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 KU
special education program No. 1 in nation; education school
in top 25
LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas' special education program
claimed the No. 1 ranking in the nation for the seventh time
in eight years in the latest U.S. News America's Best Graduate
Schools rankings. The School of Education was rated 25th in
the nation among public universities and remains the only
Kansas school to make the national magazine's rankings.
The school's ranking was bolstered by the magazine's survey
of area school superintendents, which gave the school's academic
programs a 4.0 score out of a possible 5.0. The school also
reported $16.6 million in funded research, a $3.8 million
increase over the previous year. KU received more research
dollars than 15 other schools of education in the top 25 public
universities.
"We continue to be proud of our outstanding colleagues
in the Department of Special Education," said Angela
Lumpkin, dean of the School of Education. "Their exemplary
research, level of external funding and teaching have earned
them this well-deserved recognition."
Lumpkin also said that although the school is pleased to
be recognized in the top 25 among its peer institutions, the
school has a heightened commitment to excellence in both graduate
and undergraduate education.
"We want Kansans to reap the benefits of the excellent
educational programs at KU," she said. "It is the
aspiration of all of our academic units to be among the top
10 schools of education. As we prepare educators as leaders,
we positively affect undergraduate and graduate students,
as well as their future students, clients and colleagues."
KU's School of Education is composed of four departments
-- health, sport and exercise sciences; psychology and research
in education; teaching and leadership; and special education
-- and seven centers, including the Center for Economic Education,
the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation, and the
Center for Research on Learning.
Overall, KU has more than 20 programs that U.S. News places
among the best in the nation, including the No. 1-ranked graduate
program in city management and urban policy. Other top 10
programs are paleontology, 5th; community health, 5th; public
management and administration, 7th; speech-language pathology,
7th; KU Medical Center's occupational therapy program, 8th;
audiology, 9th; journalism, 9th; and sedimentology and stratigraphy,
10th.
Other ranked programs include public affairs, 12th; public
finance and budgeting,15th; clinical psychology doctoral program,
19th; social work, 19th; pharmacy, 21st; educational psychology,
23rd; family medicine, 26th; physical therapy, 28th; nursing,
36th; history, 45th; political science, 49th. The doctoral
programs in psychology and in human development and family
life were ranked 61st and 80th, respectively. The School of
Law is ranked in the second-tier range of 52nd to 90th out
of 175 schools.
The magazine ranks only a handful of disciplines every year.
Most are ranked every two to four years or more, and the magazine's
ranking methodology often changes.
U.S. News, which has ranked graduate programs since 1994,
will be available on newsstands and online Monday.
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