ATLANTA—Rankings released today in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Graduate Schools issue place Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYS) graduate programs in public affairs among the top in four program areas: urban policy, public finance and budgeting, local government management, and nonprofit management.
The Andrew Young School also ranks among the top 20 schools overall for a third straight year.
AYS public affairs program areas and their rankings:
- No. 4 – Urban Policy
- No. 6 – Public Finance & Budgeting
- No. 9 – Local Government Management
- No. 9 – Nonprofit Management
- No. 17 – Public Management & Leadership
- No. 33 – Public Policy Analysis
The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings for other programs in the college are No. 18 in Criminology, No. 51 in Social Work and No. 65 in Economics.
“Our school continues to build capacity and support leaders in all sectors,” Dean Sally Wallace said. “Our strategic focus on policy in the digital age has helped us advance the field of policy analytics in the classroom and in practice. And our commitment to finding solutions to the world’s complex problems is reflected in our rankings.”
U.S. News & World Report bases its annual rankings of public affairs programs solely on peer assessment survey results. In fall 2021 and early 2022, U.S. News surveyed deans, directors and department chairs representing 270 master’s programs in public affairs and administration. Respondents were asked to rate the academic quality of the master’s programs on the list. A No. 20 ranking places the AYS among the top seven percent of public affairs colleges among its peers.
“I am very glad to see our new rankings both for public affairs in general and for all six of our specializations represented,” said Cathy Liu, chair of AYS’s Department of Public Management and Policy. “It demonstrates the continuous commitment and efforts of our faculty, students and alumni towards evidence-based policy in various domains of effective public and nonprofit management.”
