In today's release of the annual U.S. News & World Report graduate program rankings, the School of Education ranked 29th overall and 16th among Education Policy programs. More information on rankings of programs across the CU campuses can be found below.
While the ratings such as those by U.S. News are inherently limited by formulas that not only often do not compare apples to apples, but also miss crucial aspects of strong programs, the School of Education shares a high regard for the graduate programs with which it shares relatively high rankings. In addition, we are proud of our distinguished faculty that are recognized leaders in their fields. For example, the proportion of current, tenured faculty that have been named fellows of the American Educational Research Association (8 of 24) is second only to UC Berkeley. At the same time, almost one-third of our faculty members are outstanding tenure-track "junior scholars" who are bringing groundbreaking ideas to their fields.
The School of Education's growing model of campus-, nation-, and world-wide centers, such as CU Engage: Center for Community-Based Learning and Research, the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education, the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), the Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, the Center for Assessment, Design, and Evaluation (CADRE), the National Center for Research in Policy and Practice (NCRPP), and the growing A Queer Endeavor initiative, offer a means for veteran and junior scholars to share expertise and new ideas while jointly engaging in work that integrates rigorous research, teaching and outreach.
The School of Education is one of just a handful of the "top 30" ranked schools in which over 90% of tenured and tenure-track professors are involved in our teacher education programs, as faculty members are not only strong researchers and local community members, but also strong teachers and mentors. The School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which entails rigorous and comprehensive evaluations of our teacher preparation programs to ensure that our students are thoroughly prepared to enter teaching upon graduation.
Most importantly, these accomplishments are always grounded in the school's deep commitment to what brings us to education in the first place: advancing equal opportunity, democracy, and social justice.
CU Boulder graduate programs rated highly by US News & World Report
March 10, 2015
CU System Release
University of Colorado graduate programs hold dozens of spots in the latest annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report, whose survey spotlights excellence in higher education across the country.
All four CU campuses are recognized for research and teaching achievement in the fields of health care, engineering, law, education and business.
Below is a sampling of CU’s rankings from the 2016 edition of Best Graduate Schools (U.S. News Media Group). Some rankings include ties with other institutions:
University of Colorado Boulder
- No. 1: CU Boulder’s atomic/molecular/optical physics program maintains the top spot nationally.
- Top 10: Other CU Boulder programs ranking in the top 10 are environmental law (fifth), ceramics (eighth), quantum physics (eighth), geology (ninth), physical chemistry (ninth) and aerospace engineering (10th).
- Another 28 CU Boulder schools and programs hold places on the national rankings within their fields: chemical engineering (16), education policy (16), clinical psychology (18), environmental engineering (18), physics (18), civil engineering (21), earth sciences (23), chemistry (24), speech-language pathology (25), audiology (27) School of Education (29), biological sciences (30), psychology (30), College of Engineering and Applied Science (34), mechanical engineering (35), electrical engineering (37), computer engineering (38), computer science (40), Law School (40), political science (45), mathematics (46), sociology (46), English (50), history (50), Leeds School of Business (52 for part-time MBA schools), economics (53), fine arts (53) and the Leeds School of Business (86). Not all disciplines are ranked by the publication.
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
School of Medicine
- Top 10: The school ranks eighth nationally for primary care, with the specialties of pediatrics (fifth) and family medicine (seventh) also ranking high. The physician assistant program ranks fifth.
- The School of Medicine ranks 35th overall for research.
College of Nursing
- Top 10: The online nursing degree ranks fifth.
- The nursing master’s degree is 30th.
University of Colorado Denver
- Top 10: The online criminal justice program ranks ninth.
- Other schools and programs ranking: health care management (two spots: 18th, in partnership with the Network for Healthcare Management; and 23rd), School of Public Affairs (29), Department of Integrative Biology (Biological Sciences Ph.D. program) (75), the Business School’s part-time MBA program (91) and the School of Education and Human Development (96).
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- Top 20: The online engineering degree ranks 20th.
- Also ranking are the online business MBA (40), nursing master’s degree (75) and part-time MBA (130).
Rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program quality, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. These data come from surveys of more than 1,900 programs and more than 13,700 academics and professionals. The publication aims to provide a tool to students and parents who are comparing college programs at accredited public and private universities in the United States.
The 2016 Best Graduate Schools includes rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines (business, law, education, engineering, and medicine), as well as part-time MBA and part-time law school programs. For the first time, U.S. News also is ranking master's programs in nursing based on both statistical and reputational data. Detailed statistical data collected about each nursing school will be displayed on searchable directory pages on usnews.com, as well as in the "Best Graduate Schools 2016" print guidebook.