U.S. News: Ohio State graduate programs move up - 03/30/07

COLUMBUS – According to the U.S. News & World Report's 2008 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools released today, The Ohio State University offers some of the top graduate programs in Ohio and the nation. Six graduate programs are rated in the top five: vocational/ technical education, elementary education, counseling/personnel services (education), dispute resolution (law), supply chain/logistics (business), and veterinary medicine.

"These high marks in our top graduate programs speak to Ohio State's rising academic reputation overall," said President Karen A. Holbrook. "The fact that Ohio State programs compare favorably with both private schools and other top public schools is an indication of the remarkable strength and dedication of our faculty and quality of our students."

In specific rankings of graduate programs, the Moritz College of Law garnered an overall ranking of 31, up from last year's ranking of 39. Moritz is in the top ten among public law schools. The specialty program in dispute resolution is ranked 5th in the nation.

The reputation of Ohio State's College of Medicine continues to improve, with a jump to 31st among all institutions and 14th among publics. The college was ranked 32nd in 2006, 37th in 2005 and 39th in 2004.

Ohio's K-12 schools need look no further for resources than the College of Education, whose ranking jumped seven places to 17th nationally. The specialty program of vocational education is rated 1st in the nation, with programs in elementary education, secondary education, administration, counseling and personnel services, and curriculum and instruction, all in the top 10.

The Fisher College of Business, consistently ranked by U.S. News in the top 25 for eight consecutive years, maintained its 22nd place ranking for its MBA program and moved up one spot to 7th among public institutions. Fisher's accounting and supply chain/logistics programs were recognized in the top 10 of business school specialties. Job placement continues to be a major strength for the college with 96 percent of MBAs reporting job acceptances within three months of graduation. Fisher achieved the 5th highest job placement rate of the 50 schools ranked and had gains in assessment scores from surveys of corporate recruiters, deans and academic leaders across the nation.

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional-school programs in business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. For most categories, the magazine bases its decisions on: expert and peer assessment about program quality, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of students, faculty and research. The magazine also ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and many other areas, including selected health specialties.

The rankings of graduate schools and doctoral programs cover only a small portion of the programs offered at Ohio State. This year, in addition to annual rankings in business, education, engineering, law and medicine, the magazine offers new rankings for nursing, biological sciences, health care management, chemistry and veterinary medicine. However, the magazine reprints rankings from previous years in some fields that include Ohio State's graduate programs in political science, physics, psychology, sociology and fine arts.

U.S. News & World Report 2008 rankings of Ohio State graduate programs:

•Fisher College of Business: ranked 22nd overall among 407 institutions with MBA programs. Specialty programs in supply chain/logistics ranked 5th, accounting ranked 10th.

•College of Education: Ohio State ranked 17th overall out of 277 graduate education programs. Specialty programs in vocational/technical education ranked 1st; elementary education, counseling/personnel services, and curriculum/instruction all ranked 4th, secondary teacher education ranked 7th, and administration/supervision ranked 9th.

•College of Engineering: ranked 26th overall out of 186 institutions with graduate engineering programs.

•Moritz College of Law: ranked 31st in the nation out of 184 ABA-accredited law schools. The specialty program in dispute resolution ranked 5th. In a new category on law school diversity, U.S. News identified the College of Law as one of the most racially diverse student bodies in the nation, with 10% of the students identified as Asian-American.

•College of Medicine: ranked 31st overall among 125 accredited medical schools. The specialty program in primary care ranked 38th.

•College of Veterinary Medicine: ranked 5th in the nation among 28 schools accredited by the American Veterinary Medicine Association.

•The College of Public Health: masters program in healthcare management ranked 12th.

•College of Mathematics and Physical Sciences: ranked 28th overall in chemistry.

•College of Nursing: ranked 32nd overall.

•College of Biological Sciences: Ohio State ranked 42nd overall, and tied with Case Western Reserve University as the top ranked program in Ohio.