Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Maxwell School Ranks No. 1 for Public Affairs in 2024

Tuesday, April 25, 2023, By Jennifer Congel
Share
Graduate SchoolMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairsrankings

Maxwell School named 2024 U.S. News Best Grad Schools for Public Affairs Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is ranked No. 1 overall in a survey of its peers and is highly ranked in 10 subspecialties, according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Public Affairs School rankings. The school has received the top honor in 12 of the 13 years in which the peer surveys have been conducted; this year, the honor is shared with Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

“The challenges facing communities across the globe are increasingly complex and interconnected. We see this in the economic and educational aftershocks of the pandemic and the threats to infrastructure, security and climate justice created by a warming planet,” says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School. “Now more than ever the world needs adaptable leaders who are engaged across diverse people, issue areas and interests. We know that no ranking provides a complete picture of performance; but we are proud to be among the schools being recognized by our peers for this work, and we look forward to our continued good work together.”

The Best Public Affairs Schools rankings are based solely on surveys of deans, directors and department chairs representing 269 master’s programs in public affairs and administration. Each school is numerically ranked by peer school leadership on a 5-point scale, with the average score determining the school’s overall rank. Additionally, survey respondents can nominate up to 15 schools for excellence in 12 subspecialties, with the number of nominations determining each school’s position in the ranking. Unlike rankings for other disciplines, the public affairs ranking does not look at performance indicator inputs (such as test scores) or outputs (such as hiring salaries).

This year, the Maxwell School is highly ranked across ten subspecialty categories, including:

  • Public Management and Leadership
  • Nonprofit Management
  • Public Finance and Budgeting
  • Public Policy Analysis
  • Local Government Management
  • International Global Policy and Administration
  • Environmental Policy and Management
  • Social Policy
  • Urban Policy
  • Information and Technology Management

“For anyone looking to make a difference in the community—locally, regionally, domestically or internationally—there’s a Maxwell program to fuel your passion and develop your effectiveness,” says Colleen Heflin, associate dean, chair and professor of public administration and international affairs. “We measure our success by the important work our graduates do as leaders in the fields of public policy, public administration and international affairs; the recognition and renown of our faculty members in their fields of expertise; and the vibrancy of our academic environment, including our students, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures and areas of interest.”

Central to the school’s growth is its continued investment in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility—in both its learning and research environments and in its public impact. The Maxwell School is home to 15 research centers and institutes that work to shed light on a range of issues, including environmental sustainability; autonomous systems policy; population health and aging; law and security; conflict resolution; democracy and journalism; global affairs; regional studies; and more.

Among Maxwell’s newest research centers is Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship in Washington, D.C., a joint effort with the S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications to promote nonpartisan, evidence-based research and to convene civic dialogue around polarizing issues. The institute is led by veteran journalist Margaret Talev, who joined the University as Kramer Director in January 2023.

Also joining the Maxwell community this semester as director of the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute is computer and cognitive sciences expert Hamid Ekbia, who has been appointed University Professor in the Maxwell School. Ekbia will engage researchers across campus to better understand the societal impacts of emerging technologies and to help shape the policy, legal and ethical frameworks guiding their proliferation.

Meanwhile, the Center for Policy Design and Governance, home to the new Policy Design Studio, launched last year under the leadership of its founding director Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. The center helps public service leaders evaluate the effectiveness of their policies and promotes stakeholder engagement in the policy design process.

“The Maxwell community strives every day to make a public impact with our teaching, research and applied work. The school’s excellence is fueled by the creativity and talent of its faculty, students and staff, as well as the continued support of its global alumni,” says Van Slyke. “They are what has made it such a special place to work, learn and study for 99 years, and what propels us into the future.”

  • Author

Jennifer Congel

  • Recent
  • 4 Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars
    Monday, July 14, 2025, By News Staff
  • Message From Chief Student Experience Officer Allen W. Groves
    Monday, July 14, 2025, By News Staff
  • Haowei Wang Named Maxwell School Scholar in U.S.-China/Asia Relations
    Monday, July 14, 2025, By News Staff
  • LaunchPad Awards Student Start-Up Fund Grant
    Saturday, July 12, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Former Orange Point Guard and Maxwell Alumna ‘Roxi’ Nurse McNabb Still Driving for an Assist
    Tuesday, July 8, 2025, By Jessica Smith

More In Campus & Community

Message From Chief Student Experience Officer Allen W. Groves

Dear Members of the Orange Community: It is with profound sadness that I write to remember two members of our Syracuse University community, whose lives were cut short last Thursday when they were struck by a vehicle at the intersection…

Haowei Wang Named Maxwell School Scholar in U.S.-China/Asia Relations

Haowei Wang, assistant professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been named the Yang Ni and Xiaoqing Li Scholar in U.S.-China/Asia Relations for the 2025-26 academic year. Wang’s one-year appointment began on July 1….

School of Education Launches Fully Inclusive Study Abroad Experience in Italy

The University’s first inclusive study abroad trip has redefined what inclusive higher education looks like, blending immersive cultural experiences with academic exploration of inclusive education across borders. This two-week program brought together students with and without intellectual disability, reflecting a…

LaunchPad Awards Student Start-Up Fund Grant

The Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries has awarded a Student Start-Up Fund grant for the Spring 2025 semester to Thomas O’Brien ’25 for his company, Ten Open Projects. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis to undergraduate and graduate…

From Wedding Day Pics on Campus to Working at ‘Otto’s House’: Brianna and Kevin Shults Share Their Orange Love Story

It started with trivia nights at the Inn Complete and a mutual fandom of Orange sports and grew into a life filled with Orange pride, campus milestones and a little one who thinks Otto the Orange runs the world. For…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.