The University College of Education is one of the best graduate schools in the nation for education, according to US News & World Report’s annual ranking of university programs.
The graduate program was ranked second nationally among public graduate schools specializing in education, up from fourth place last year.
Education Dean Marty Kaufman credited the success of the program to “Great faculty, quality students and excellent school and community partners.”
“We’re about as close to the top as we can get,” he said. “It’s about sustained success,” he said, referring to the high rating the school received last year, “not one-year success.”
The ratings are often derided as being a numbers game or irrelevant, however, by schools that US News doesn’t rate very well. For instance, when the University law school was not even ranked in the top 50 two years ago, law school officials said they did not think the numbers were very important.
Kaufman, who has steadily improved the performance of his school since he became dean 11 years ago, agreed that the education school’s rating from US News is indeed a form of public perception, as well as test scores and other factual information.
“Are they the most rigorous statement of quality? No,” he said. “This is just where we ended up in people’s minds.”
The college also was ranked third-highest in the quality of students it attracts, third-highest in terms of its graduate program in special education and seventh-highest among all public and private institutions for graduate programs in education. There are about 450 students in the school’s graduate program.

— Brook Reinhard