School of Public Affairs earns top ranking

The School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University is the 5th ranked public university and 12th overall in a ranking of the most innovative public service schools in the U.S. in 2015. Harvard, Duke and New York University took the first three spots in the ranking by the website Best Value Schools. The website determined the top 50 schools that focus on public affairs, public policy, political science and government using the following criteria:

• U.S. News Ranking: maximum 27 points, 16% of total ranking
• Number of Degree Programs: maximum 15 points, 9% of total ranking
• Student-to-Faculty Ratio: maximum 15 points, 9% of total ranking
• Number of Joint/Dual/Concurrent Degree Programs: maximum 33 points, 20% of total ranking
• Strength of Internship Programs: maximum 20 points, 12% of total ranking
• QS Top Universities Innovation Ranking: maximum 15 points, 9% of total ranking
• Number of Innovative Features: maximum 40 points, 24% of total ranking

ASU is the top ranked school in the western United States. Best Values Schools cites ASU’s “multitude of innovative opportunities to aspiring public service professionals.” The website points to the school’s Alliance for Innovation program and how it “gives students the opportunity to pitch innovative ideas pertaining to the future of local communities and governments.”

“We are happy to see the innovative work in our school being recognized nationally,” says Karen Mossberger, director of the School of Public Affairs. “Our participation in the Alliance for Innovation got special recognition, and this is a partnership between ASU, the International City/County Management Association, and The Innovation Group which works with forward-thinking city managers to bring together research and practice.”  

The School of Public Affairs is in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions in downtown Phoenix. The school has received six national and international awards for innovation over the past year, a testament to its students and professors.

“The ranking highlights our strength in local government management, including the Center for Urban Innovation, which runs a municipal finance conference, and has done work on Smart Cities and also collaborative services,” Mossberger says. “We have other strengths in the school as well - with world-class faculty and research on science and technology policy, information technology, civic engagement, and changing forms of governance and organization.”