UW–Madison’s School of Education and many of its programs are again rated among the very best in the nation according to the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings released Tuesday, March 29.
UW–Madison is home to the fifth-ranked school of education in the nation — marking the ninth straight year it has been rated among the top five.
“Our overall ranking as one of the top five schools of education in the nation is indicative of the depth and breadth of our high quality programs,” says Dean Diana Hess, the Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair of Education. “The extraordinarily high rankings are due to the innovative work done by our exceptional faculty, staff, and students. The very generous and consistent support of our thousands of alumni and friends makes a critical difference — we are able to fund exciting new programs and provide the high levels of student support that are necessary to thrive.”
In addition, U.S. News ranked nine education specialty areas, and UW–Madison’s School of Education is the only school in the nation to have a top-10 ranking in all nine — including the No. 1-ranked Educational Psychology program.
“I am delighted that we have once again been recognized as the top Department of Educational Psychology in the country,” says Professor James Wollack, who chairs the department. “A distinction such as this is a true team effort and is the culmination of years of scholarship of the very highest quality and impact, a dedication to excellence in teaching and mentoring, an unparalleled enthusiasm to serve the profession and community, and perhaps most importantly, an unwavering commitment to improve learning and mental health both in our communities and globally. It is impossible to overstate just how spectacular our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are, and I am deeply appreciative to see their collective efforts recognized in this way.”
In the overall U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings, the University of Pennsylvania is ranked No. 1, followed by Harvard University, the University of California–Los Angeles and New York University. UW–Madison and Vanderbilt University tied for fifth. UCLA is the top-rated public school of education, while UW–Madison’s School of Education is No. 2.
The nine education specialty areas ranked among the top 10 and housed within the UW–Madison School of Education according to the 2023 U.S. News rankings are:
No. 1 — Educational Psychology
No. 2 — Secondary Teacher Education
No. 2 — Educational Administration
No. 3 — Curriculum and Instruction
No. 3 — Student Counseling
No. 5 — Elementary Teacher Education
No. 6 — Education Policy
No. 7 — Special Education
No. 10 — Higher Education Administration
“We are excited that our education programs in the School are so highly ranked,” says Hess. “It is quite remarkable that we are the only university in the nation to be home to a top 10 program in each of the nine education specialty areas that are ranked by U.S. News.”
U.S. News does not rank all specialty programs across all disciplines every year. For example, the 2021 Best Graduate Schools Rankings had the School of Education’s Printmaking program (Art Department) ranked No. 1, and UW-Madison was ranked 15th in the Best Art Schools ratings. Also in the 2021 rankings, the School of Education’s Occupational Therapy program (Department of Kinesiology) checked in at No. 17. Similarly, in the 2020 ratings the School of Education’s rehabilitation counseling program, housed in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, ranked No. 1.
To calculate its overall 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings, U.S. News collected statistical and reputational data survey results returned from 274 institutions that grant doctoral degrees. U.S. News evaluated education schools on 11 indicators used in the calculations that broadly cover quality assessment (peer assessments and educational professional assessments); research activity (total research expenditures and average expenditures per faculty member); student selectivity (acceptance rate, mean GRE quantitative scores, and mean GRE verbal scores); and faculty resources (doctorates granted-to-faculty ratio, total doctoral degrees granted, student-to-faculty ratio, and percentage of faculty with awards). Education specialty rankings, U.S. News explains, are based solely on nominations by education school deans and deans of graduate studies at education schools from the list of schools surveyed. They selected up to 15 top programs in each specialty area. (Learn more about the U.S. News methodology.)