US News and World Reports issues its latest graduate school rankings which this year included LIS programs for only the second time. As always, those who do poorly dismiss the exercise but those who do well feel a little differently 🙂 The ranking is hardly scientific but it does indicate pretty accurately how the deans and senior staff at the various programs view each other (and we know that none of these people would ever try to grade their rivals inappropriately). For the record, Texas did well, moving up to #7 overall from #10 in the last ranking, and scoring notable sub-area rankings of #1 in Archives & Preservation, #3 in Legal Librarianship, and #11 in both Digital Libraries and in Information Systems, both of which are new concentrations for us. Here’s the listing of schools, with ranked score from 1-5 (5 being Outstanding):
1. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign 4.5
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill 4.5
3. Syracuse University (NY) 4.3
4. University of Washington 4.2
5. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor 4.0
6. Rutgers State University–New Brunswick (NJ) 3.9
7. Indiana University–Bloomington 3.8
University of Pittsburgh 3.8
University of Texas–Austin 3.8
10. Florida State University 3.7
11. Drexel University (PA) 3.6
University of Wisconsin–Madison 3.6
13. Simmons College (MA) 3.5
University of California–Los Angeles 3.5
University of Maryland–College Park 3.5
16. University of North Texas 3.0
University of Tennessee–Knoxville 3.0
18. Wayne State University (MI) 2.9
19. Kent State University (OH) 2.8
University at Buffalo–SUNY 2.8
University of South Carolina–Columbia 2.8
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 2.8
23. SUNY–Albany 2.7
24. Catholic University of America (DC) 2.6
Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge 2.6
University of Kentucky 2.6
University of Missouri–Columbia 2.6
University of Oklahoma 2.6
University of South Florida 2.6
30. San Jose State University (CA) 2.5
University of Alabama–Tuscaloosa 2.5
University of Hawaii–Manoa 2.5