Grad programs receive high rankings

IU programs in business, public and environmental affairs, education, law, clinical psychology, audiology and medicine are the Bloomington-based graduate programs that were ranked highly in the 2005 U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools."\nThe School of Public and Environmental Affairs' graduate program was ranked third in the country by the magazine's report, the highest placing of any IU department. \n"Besides the show of respect, [the high rank] is a measure of how far SPEA has come in a little over 30 years in what has become an increasingly competitive environment," SPEA Dean Astrid Merget said in a statement.\nAlthough the school has a sense of accomplishment, SPEA's grad students weren't surprised about the ranking.\nGraduate student Bemmy Granados said she didn't need to know how well the school was doing because the graduate program had already been ranked high with her.\n"I think it's hard to know where to start when you research (for a grad school)," Granados said. "So I did look at [the ranking], and from there I looked into the (SPEA) program, and it fit me. It's such a good balance between the policies and science, and it fit me better than any other program." \nGraduate student Paul Weaver agreed that SPEA deserved the ranking because of the overall academic atmosphere.\n"I think the diversity in the classes and the diversity in terms of concentration really is the biggest ... you can find in the country," Weaver said. "Plus the teachers, generally, are pretty stinkin' good."\nAlthough SPEA stayed in the same rank as last year, the School of Law tied for 40th, dropping two spots. Daniel Amin, a first year law student, said the drop didn't bother him and shouldn't affect the school's qualifications.\n"When I look at them, they don't make a lot of sense to me," Amin said. "The number three school might not be the best place for a certain person to go. They might perform so much better at the number 30th school."\nAmin said he doesn't understand the rankings because he feels other aspects, such as the environment in which the school is placed and its resources, affect how well a student does. He also said the school's ranking was just one of the factors when he chose where to study law.\n"It was pretty much the highest ranked school I got into," he said, "including the factor that it was near my family and a lot cheaper. So kind of all of the factors made (the decision)."\nStill, grad students at SPEA couldn't help but rejoice at the placement behind Syracuse and Harvard Universities.\n"I was happy," laughed SPEA grad student Kara Novogradac, "because I'm in school, and that means that I have a better chance of getting a good job."\nThe Kelley School of Business remained at the 23rd rank, the same position as last year, while the School of Education was ranked 18th, dropping down one position from the previous year. Other IU schools also ranked high in the magazine's 2005 edition, including IU Purdue University-Indianapolis' criminal justice policy management program tying at third.\nFull rankings are posted on the U.S News & World Report magazine's Web site at www.usnews.com.\n-- Contact staff writer Aishah Hasnie at ahasnie@indiana.edu.