SU’s School of Information Studies ranked third nationwide by U.S. News & World Report

SU’s School of Information Studies ranked third nationwide by U.S. News & World ReportMarch 31, 2006Sara Millersemortim@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (IST) has been ranked third in the country among schools of library and information studies, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” released March 31. IST’s specialty graduate programs also received individual recognition, with the school’s information systems program ranked first nationwide, the digital librarianship program ranked second, the school library media program ranked fourth and the health librarianship program ranked eighth.

“What we’ve been targeting is to move up in information systems, which is our forte and our strength, so this No. 1 ranking is such an honor for the faculty and the students who have really made it first in the country,” says Raymond von Dran, dean of IST. “When you look at the U.S News rankings overall in all the different areas, you can see why nationally we are regarded as having a leadership position. We have provided information studies schools with the Syracuse model.”

Among the 2007 rankings of schools of library and information studies, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tied with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for first, and SU, the University of Washington and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor rounded out the top five. Master’s programs in library and information studies were last ranked in 1999, when IST tied for third among the 48 American Library Association-accredited master’s degree programs, and ranked second and 10th, respectively, for its graduate programs in information systems and school library media.

This year’s U.S. News graduate school rankings were in the areas of business, education, engineering, information studies, law, medicine and Ph.D programs in science.

SU’s School of Education returned to the list of the top 50 graduate schools of education this year, ranked No. 49 by U.S. News. “It’s certainly gratifying to be ranked among the best schools of education in the country,” says Douglas Biklen, dean of the School of Education. “With our leadership in inclusive education, our diverse and extensive field placements in Syracuse and in New York City and our outstanding math, science and literacy programs, we expect our momentum will carry us to the top 20 in the coming years.” In recent years, the School of Education has been named among the top 50 graduate education schools in the country; in 2000, the school tied for No. 50, and in 2002 and 2004 was ranked No. 44.

The Syracuse University College of Law is listed among the third tier of law schools.

The newsstand book featuring the U.S. News 2007 rankings is slated to hit newsstands on April 3. Many of the rankings will appear in the April 10 edition of U.S.News & World Report magazine, which also hits newsstands April 3. Rankings are also available at http://www.usnews.com.