I think you always have to be a little careful of rankings and the kind of atmosphere it creates and empowers. That having been said, the recent ranking of the College of Education at The University of Texas is worth noting. We are now the 3rd ranked public College of Education in the country and the 7th ranked overall. I have been very fortunate to be able to be part of a number of initiatives including the nationally recognized UTeach Natural Sciences Teacher Training Program and the NSF Funded UTeach Engineering Partnership -Dr. Petrosino
The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education continued its remarkable climb in the U.S. News & World Report - America’s Best Graduate Schools rankings, rising this year to third in the nation among public colleges and schools of education and seventh in the nation overall, tied with Johns Hopkins, Northwestern University, University of California-Berkley and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
U.S. News & World Report uses statistical data from more than 12,000 graduate programs and survey feedback from academic and professional experts nationwide to produce its annual rankings of national graduate programs in education, business, engineering and law. This is the highest ranking that the College of Education has ever achieved.
Last year the college broke into an elite national tier, being placed fifth among public institutions and 10th overall. This year’s rankings position the College of Education in a top-10 category that includes Harvard, Stanford University, Columbia, Vanderbilt and UCLA.
"Since U.S. News & World Report started ranking graduate education programs in 1995," says William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin, "our College of Education's rankings have steadily improved, this year reaching third in the nation among public institutions. Innovative research and faculty who are leaders in their fields continue to bring positive recognition to the college, and this consistent show of excellence is to be commended."
The high marks awarded to the College of Education this year also include being ranked number one among public universities that offer both undergraduate and graduate programs and ranked fourth overall in research expenditures. The college is ranked second in research expenditures among public institutions, boasting growth in research and development expenditures from around $1.1 million in 1995 to a current figure of around $31 million.
At the campus level, the College of Education was the most highly ranked college or school for the second year in a row among University of Texas at Austin graduate programs that receive yearly qualitative and quantitative rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
Among the nationally and internationally acclaimed programs and research that fuel the college’s continuing success are:
- UTeach, a nationally replicated math and science teacher training program
- the Community College Leadership Program, which is ranked number one in the nation
- a multi-faceted team of neuroscientists, exercise physiologists and special education faculty who are revolutionizing the study of autism
- the newly created, multi-disciplinary Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, led by renowned scholar Dr. Sharon Vaughn
- the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts
- the Texas Child Study Center, which partnered with Dell Children’s Medical Center and is the premier mental health services facility for children in Central Texas
- studies from top exercise physiologists on how to maximize physical performance and recover after physical exertion
“It’s hard to describe how happy and proud we were to hear this year’s rankings,” said Manuel J. Justiz, dean of the College of Education. “Our extremely talented faculty, dedicated staff and high-achieving students work so diligently. These rankings are a wonderful recognition of their hard work.”
