U.S. News Ranks NC State College of Education #31 in Nation, 5 Programs in Specialty Categories

RALEIGH, N.C. — The NC State College of Education is tied at No. 31 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Graduate School Rankings. That is a jump of 14 spots from last year. The 2021 ranking places the college in the Top 8% among all 393 graduate colleges of education in the nation.

Among just public colleges of education, the NC State College of Education is tied No. 21 in the nation.

In addition, U.S. News ranked programs within the college in five education specialty areas:

• Educational Administration and Supervision tied #14 in the nation and #1 in N.C.
• Curriculum and Instruction tied #29 in the nation
• Elementary Teacher Education tied #25 in the nation
• Higher Education Administration tied #20 in the nation and only college in North Carolina ranked
• Secondary Teacher Education #24 in the nation and only college in North Carolina ranked

“Our rise in the rankings is a reflection of the incredible high quality work and impact all our faculty and staff are doing to prepare extraordinary educators, conduct research that solves educational problems and champion the educational success of all,” said NC State College of Education Dean Mary Ann Danowitz.

The U.S. News’ Best Graduate School Rankings are based on student selectivity, faculty resources, peer and professional educator assessments, and research activity.

Among research activity, NC State College of Education faculty and scholars are the most active researchers in North Carolina and among the most active in the nation based on total research expenditures, which is the amount of separately funded research that faculty conduct. The average of the college’s total research expenditures over fiscal years 2018 and 2019 was $28.10 million. That figure is the most of any college or school of education in North Carolina, the 14 highest among public colleges of education in the nation, and the 21 highest among all colleges of education in the nation.

Since the 2017 Best Graduate School Rankings, released in spring 2016, the NC State College of Education has improved 28 spots in the rankings, or up from No. 59 in the nation.