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 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.