School of Law, MPA Program Ranked by U.S. News

By Amy Biderman and Jeremy Lasich, BA Communication '98

George Mason's School of Law remains in the top tier of the nation's law schools, moving up two places in the latest U.S.News & World Report ranking of the best graduate schools. The School of Law is ranked 38th in the country, after ranking 40th last year and 47th the year before. The Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program is ranked 46th—the same ranking it had in 2001, the last time the magazine rated the programs.

“We are very pleased by the rise from number 40 to number 38 in the rankings,” says School of Law Dean Mark Grady. “Over the past five years, we've jumped over 78 other law schools, making us the fastest-growing law school in America. Over this period, we are now tied with the University of California Hastings School of Law, which is much older than we are. This success rewards the leadership of our university as well as the hard work of Law School faculty and administrators.”

“We are delighted to be in the top 50 again, especially since there are so few institutions in that group that do not have doctoral programs,” says Tim Conlan, acting MPA director. “I believe there are a couple of reasons for the high ranking: We have a very strong faculty overall, and we have created several new centers of excellence, particularly in nonprofit management.”

“The ranking represents the university's commitment as a whole to train people for public service,” adds Bob Dudley, chair of the Public and International Affairs Department.

Each year, U.S.News re-evaluates graduate programs in five major disciplines: business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. Programs are ranked using objective measures, such as entering students' test scores and faculty—student ratios, as well as reputation ratings drawn from inside and outside academia.