SESP Ranked Third Best School of Education
Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) was ranked No. 3 in the 2023-24 U.S. News and World Report Best Education Graduate Schools rankings.
It’s the highest designation in School history and a jump up from No. 11 in 2022-23. In addition, SESP was rated the 12th best school of education policy, rising from No. 19 the previous year.
“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,” said interim Dean Dan P. McAdams, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology and professor of education and social policy. “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.”
Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy tied for third with education schools at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Columbia University and the University of Michigan tied for the top spot. The rest of the top 10 included: No. 6 Vanderbilt University; No. 7 (tie) Stanford University and the University of California–Los Angeles; and No. 9 (tie) Harvard University and New York University.
In March, the School of Education and Social Policy announced that Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy (Lumbee) of Arizona State University (ASU) will be the new dean of SESP, effective June 1, 2023.
Brayboy succeeds David Figlio, who stepped down in May 2022 to become provost at the University of Rochester. Brayboy is currently President’s Professor in the School of Social Transformation at ASU and vice president of social advancement. He also serves as senior advisor to the University’s President.
SESP was first ranked among the top ten graduate schools of education in 2001-02 and has remained in the top 15 every year since then. Its consistent designation as one of the top schools in the nation reflects an ambitious commitment to interdisciplinary work, research, and innovation.
Originally a traditional school of education, the name was changed to the School of Education and Social Policy in 1986 to emphasize that education, learning, and human thriving take place in in the home, the community, and the workplace -- as well as the school.
U.S. News evaluated education schools on research activity, academic excellence of entering students, faculty resources, and opinions on program quality from education school deans and school hiring professionals. Read more about the methodology.