By Larry B. Dendy
Specific UGA graduate programs in public administration and education are among the best in the country, and UGA's overall graduate programs in education, business and law are nationally ranked, according to U.S. News and World Report magazine.
Public finance ranks 2nd
The graduate program in public finance and budget is number two in the country and the program in public management/
administration is number three in the magazine's 1998 rankings.
The overall public administration/public affairs graduate program is tied for fifth with the universities of Texas and California at Berkeley. UGA was ranked sixth in the previous rating.
These rankings are based on responses to questionnaires sent to heads of 248 graduate programs in public affairs. Respondents rated programs on scholarship, curriculum and faculty quality.
UGA's public administration programs are part of the political science department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Thomas P. Lauth, head of the department, notes that UGA rose in the rankings even though this year's surveys included more programs.
| UGA Graduate Program Rankings U.S. News and World Report |
|---|
Public Affairs/Public Administration
|
Education
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Law
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Business (M.B.A. programs)
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Education ties for first
The colleges of education at UGA and the University of Virginia tied for first among public universities in the South that offer graduate programs in education. The two schools are second behind Vanderbilt among both public and private universities in the South.
UGA, Virginia and New York University are tied for 19th among all 191 programs nationwide that grant Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees in education. UGA, which ranked 15th nationally last year, and Virginia are the 13th highest-ranked public institutions in the country.
Several specialized programs in UGA's College of Education rank among the nation's leaders. They include vocational/technical education, tied for third with Penn State; elementary education, fifth; secondary education, tied for fifth with Stanford; education counseling, tied for fifth with the University of Florida; and education curriculum and instruction, seventh.
Russell Yeany, dean of the College of Education, says the high rankings "validate the efforts and emphasis we put on quality."
The education rankings are based on reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources and research activity.
The master's of business administration program in UGA's Terry College of Business is tied for 39th among 300 M.B.A. programs in the country. UGA's program, ranked 40th last year, is tied with the College of William and Mary, Wake Forest University and the University of Arizona.
UGA, Arizona and William and Mary rank 17th among public universities in the nation, and UGA and William and Mary are the fourth highest-ranked M.B.A. programs at public universities in the South. They rank eighth among both public and private schools in the South.
J. Don Edwards, interim dean of the Terry College of Business, says the college is proud of its progress in the difficult task of climbing in the rankings.
The M.B.A. rankings are based on reputation, success in job placement of graduates and student selectivity.
UGA's School of Law, along with law schools at William and Mary and Wake Forest, ranks 34th among the nation's 174 accredited law schools. The three schools are tied for eighth among law schools at both public and private universities in the South, while UGA and William and Mary rank third in the South and 12th nationally among public institutions. UGA ranked 26th overall last year.
The rankings are based on reputation; student selectivity, including Law School Admissions Test scores; graduate employment success, including bar-exam passage rates; and faculty resources.
