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U.S. News rankings good news for IU schools(Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 31--Indiana University schools of library and information science, education and business are near the top in the latest rankings of graduate and professional schools by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings, included in the magazine's "America's Best Graduate Schools," were released today. IU biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics departments showed up among the best science graduate programs. They had top-10 programs in analytical chemistry, ecology and evolutionary biology and nuclear physics. The magazine ranked graduate science programs for the first time since 2002. The Indiana University School of Library and Information Science tied for seventh, based on surveys of deans, directors and faculty at 50 graduate programs. "Objectively, we should be rated a notch or two higher than seven," Blaise Cronin, dean of the school, said by e-mail. "But the reality is that U.S. News & World Report rankings, in this case at least, are entirely subjective." He said IU would rank higher if the methodology included faculty research and the millions of dollars in National Science Foundation grants it has secured. "However, this is not rocket science, and probably not worth quibbling about," he said. The IU School of Education ranked 17th overall and eighth among public universities, with programs in counseling and personnel services, elementary education, secondary education and higher-ed administration programs in the top 10. The Kelley School of Business tied for 23rd, up from 27th a year ago. It tied for ninth among public institutions. "The overall direction, we're happy with that," said Dan Smith, dean of the school. The IU School of Law in Bloomington tied for 37th, down a spot from last year. U.S. News ranks education, business and law schools every year, using criteria that include faculty research, admissions test scores and selectivity, resources and placement rates. Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the IU School of Education, said the school did well despite "quite a reduction in state funds in the last couple of years." He said the rankings, while imperfect, can be useful for self-examination. "And frankly, prospective faculty and students look at these rankings when making decisions about where to go," he said. Smith, the business school dean, said, "It's easy to pick apart the rankings, but they provide a nice summary of information for parents, prospective students and recruiters. They're certainly widely used." Purdue University's Krannert School of Management ranked 21st among business schools. "I think the state of Indiana should be quite pleased to have two business schools that are ranked inside the top 25 -- and state schools at that," Smith said. Indiana chemistry and biological sciences departments rose in the rankings since 2002, placing 24th and 32nd, respectively. Math was 29th and physics 35th, both down slightly from four years ago. HOW IU MEASURES: U.S. News & World Report rankings of IU Bloomington graduate schools and programs. School of Education -- 17th (15th last year). -- Seventh in higher education administration and elementary education; ninth in secondary education; 10th in counseling/personnel services. Kelley School of Business -- Tied for 23rd (27th last year) -- Tied for ninth in production/operations. School of Law, Bloomington -- Tied for 37th (36th last year). School of Library and Information Science -- Tied for seventh overall. -- Fourth in law librarianship; eighth in digital librarianship, information systems and school library media. Biological sciences -- Tied for 32nd (41st when last rated in 2002). -- Tied for eighth in ecology/evolutionary biology. Chemistry -- Tied for 24th (27th in 2002). -- Sixth in analytical chemistry. Mathematics -- Tied for 29th (26th in 2002) Physics -- 35th (32nd in 2002). -- Seventh in nuclear physics. Source: "America's Best Graduate Schools," 2007 |