UCSB Graduate Programs Ranked Among Best

UC Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering and its Gevirtz Graduate School of Education are among the country’s leaders, according to a U.S. News & World Report rating of graduate and professional programs at American universities. The Ph.D. programs in the biological sciences and in chemistry were also highly rated.

“We are always pleased when our programs are recognized in the various rankings for their outstanding quality,” UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang said in a press release. “Such rankings are a reflection of our first-rate faculty and the academic leadership on our campus, and I congratulate my colleagues on this recognition.”

The College of Engineering was ranked 19th (in a tie), up from 21st one year ago. Two of the college’s specialized graduate programs were ranked in the top ten: materials, ranked 4th (in a tie), and chemical engineering, ranked 9th.

The Gevirtz Graduate School of Education was ranked 49th overall and 35th among schools at public universities.

“Our energies are devoted to eliminating achievement problems for the children of California and supporting educators to use the latest research-based evidence to facilitate academic, social, and emotional success for learners,” Gevirtz Dean Jane Close Conoley said in a press release. “We appreciate the national recognition that the rankings provide and plan to increase our efforts to make a difference for families, educators, and young people in our region and state.”

Based on a weighted average of various measures, some specific to the particular program, the rankings generally include a quality assessment by peers and measures of faculty quality and resources, student selectivity, research activity, and several other factors.

Highlights of the graduate school rankings are included in the April 9 issue of U.S. News & World Report and in the 2008 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” which went on sale Tuesday, April 3.