Counseling and Personnel Services Department continues hold on Number 1 ranking

COLLEGE PARK, MD (April 2, 2004) - The University of Maryland's College of Education continues its rise in national recognition and now ranks 20^th in the nation, according to the 2005 U.S News & World Report survey of Best Graduate Schools, released today.

Following are highlights of this year’s rankings.

• The College of Education ranks 20^th in the nation, having risen from 21^st last year and the previous year.
• The Counseling and Personnel Services department (CAPS) is ranked 1^st in the nation for the fifth consecutive year.

"The College of Education is now ranked among the top 20 in the nation," said Edna Mora Szymanski, Dean of the College of Education. "Over the past years, our college ranking has steadily increased. This is a strong reflection of the quality and productivity of our excellent faculty, staff, and students."

This year’s edition of the Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News & World Report ranked the college in the top 20 in the nation in eight of 10 ranked education specialties as well as one allied health specialty (rehabilitation counseling, last ranked in 2003). Of these nine top 20 rankings, five programs are ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The rankings for 2005:

• Counseling and Personnel Services department (1)
• Special Education department (7)
• Educational Psychology (9)
• Rehabilitation Counseling program (9) Note: ranked in 2003 in the Allied Health category
• Higher Education Administration (10)
• Curriculum and Instruction department (11)
• Educational Policy( 13)
• Administration and Supervision (17)
• Elementary Education (17)

Szymanski added: "No other college of education in the greater Baltimore-Washington area is ranked in the top 20. In comparison, the University of Maryland College of Education has more top 20 ranked education specialties than all but one of the university's stated peers (UCLA, UC-Berkeley, U-Michigan, U-Illinois, and U-North Carolina), that is U-Illinois, she noted.

The 2005 U.S. News & World Report guide to the Best Graduate Schools will be available at newsstands on Friday, April 2, 2004. U.S. News also publishes results of its survey of education rankings and methodology on the magazine’s web site: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/rankindex.htm or http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/about/badges.htm For information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu

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For more information, contact Deborah Hudson, Assistant Dean for External Relations, at 301.405.8145