U.Va. Graduate Schools, Programs Excel in 2014 U.S. News Rankings

Graduate and professional schools and programs at the University of Virginia retained their high ranks and, in some cases, moved up in the 2014 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, released Tuesday.

The School of Law retained its No. 7 ranking, tied with the University of Pennsylvania. Its tax law program this year is tied with two others for seventh in that specialty.

The Darden School of Business improved its ranking among business schools to No. 12, up a spot from the previous rankings. Darden’s management program is ranked fourth, while its entrepreneurship and executive MBA programs each ranked No. 12.

The Curry School of Education improved from No. 23 to a tie for the No. 22 rank with the University of Kansas. Its specialty programs excelled; special education is ranked fifth, administration/supervision and education policy each are at No. 10, the elementary education program is ranked seventh and the secondary education program is ninth.

Dean Robert Pianta characterized the results as a “tremendous sign of our direction and positioning in a very competitive and challenging environment.

“I think these rankings demonstrate the exceptional work of Curry faculty and students and the ways in which this work intersects with issues of great national prominence and visibility,” he said. “We are clearly among the nation’s leaders in producing the next generation of scholars and educators and in developing tools and knowledge that make a difference for policymakers and practitioners in the field. Although we are proud of these accomplishments and recognition, we also recognize they only set the stage for our aspirations for the future.”

U.Va.’s School of Medicine is ranked No. 26 for research, and its primary care program improved a spot to No. 18.

The School of Engineering and Applied Science moved up from No. 39 into a five-way tie for No. 38.

“Students in our graduate and professional schools can be sure that they will receive a rigorous and challenging education here,” Executive Vice President and Provost John D. Simon said. “Performing well in the U.S. News rankings is a result of this hard work. It’s rewarding and also provides incentive to continue getting better.”

U.S. News ranks business, education, engineering, law and medicine each year. It bases its rankings on two kinds of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. The data come from surveys of administrators at more than 1,250 programs and more than 13,000 academics and professionals, conducted in the fall of 2012 and early 2013.

This year, U.S. News also conducted new peer surveys and published new rankings for Ph.D. programs in economics, English, history, political science, psychology and sociology – all parts of U.Va.’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Those programs were last ranked five years ago.

The U.Va. English Ph.D. program is ranked No. 10, tied with the University of California-Los Angeles and Duke University. Several English specialties ranked highly, including American literature after 1865 (No. 4 tie), American literature before 1865 (No. 5), and 18th- through 20th-century British literature (No. 2 tie).

The U.Va. economics Ph.D. program is ranked No. 30, while political science is in a four-way tie at No. 36. History is ranked No. 20, and the U.S. colonial history specialty comes in at No. 5. The sociology Ph.D. program is No. 35, tied with several others.

Psychology ranks No. 26, tied with three other schools. The developmental psychology Ph.D. program is in a six-way tie for the No. 5 rank in that specialty program category.

Other programs are only ranked periodically by U.S. News. Here are their most recent U.S. News rankings:

2013

• Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy: Tied with several others for No. 46 among public affairs schools.
• Clinical psychology: Doctorate program tied with seven others at No. 18.

2012

• School of Nursing: No. 15; clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric and mental health, No. 8, and nurse practitioner, family, No. 21.

2011

• Computer science: No. 28
• Physics: No. 40
• Chemistry: No. 45
• Biological sciences: No. 46

Extended rankings and more details about methodology can be found on the U.S. News website.