U.S. News and World Report ranked the School of Education and Social Policy as the third-best education graduate school for 2023-24, according to an April 25 news release. 

This year marks the highest ranking in SESP’s history. In 2022, the school was ranked 11th in the category. SESP has been in the ranking’s top 15 graduate schools of education every year since 2001, according to the release. 

“Wherever we stand in the rankings, I am always thrilled when our school of learning and leadership is broadly recognized for the extraordinarily vibrant intellectual community that it is,” SESP interim Dean Dan McAdams said in the release. 

This year, SESP tied for third with the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while Columbia University’s Teachers College and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor tied for first. 

U.S. News determines rankings based on the school’s research activity, academic excellence of students, resources and professional opinions of program quality. SESP was also designated as the 12th-best school for education policy. SESP was 19th in this category the year prior. 

“At SESP’s core is an interdisciplinary mix of scholars, scientists, and students who try to understand how learning and human development unfold in families, schools, neighborhoods, institutions, and the policy contexts that shape us,” McAdams said in the release. 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @JessicaMa2025

Related Stories:

— Bryan Brayboy to become SESP dean, will bring experience in Indigenous education to NU

— Crawford: Medill x SESP is the future we deserve

— SESP Dean David Figlio to depart Northwestern after 14-year journey