“U.S. News and World Report” released their annual rankings for graduate universities across the nation, and once again, NPS programs performed well in the analysis, including a number one overall ranking in a new specialty category.
The university’s graduate programs in public affairs/public policy placed in a tie for 52nd out of 272 ranked programs, placing NPS in the top 20 percent nationally. In addition, a new specialized category, titled Homeland/National Security and Emergency Management, places NPS first overall. Also ranked was the university’s engineering programs, posting a tie at 106th place out of 214 ranked programs.
“This is an outstanding result for NPS, and is further evidence of something we already know on campus,” noted NPS President, retired Vice Adm. Ronald A. Route. “Our innovative faculty and professional students create an environment that produces excellent graduate scholarship across a broad spectrum of fields, reflected within these rankings and beyond them. I’m very proud of this accomplishment, as I am proud of all of the outstanding education and research program our students and faculty execute on a daily basis across the campus.”
“I think the report does several things,” said Dean of the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (GSBPP) Dr. Bill Gates. “To our curriculum sponsors in the Navy ... having the accreditation show up in a ranking like this is a strong signal that we’re providing a high-quality program that is respected by the outside community.”
“The Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (GSEAS) did well in the most recent U.S. News and World Report ranking of graduate schools,” added GSEAS Dean Dr. Clyde Scandrett. While peer programs like MIT, Stanford and CalTech topped the list, NPS outperformed some highly-respected programs, Scandrett added. “All said, I believe this is a good report for NPS,” he said.
For the new specialized category in homeland/national security, Gates went on to say that the university is in strong company, outranking schools like Harvard, George Mason, University of Southern California and Columbia among others.
“For a school like NPS, that has a unique niche, this is really a tribute to what we do, and an acknowledgement that what we’re doing is quite good,” Gates noted.
For the public affairs/public policy programs, U.S. News is largely ranking programs that are accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration, or NASPAA. And the results are not new for GSBPP, noted Gates. NPS has consistently placed in this range in recent years, notwithstanding the variable methodologies used and the number of schools surveyed.
“Our reputation is built through faculty publications in public administration, public policy journals, participation and presentations at public administration/public policy related conferences. It’s also our participation in the NASPAA annual meetings and in NASPAA’s administration,” Gates continued. “Our own Professor of Public Administration and Management Keith Snider is on the Executive Committee. His efforts in the peer-to-peer analysis with other university committee members has clearly enhanced the reputation of our school and programs within the NASPAA community.
“The rankings are based entirely on nominations from Deans, Directors, and Chairs of NASPAA member programs,” he added. “Each program can submit two sets of nominations. This indicates the reputation we have within our NASPAA peers. Considering our specialized niche, I think this is an impressive result!”