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O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington stays atop U.S. News rankings

For Immediate Release Mar 12, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the third time in a row, the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington is ranked No. 1 for its master’s program in public affairs in the U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate School rankings, released today. This year, the O’Neill School shares the top ranking with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

A student enters the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington
The Paul O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington holds the top spot for graduate programs in public affairs in the newest U.S. News and World Report graduate program rankings.Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University

“These rankings underscore how the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the first school in the U.S. to combine public management, policy and administration together with the environmental sciences, has become synonymous with excellence at IU and throughout the world,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “They are a testament to our outstanding faculty, who are routinely pushing frontiers in innovative teaching, learning and service. They also reflect the success of our school’s first-rate academic programs, which, for nearly a half century, have produced outstanding graduates who work around our state and across the globe toward finding solutions to some of our society’s most challenging problems.”

In addition, the Bloomington school has three specialties in the No. 1 spot: environmental policy and management, nonprofit management, and public finance and budgeting.

The O’Neill School at IUPUI saw a significant jump in its ranking, moving up to 39 from 52 in 2018. The IUPUI location also has three specialties in the top 20: nonprofit management (third), local government management (16th) and urban planning and policy (tied for 17th).

“With our school’s recent renaming in honor of Paul H. O’Neill’s legacy of leadership, this No. 1 ranking is a terrific way to start our new era,” Dean John Graham said. “The O’Neill School remains as committed as ever to excellence and influence in public and environmental affairs education.”

A number of other IU programs are also represented in the newest U.S. News and World Report rankings, including programs in the IU Kelley School of Business, School of Education, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, the Maurer School of Law and the McKinney School of Law.

U.S. News rankings are based on statistical and reputational data about graduate programs at U.S. colleges and universities collected in fall 2018 and early 2019.

Rankings for IU graduate programs include:

  • The full-time Master of Business Administration program at the Kelley School of Business ranked 21st (up from 27 last year), while the part-time Evening MBA program at IUPUI tied in the ninth spot. Six specialties within the school made the top 20 in their fields: entrepreneurship ranked eighth; and accounting, management, information systems, marketing and operations all ranked 12th. The finance program ranked 35th.
  • The School of Education on the Bloomington campus is ranked 28th overall, with its program in higher education administration ranking fourth. The school has an additional seven specialties ranked in the top 25: curriculum and instruction, 11th; elementary education, 12th; secondary teacher education, 13th (tie); student counseling and personnel services, 14th (tie); education administration, 15th; education policy, 19th (tie) and special education, 24th (tie).
  • The Indiana University School of Medicine ranked 31st in primary care and 48th in research. The school’s specialties in family medicine and pediatrics were also included in the rankings, tying with other schools for 13th and 23rd, respectively.
  • The School of Nursing master’s degree program is tied for 46th overall, while its doctorate in nursing program tied for 54th. The school’s nursing administration program tied for 12th.
  • IU’s two schools of law are also well represented in the newest rankings. The IU Bloomington Maurer School of Law’s graduate program, which is full-time, ranks 34th overall. The IUPUI McKinney School of Law’s part-time program is tied with two other universities for 30th. Several specialties were included in the top 20 as well: the health care law program at McKinney, 11th (tie); tax law at Maurer, 20th (tie); and legal writing at McKinney, 20th (tie).
  • The Master of Health Administration program at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI is tied for 28th in this year’s rankings. This is up from the 42nd spot in 2015 when these programs were last ranked.

The complete rankings are available on U.S. News and World Report’s website.

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