NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Peabody College at Vanderbilt University is ranked 4th among the nation’s graduate programs in education in the latest "U.S. News & World Report" listing of the nation’s leading graduate and professional schools. The placement represents a three-spot jump in last year’s ranking and is the school’s highest "U.S. News" ranking ever.
The School of Medicine advanced two spots to tie with the University of California-Los Angeles among the top research-oriented medical schools.
Peabody also was ranked as the No. 1 program for special education, a position it last held in 1996. For the past six years, it had ranked second behind the University of Kansas, which fell to the No. 2 spot in that category this year. Other Peabody programs ranked among the top 10 are Administration/Supervision, 5, down from 4th last year; Education Policy, 9, up from 10th; Elementary Education, 6, up from No. 7; Curriculum, 9, same as last year.
"I am delighted by the new ranking, which is actually recognition of Peabody’s people," said Peabody Dean Camilla Benbow.
"Over the last few years we have worked diligently to bring in faculty who are nationally and internationally known and to support them with great resources. We have also been attracting high caliber students," she said. "The result is an environment where people come together to do truly creative and remarkable work."
Benbow said the No. 1 ranking in special education is especially gratifying. "Peabody has a long history of accomplishment in this area. The scope of our influence on research, practice and public policy is quite large, and the ranking reflects that.
"Of course, you have to take these rankings with a grain of salt," she added. "They can fluctuate from year to year for no apparent reason. Perhaps the best benefit of a high ranking is that it challenges us to work even harder to produce leaders for education and human development."
Tied with Peabody for the No. 4 overall ranking was Teacher’s College of Columbia University.
In other graduate and professional school rankings, the Law School held steady at 17 and the Owen Graduate School of Management fell to 45 from 29 last year. The School of Nursing was ranked 29th. The last year "U.S. News" ranked schools of nursing was 2000. Vanderbilt’s nursing school was ranked 27th that year.
Each year the magazine ranks schools of business, education, engineering, law and medicine. Other disciplines are ranked periodically.
The rankings were e-mailed to universities earlier this week. More detailed rankings and information were to be available on the "U.S. News" website, USNews.com, beginning April 4 and in the April 14 edition of the magazine, which goes on sale April 7. The newsstand book, "Best Graduate Schools," also goes on sale April 7.