KU lands 10 graduate programs in top 10 in latest U.S. News rankings

Two Kansas University graduate programs kept their No. 1 national rankings among public universities in the latest U.S. News and World Report lists released Tuesday, but KU’s total number of top-10 programs fell by two from a year before.

Meanwhile, the KU School of Law rose by three spots after falling by at least 10 slots for two years in a row.

The publication released its annual Best Graduate Schools rankings Tuesday.

KU tallied 10 programs that ranked in the top 10 among public universities on their respective lists, after 12 programs did so last year.

The university’s strategic plan, “Bold Aspirations,” aims to place 21 graduate programs in the top 10 among public universities.

KU’s master’s degree program in city management and urban policy remained in the No. 1 spot among all universities nationally in this year’s rankings. The special education program in the School of Education, which awards master’s and doctoral degrees, fell to No.2 in the overall rankings behind Vanderbilt University, with which it tied at the top last year. But the program remained tops among public universities.

Other graduate programs to rank in the top five among public universities:

• Occupational therapy (No. 2 among public universities, No. 5 overall)

• Public management administration (No. 3 public, No. 5 overall)

• Paleontology (No. 4 public, No. 7 overall)

• Public affairs (No. 4 public, No. 9 overall)

• Clinical child psychology (No. 5 public, No. 6 overall)

Altogether, 32 KU programs ranked among the top 40 on their lists.

The KU law school rose to No. 86 overall this year, after falling to No. 89 last year, with Dean Stephen Mazza citing a dip in employment figures.

The KU School of Medicine ranked No. 37 overall for primary care and No. 75 for research. Those numbers were 35 and 75, respectively, last year.

The full rankings in each category — with some restrictions for nonsubscribers — are available at usnews.com.