VCU School of Education #18 in the Nation for Best (Public) Education

May 8, 2023

VCU School of Education Ranked #18 in the Nation for 
Best (Public) Education School by U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report ranked VCU School of Education as the 18th (tied) best public education school in the nation and #2 best education school in Virginia, according to its 2023-2024 Education School rankings released on April 25, 2023.   

U.S. News evaluates best education schools on “research activity, academic excellence of entering students, faculty resources, and opinions on program quality from education school deans and school hiring professionals.” U.S. News surveyed 459 public and private schools of education to rank the nation’s best schools of education. 

“The VCU School of Education has achieved new heights in recent years delivering excellence through inclusion and research excellence, access, and a student-centered approach,” said Kathleen Rudasill, Ph.D., interim dean of the VCU School of Education. “Congratulations to our faculty, staff, students, alums, and community supporters for ranking in the top 6% of the 459 schools surveyed by U.S. News and World Report with the resulting achievement of 27th Best School of Education (tie).”

“Looking specifically at our research achievements, VCU School of Education is ranked #1 in Virginia and #7 in the nation in terms of research funding per faculty member. We reported $984K per faculty member in research spending, which demonstrates our commitment to research and underscores the ample opportunities for our undergraduate and graduate students to engage in research,” said Rudasill. 

In FY22, the VCU School of Education generated $37.4 million in external research awards. In addition, the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey FY21 ranked VCU School of Education as #13 in the education category of public research universities, and VCU overall was ranked as #50. With more than $400 million in sponsored awards, VCU is an urban-serving public research university with Carnegie designations as both  R1 and Community Engaged. 

With regard to measures for access and inclusion, in Spring 2023, 33.5% of the 926 students enrolled in VCU School of Education identified as underrepresented minorities. VCU is a federal Minority Serving Institution as designated by the U.S. Department of Education. Minority-Serving Institutions are U.S colleges and universities that enroll a high percentage of minority students and meet rigorous standards in serving minority students, low-income students, and student success.

VCU School of Education’s online master’s programs were recently ranked by U.S. News as #25 (tie) for Best Online Master’s in Education Programs (overall), with a ranking of #19 (tie) in Best Online Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction sub-category. More than 1,800 online master’s of education programs were evaluated based on engagement; expert opinion; faculty credentials and training; services and technologies; and student excellence for this ranking. 

Virginia’s best schools of education for 2023-2024, as ranked by U.S. News and including both private and public schools, are the University of Virginia #16; Virginia Commonwealth University #27 (tie); William & Mary #70; and George Mason University, Old Dominion University, and Virginia Tech tied at #83.