Colleges of Education, Business and School of Law Ranked Among Top Graduate Programs Nationally

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The graduate education programs in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas rose significantly in the latest edition of the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools. The Master of Business Administration program in the Sam M. Walton College of Business maintained its status in the top tier of business programs, while the ranking for the part-time M.B.A. program improved. The School of Law remained in the top 50 public law programs in the country.

“The graduate programs at the University of Arkansas play a vital role in our mission to meet the educational, economic and social needs of our state, and our faculty and deans have worked diligently to make them among the best in the country,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “This recognition in the U.S. News and World Report rankings is evidence that the hard work is paying off, and will no doubt help attract more top-notch students to our graduate programs.”

The College of Education moved up 21 places in the U.S. News rankings, from 127th in the 2012 edition to 106^th now. The college's graduate education programs debuted on the U.S. News list two years ago at No. 141.

“Our faculty and staff are working very hard to continually improve our programs, and we are happy to see this effort reflected in the national rankings,” said Tom Smith, dean of the college. “This rapid, upward movement indicates we are making positive strides that benefit our students and, ultimately, K-12 education throughout Arkansas and beyond.”

The rehabilitation counseling program in the College of Education and Health Professions has been ranked in the top 20 among rehabilitation counseling programs for the past decade. It was No. 16 in 2011, the last year that rehabilitation counseling programs were ranked.

The rankings are based in part on factors such teacher/student ratios, the amount of research funds generated by faculty, enrollment in the college and assessments by both peer institutions and school superintendents nationwide.

Best Graduate Schools ranked the Walton College full-time M.B.A. program 25^th among public institutions and 51^st overall among public and private colleges and universities. The Walton College part-time program moved up from 29^th to 25^th in this year’s rankings of programs at public institutions and from 50^th to 47^th among part-time programs at public and private institutions.

“Thanks go out to our great team of faculty, staff and students that made these superb rankings possible,” said Walton College Dean Dan Worrell. “Our continued high M.B.A. rankings are reflective of the sustained academic excellence of our business programs at the Walton College. We are dedicated to offering programs of the highest quality for full-time and part-time graduate students alike.”

For the M.B.A rankings, U.S. News drew on factors that included peer assessments, assessments by corporate recruiters, employment rates for students after graduation, and the average starting salaries and bonuses that graduates received.

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Arkansas School of Law is ranked in the top tier of law schools in the nation. The School of Law tied for 44^th place among public law schools and 89^th place overall.

“Our law school performs well relative to peer institutions, particularly in light of the excellent economic value we provide to our students,” said Stacy Leeds, dean of the School of Law.

The U.S. News ranking methodology includes a peer assessment score, an assessment by lawyers and judges, student/faculty ratio, post-graduation employment rates, bar exam passage rates and other measures.