NC State Education Jumps 9 Spots in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

RALEIGH, N.C. — The NC State College of Education is ranked No. 46 in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Graduate School Rankings. That is an improvement of nine spots from the previous year.

Additionally, there are 385 colleges of education in the U.S. that award doctoral degrees, which means the NC State College of Education ranks among the top 12 percent of schools in the nation.

“Our jump in the U.S. News & World Report rankings is a reflection of the outstanding work of our faculty and staff and the quality of our graduate students,” said Mary Ann Danowitz, dean of the NC State College of Education. “Our college is on an upward trajectory; and with the commitment of our dedicated faculty, staff and students, we will continue to strive to intentionally incorporate research and best practices into our programs to ensure we prepare and graduate students who transform lives, schools and communities across North Carolina and beyond.”

The U.S. News’ rankings are based on student selectivity, faculty resources, peer and superintendent assessments, and research activity.

One particular strength of the NC State College of Education reflected in the rankings is the faculty’s research activity. The college’s research expenditures (the amount of separately funded research that faculty conducted) exceeded $15.30 million over fiscal years 2016 and 2017 — the most of any college or school of education in North Carolina. That figure is also more than double the amount of research expenditures by the next school in the state.

In January, U.S. News & World Report ranked the NC State College of Education’s online graduate programs No. 1 in North Carolina and No. 15 in the nation.

About the NC State College of Education: Now in its 90th year, the NC State College of Education conducts research, prepares professionals, and engages communities where they are in order to improve the educational success of all North Carolinians. The college has over 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled across 60-plus undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including over 40 flexible master’s and doctoral programs that include counseling education, education policy, elementary education, adult and workforce education, educational leadership, STEM education, literacy education and education policy. Over two-thirds of the college’s faculty engage in 139 research projects funded through over $54 million in active research and development grants. NC State Education is also the largest supplier of STEM educators and master’s level literacy specialists, consistently produces teachers who rate among the most effective in the state across multiple variables, and has established a leadership pipeline for schools, community colleges and higher education in North Carolina.