The University of Wisconsin’s School of Education graduate program has been ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
Two of the school’s programs were ranked No. 1 — curriculum and instruction and educational psychology, according to the report. The rest of the programs secured high rankings, contributing to the overall score.
While the graduate program was ranked No. 1 in 2024, the spot was shared with Teachers College at Columbia University, according to a press release from the School of Education. Now, in 2025, the program sits alone at the No. 1 spot.
The School of Education takes its No. 1 ranking seriously, according to the School of Education Associate Dean for Communications and Advancement Marianne Spoon. But even if the ranking was lower, the SOE would still be committed to the same work and excellence, Spoon said.
“We look at these rankings, really, as something that reinforces the great work and the excellence that we already suspect is here,” Spoon said.
While the rankings don’t necessarily guide the work the SOE does, they underpin that the school has taken note of what constitutes a high standard of education, including their research, Spoon said.
In order from most to least heavily weighted, a university’s research activity, quality assessment, faculty resources and student selectivity are the four factors that calculate the ranking for the U.S. News & World Report, according to their methodology.
“That’s the pattern that really stands out to us, is that year after year, we are doing well in these areas of being competitive for grants and research, having quality instruction, being able to recruit and support really top tier faculty and staff,” Spoon said.
The School of Education is training the next generation of teachers and occupational therapists, Spoon said. Education graduate programs also equip students for leadership positions in higher education, government agencies, K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations, according to the methodology.
These rankings have encouraged UW to continue to recruit the strongest faculty for their programs, who in turn bring their research with them, according to Spoon. Along with the faculty, the graduate students’ importance cannot be understated — they play an incredibly significant role in the research and academic work conducted at the School of Education, Spoon said.
“Graduate students are extraordinarily important to the work done across the school, they’re doing much of the work for these grants,” Spoon said. “They’re leading their own work. They are coming back, either as alumni or contributing to the fields or coming back to teach.”
