2013 US News Graduate School Rankings

[Mustangs_Maroons]

Latest US News Graduate Rankings came out today for 2013 and SMU was unable to make the top 50 list in most (if not all) categories (only focused on full-time rankings). I scrolled through several and did not find us as top 50. This should not be acceptable to us as we move forward. Most notably, I saw we dropped out of the top 50 in law school rankings. While we're ranked #51, this is notable because USNews regards the top 50 school as tier 1. In terms of business schools, we're ranked #54 (Rice is much higher at 25 and even A&M and UTD at 32 and 37, respectively) is ranked higher than we are. I know UTD tries to game the system by only having 50 students in each class to have higher avg test scores and gpa but peer assessment is also a factor and we are not exactly where we should be. Interestingly enough, Tulane appears to be in a similar boat to us in these two rankings. Based on their academic history, I'm sure their alumni are not happy.

Rankings (while they can fluctuate somewhat and should not be the main criteria) should nevertheless be considered important by the university's administration. We need to push to be top 50 in these categories (business and law) and many others. Hopefully Mr. Turner is paying attention since prospective students (both graduate and undergraduate) do pay attention to these things. Perhaps we need new blood and new ideas as some of the deans (business and law) may have become complacent (many top schools change their deans after 10 years to keep new ideas flowing).

We have a top 25 slogan in athletics. Where is our slogan in academics? Time to be more critical of our emphasis in these areas as well.