__The College’s law school fell four spots in popular magazine’s rankings__
The College’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law dropped four places to 31 in the annual graduate school rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report magazine.
p. The law school is currently in a three-way tie with Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
p. Last year the College was ranked 27, tied with Boston College, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Washington.
p. Illinois rose this year to be ranked 25, BC and Washington both fell to 28, UNC, where College President Gene Nichol was dean before becoming the College’s president, fell nine ranks to 36.
p. Law school Dean Taylor Revely said he did not think that the fall in the ranking reflected negatively on the quality of the law school.
p. “One ‘overall score’ point separates us from the schools now ranked 28 and two points separate us from the schools now ranked 25,” Reveley told William and Mary News. “Some years the U.S. News rankings are more alluring than others. The Law School has never been in better shape than it is now.”
p. The College’s law school remained the third highest-ranked law school in Virginia, after University of Virginia (10) and Washington and Lee University (25). Ranked right below the College, at 34, is George Mason University’s law school.
p. Law school rankings are determined by several categories, including selectivity, prestige assessment, student faculty ratio, employment information and the percentage of students who pass the bar.
p. The College’s education school also made an appearance on the top 50 graduate programs for education in the U.S. News rankings. The school ranked 49, tied with the education programs at Temple University, University of California – Santa Barbara and Virginia Commonwealth University.
p. “These rankings – which affirm the strength of our programs and research efforts – come at a great time, as the Commonwealth and the College are investing in a new facility for the School of Education,” Virginia McLaughlin, dean of the education school, told William and Mary News. “We continue to be one of the smallest programs in this elite group – our reputation and opportunities will only be enhanced by a state-of-the-art building.”
p. The education school was not ranked in the top 50 this year, but was ranked 45th in 2004 and 47th in 2005.
p. The College’s business school was not ranked in the top 50 graduate programs by the magazine.
p. The U.S. News & World Report graduate rankings are released every April and also rank graduate programs in medicine, engineering, humanities, sciences and social sciences.