National publication ranks university's offerings in top 25
By Matt Winston
Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 22 - February 26, 1998
Graduate programs at one of Virginia Tech's colleges and several academic programs were recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report 's 1998 "America's Best Graduate Schools" issue. According to the survey, the College of Engineering ranked 25th among the 219 graduate engineering schools surveyed. The magazine also ranked Tech's Vocational and Technical Education Program sixth in the nation and ranked the Center for Public Administration and Policy among the country's top 10.
The College of Engineering tied in the rankings with Harvard University, Ohio State University, and Rice University. According to the survey, Tech engineering was rated 19th in national reputation by professional engineers and recruiters and 25th in reputation by engineering-school deans.
The Vocational and Technical Education program in the College of Human Resources and Education is ranked sixth in the nation by education deans and senior faculty members in the category of Education Specialties. The program has consistently ranked in the top 10 for the past four years.
Janet M. Johnson, dean of the College of Human Resources and Education, said, "Our faculty members are actively involved in national organizations, our graduates are in leadership positions in education and industry, and our external connections have given us the opportunity to do cutting-edge research. This recognition is richly deserved."
The Vocational and Technical Education program is one of only 22 comprehensive programs nation wide, and the only doctoral VTE program in Virginia.
Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) ranks in the top 20 graduate programs in public affairs and in the top 10 for its program in public administration and management. This reflects CPAP as the premiere public affairs program in the state of Virginia.
CPAP, part of the university's College of Architecture and Urban Studies, operates from two main locations: the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg and from the Northern Virginia Graduate Center in Falls Church.
This is the first year the magazine has ranked public-affairs programs in this manner. The magazine grouped 248 programs that encompass the field of public affairs. Deans, top administrators and senior faculty members were asked to rate institutions based on public-affairs programs for scholarship, curriculum, and the quality of its faculty members and graduate students on a five-point scale.
U.S. News ranks the nation's 191 graduate education programs that grant Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees using five attributes: faculty resources, research activity, student selectivity, and two separate measures of reputation. The graduate-school survey, published annually by the magazine since 1987, is intended to provide prospective students with information about the nation's top graduate programs in several disciplines.