UT’s College of Education has maintained the top spot among public institutions according to the 2013 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.

The annual report ranked the graduate program at the College of Education number one nationally among public schools and third overall. UT is one of the three public schools in the top 10 nationally, with UCLA coming in at number six and the University of Oregon coming in at eighth. This is the second year that the College has been ranked number one.

Marilyn C. Kameen, senior associate dean of the College of Education, said the high ranking is due to the College’s strength in several important areas.

“The dramatic increase in research expenditures from research grants, high quality doctoral programs that have high admission standards and our national reputation of our academic programs, as evaluated by deans of education across the country, have contributed to the rise in rankings,” Kameen said.

The College of Education’s research funding program was also ranked number one for the fifth year in a row. The college received around $64 million for research this last year. Two departments within the college, Administration/Supervision and Special Education, were ranked in the top 10 overall.

“These rankings showcase the work of our faculty and the fact that they have been found to be of high quality,” said Herbert Rieth, chair of the special education department. “It also shows that our students are highly motivated and are hard workers.”

Since the start of the U.S. News & World Report rankings the College of Education has always been in the top 20 public rankings for its graduate program, rising from 18th to first among public universities and from 27th to third overall.

UT is ahead of nationally respected private and public schools such as Stanford, Yale, UC Berkeley and University of Michigan.

“It feels great to be a part of a school that is so highly ranked in the nation and it is a definitely something that motivates me to succeed,” said exercise science freshman Rachel Gonzalez.

Printed on Monday, March 26, 2012 as: College of Education ranks high among top US schools