William and Mary graduate education and law schools among nation's best

The School of Education at the College of William and Mary was ranked among the nation’s best graduate programs in the field by U.S. News & World Report's most recent survey. The School ranked 49th, tied with Virginia Commonwealth, Temple University and University of California – Santa Barbara.

“These rankings, which affirm the strength of our programs and research efforts, come at a great time as the Commonwealth and the College are investing in a new facility for the School of Education,” said Virginia McLaughlin, dean of the School of Education. “We continue to be one of the smallest programs in this elite group - our reputation and opportunities will only be enhanced by a state-of-the-art building.

The placement marks a return to the ranking for the school after a one-year absence in the magazine’s annual ranking of the top 50 graduate programs. The School of Education ranked tied for 45th in 2005 and 47th in 2004.

The ranking comes as the School of Education is moving forward with plans for a new, state-of-the-art facility. The College is planning to construct a 109,000 square foot facility, to open in 2010, at the site of the former Williamsburg Community hospital. The Governor and General Assembly included $5.4 million of funding in Virginia’s most recent budget to advance the planning and design of this project. The new structure will allow the School of Education to expand its outreach programs in the region and enable all of the school’s classes, programs and faculty to work together under one roof. The 22-acre site is located adjacent to campus between Compton Drive and Monticello Avenue.

According to the latest U.S. News & World Report survey of graduate programs and professional schools the law school placed 31st, tied with Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin – Madison. The Law School, which is celebrating its 227th year, has consistently ranked among the best law schools in the country in the magazine’s survey. U.S. News ranked the school 27th in both 2006 and 2005 and 29th in 2004.

"This year the Law School is in a three-way tie at 31. Last year we were in a five-way tie at 27. One "overall score" point separates us from the schools now ranked 28 and two points separate us from the schools now ranked 25," said W. Taylor Reveley, dean of the William and Mary Law School. "Some years the US News rankings are more alluring than others. The Law School has never been in better shape than it is now."

The magazine annually ranks graduate and professional school programs in education, law, medicine, engineering and business using a variety of scoring categories, such as peer assessments, student/faculty rations and funding for faculty research.

The 2008 edition of the newsstand book, America’s Best Graduate Schools, hits newsstands Tuesday, April 3, 2007. Many of the rankings will also appear in the April 9th issue of U.S. News, which goes on sale April 2. A complete list of the rankings is available on line at http://www.usnews.com.

The U.S. News ranking comes on the heels of BusinessWeek magazine ranking the college’s Mason School of Business in the Top 30 of the 50 best undergraduate business programs in the U.S. earlier in March. With an overall ranking of 29th, The Mason School was also ranked as a Top 10 school among public universities. Overall, William and Mary has also been ranked as a “’Best Value’” Among Colleges and Universities in the Nation” by Kiplinger magazine and named a “Best in Southeast” school by the Princeton Review: Best 361 Colleges in 2007.