KU claims 25 top 25 programs, plus Best Value ranking

Twenty-five graduate programs at KU rank in the top 25 among the nation's public universities in the 2005 edition of U.S. News' "America's Best Graduate Schools."

Of those 25 programs, 12 are ranked in the top 10. The city management and urban policy program and the special education program are ranked No. 1 among public universities.

U.S. News ranks 12 KU graduate programs in the top 10 of national public universities:

-- city management and urban policy ranks first
-- special education ranks first
-- community health is tied for second
-- paleontology ranks third
-- public management ranks fourth
-- occupational therapy is tied for fourth
-- public affairs is tied for fifth
-- audiology ranks fifth
-- speech-language-pathology ranks sixth
-- sedimentology/stratigraphy ranks seventh
-- social work is tied for eighth
-- physical therapy is tied for 10th

In addition, the magazine ranks 13 other KU graduate programs among the top 25 of national public universities:

-- nursing-midwifery is tied for 12th
-- music is tied for 12th
-- nursing-anesthesia is tied for 14th
-- public finance and budgeting is tied for 17th
-- health services administration is tied for 18th
-- clinical child psychology is tied for 19th
-- nursing is tied for 20th
-- rural medicine is tied for 22nd
-- clinical psychology is tied for 23rd
-- drama/theatre is tied for 23rd
-- history is tied for 23rd
-- aerospace engineering is tied for 24th
-- School of Education is tied for 25th

Programs that moved up in rank from last year include audiology (from sixth to fifth among public universities), public affairs (from seventh to fifth), social work (from 11th to eighth) and physical therapy (from 12th to 10th).

KU's department of public administration can claim three top 10 rankings and a fourth top 20 ranking: first in the city management/urban policy specialization, 10th in the overall "public affairs" field, seventh in public management and 17th for public finance and budgeting.

The School of Engineering has three graduate programs in the top 30 among public universities and four programs in the top 50. The programs are aerospace engineering (tied for 24th), environmental health engineering (tied for 27th), civil engineering (tied for 28th) and mechanical engineering (tied for 47th).

The School of Education's teacher preparation program continues to be ranked in the top 50 graduate programs among public universities. The School of Law was ranked 33rd out of public universities, notably holding its place while a number of other area law schools dropped.

Meanwhile, the words "University of Kansas" and "best value" continue to be synonymous as KU once again was named to a select list of universities recommended for their "outstanding academics, low-to-moderate tuition and fees, and generous financial aid packages."

KU was one of the 77 "Best Value" undergraduate institutions in the nation named to the Princeton Review's "America's Best Value College" list. KU also was named one of the "Best in the Midwest," one of the 150 schools profiled in the Princeton Review's first edition of "The Best Midwestern Colleges."

"The 77 schools we chose for this book may not be the least costly colleges in America, but they are all great education deals," said Robert Franek, assistant vice president for admissions services at the Princeton Review. "We highly recommend them to students and parents seeking the best academic bang for their buck."

The Princeton Review is a New York-based company known for its books, test-prep courses, college and graduate school admission services, and K-12 education services. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or ETS.