photo by: Contributed

The roof on Wescoe Hall has an 80-foot "KU" in this file photo from 2021.

For the 25th year, the University of Kansas has the top-ranked program in the nation for local government leaders who are seeking a graduate degree, according to U.S. News & World Report.

If you are seeking dinosaurs — or information on them, anyway — KU also is highly ranked in that area, according to the national study released this week.

KU’s local government management program was ranked No. 1 among both private and public schools. The program has held that No. 1 ranking since 1998, according to KU.

KU’s program for paleontology — the study of fossil animals and plants — also garnered a top ranking, finishing No. 1 among all public schools. KU’s special education program also was ranked No. 1 among all public schools.

In total, KU had 37 graduate programs rank among the top 50 of public schools. More specifically, KU had nine programs rank in the top 10 nationally among public schools. In addition to the three noted above, the top 10 programs are:

• Public Management and Leadership, No. 5

• Physical Therapy, No. 6

• Speech-Language Pathology, No. 6

• Occupational Therapy, No. 9

• Audiology, No. 10

• Education, No. 10

U.S. News & World Report changed its rankings program this year. It did not release rankings for medical and law schools as part of its broader release of graduate programs. The medical and law school rankings are expected to be released later this year.

Several other major programs, however, were ranked. Notable public school rankings for KU included: Petroleum Engineering, No. 13; Pharmacy, No. 23; Clinical Psychology, No. 30; Aerospace Engineering, No. 32; History, No. 32; Chemistry, No 39; Earth Sciences, No. 40; English, No. 40; Mathematics, No. 40; Sociology, No. 40; Civil Engineering, No. 41; Full-time MBA, No. 41; Economics, No. 47; Physics, No. 47; Biology, No. 49.