SPEA Climbs in New MPA Rankings, Now Tops All Ivy and State University Programs
May 19, 2012 — SPEA Communications
SPEA Climbs in New MPA Rankings, Now Tops All Ivy and State University Programs
The graduate program at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) is now among the top two in the nation, according to the just-released and influential rankings from U.S. News and World Report (USN&WR). SPEA is now alone in the second position, an improvement from the previous rankings completed in 2008 that showed the School tied for second with Harvard University. The new MPA rankings show SPEA closing the gap with Syracuse University for the top spot and ahead of Harvard, Princeton University, and the University of Georgia.
“It is exciting news to hear that our graduate public affairs program is now ranked second out of 266 in the nation,” said SPEA Dean John D. Graham. “This is a credit to the SPEA faculty, students, advisors and alumni and we’re grateful for their dedication and loyalty. SPEA is recognized for excellence by its peers because we are not standing still. We are building on the research excellence of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, investing in a new generation of faculty, and buttressing our strengths in environment, finance and management.”
SPEA continues to be Indiana University’s top ranked graduate school and is first among all state university public affairs programs.
USN&WR also ranks specialties within the schools surveyed.
- The School’s nonprofit management program ranked first.
- The School’s environmental policy and management programranked first.
- The public finance and budgeting program ranked third.
- The public management and administration program ranked third.
Those rankings were unchanged.
Michael Rushton, director of SPEA’s Master of Public Affairs program, said, “This is a tribute to the outstanding work done by our faculty in their research and in the classroom and to our students and alumni in the world of public affairs. What makes this ranking so gratifying is that it reflects the profound impact our faculty and our graduates are making as they take on the toughest challenges our country faces. It will also help us continue to attract top notch students from Indiana and around the world.”
The U.S. News rankings are based on a survey of programs nationwide that confer the M.P.A. (Master of Public Affairs or Master of Public Administration), the M.P.P. (Master of Public Policy), or the M.P.M. (Master of Public Management). The survey emphasizes scholarship and curriculum, and the quality of faculty and graduates. This is the highest ranking in SPEA’s history and comes as the School prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in September. “This is an appropriate time to thank the pioneers of SPEA who had the vision to create a School that is now repeatedly honored as among the finest in the nation,” Graham said.
The School is committed to teaching, research and service in areas such as public and nonprofit management, public policy, environmental science, arts administration and health administration. The School maintains continuing relationships with a large number of public agencies at all levels of government; public and private hospitals and health organizations; and nonprofit organizations and corporations in the private sector. SPEA has earned national distinction for innovative educational programs that combine administrative, social, economic, financial, and science disciplines.