EAST LANSING, Mich. — For the 14th year in a row, Michigan State University has the nation’s top graduate programs in both elementary and secondary education, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
The long-running streak highlights a strong overall showing by Michigan State in the 2009 edition of the magazine’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” which hits newsstands Monday. MSU also boasts high-ranking programs in medicine, nuclear physics, business, psychology, political science and other areas.
MSU’s College of Education retained its 14th ranking from 2008, with seven specialties ranking in the top eight within their classifications. In addition to elementary and secondary education, rehabilitation counseling kept its No. 1 spot. Rehabilitation counseling prepares professionals who help people with disabilities reach personal and societal goals.
Also scoring high marks were curriculum and instruction (No. 2; same as last year), higher education administration (4; same as last year), educational psychology (5; down from 4) and education policy (8; up from 10 last year).
“We’re pleased to be recognized by our peers for the quality of our programs and the work of our faculty, especially their research on teaching and learning and their dedication to preparing the next generation of teachers and researchers,” said Carole Ames, dean of the College of Education. “These rankings are a tribute to both our faculty and our graduates.”
MSU’s nuclear physics program ranked No. 2, behind only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nuclear physicists have access to MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory – a world leader in rare isotope research and nuclear science education.
The supply chain/logistics program within the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management ranked second as well – again, trailing only MIT. Overall, the business school ranked 40th.
Among medical schools, MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine tied for seventh in the primary care category with four universities including Harvard, while the College of Human Medicine ranked 22nd. In addition, the College of Veterinary Medicine ranked ninth.
“Since 2000 we’ve placed among the top 10 percent of all medical schools nationally and been the top-ranking osteopathic college for primary care education,” said William D. Strampel, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. “Ranking seventh this year allows us to maintain that status. As we plan our expansion to sites in southeast Michigan, we will be implementing the same high quality curriculum there.”
Pending accreditation, the college will soon educate as many as 50 more students a year at each of two sites in southeast Michigan – one in Wayne County and one in Macomb County.
In social sciences and the humanities, MSU ranked seventh in criminology, 22nd in political science and 66th in psychology.
In industrial and organizational psychology – which explores worker performance and satisfaction as a function of training, performance evaluation and other issues – MSU again was No. 1 (it was top-ranked the last three times the specialty was evaluated, in 1998, 2001 and 2005). Faculty members in the program have worked on work-behavior issues with large corporations, the Air Force and Navy, and various federal, state and local agencies. MSU was also 42nd in clinical psychology.
In addition, the university was 34th in biological sciences, 36th in chemistry and 47th in nursing. And the MSU College of Law maintained its position as a third-tier law school (out of four tiers).
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.