengthening well-established research programs, in addition to developing outstanding academic experiences for our students. The ranking results are particularly encouraging this year in that they show that excellence is spreading across the college."

Four public affairs specialties made the top 25, including environmental policy, which is 8th.

"We are extremely proud that the Maryland School of Public Affairs continues to be ranked among the top in the nation out of nearly 250 programs, moved up to #8 in environmental policy and management, and remains ranked in the top 20 in public policy analysis, social policy, and public finance and budgeting," said Interim Dean Jacques Gansler.

The top ranked business specialty is management and information systems, which is 7th.

"The Smith School's strong showing in these specialty areas reflects the school's commitment to preparing students to become leaders in a business world fueled by technology, globalization, and entrepreneurial innovation," said Howard Frank, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. "We are delighted to be recognized for our leading-edge curriculum, which integrates information systems, supply chain management, another other e-business concentrations with the foundational business disciplines."

In addition, the university's speech-language pathology program in the Department of Hearing and Speech, is now ranked 22nd, nationally, up from 30 in the last rankings.