BYU's law and business schools listed in U.S. News top 50

PROVO, Utah — Apr 01, 2005 — Brigham Young University's business and law schools are among the top 50 in the United States, reports U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Graduate Schools" issue, on sale Monday, April 4. Three other BYU graduate programs are in the top 100 in their categories, with additional specialties also ranked.

The J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked 35th, and the Marriott School of Management is ranked 40th.

"Although no ranking system fully comprehends all the factors that reflect the quality of a legal education, we are pleased to be recognized once again for the strength of our program based upon the criteria used by U.S. News & World Report," said Kevin Worthen, dean of the law school. "We remain grateful for our students, who the U.S. News data show are among the most able in the nation."

That was a sentiment shared by Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School, which also saw its graduate accounting specialty ranked 12th.

"We're gratified by the recognition this ranking brings to our students and to the university," Hill said. "Even so, the most important measure of our success remains the development of men and women of faith, character and professional ability."

U.S. News ranks graduate programs in the areas of business, education, engineering, law and medicine. These rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. Indicator and opinion data come from surveys of more than 1,000 programs and nearly 9,600 academics and other professionals conducted in fall 2004. The magazine also ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities based solely on the ratings of academic experts.

The following are the other BYU graduate programs and specialties ranked in the new issue:

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

86th, top engineering schools

76th, civil engineering specialties

76th, electrical engineering specialties

77th, mechanical engineering specialties

David O. McKay School of Education

85th, top education programs

College of Nursing

Since nursing schools are not newly ranked in this addition, the college maintains its previous ranking of 58th.

Full ranking reports are available in the newsstand book (2006 edition) "America's Best Graduate Schools" and online at USNews.com.