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WVU Political Science grad program breaks into US News ranking in top 100

Woodburn Hall

Woodburn Hall on West Virginia University's Morgantown campus.

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West Virginia University's graduate program in political science was among the top 100 in the nation in rankings announced this week by U.S. News and World Report, the first time the program has been in the popular listings.

Political science, housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, was tied for 96th in the rankings released March 14.

"The progress we have made in recent years, with the crucial support of WVU and the Eberly College, has raised our program to a new level," said Scott Crichlow, chair of the department. "Our faculty’s research is being published in top-ranked outlets like the American Political Science Review and Health Affairs, and members of our department are being asked to give invited lectures around the world. Later this year, two of our newest colleagues will each have a book published by the prestigious Oxford University Press. And our PhD students are being hired steadily even in a tight academic job market," he said.

"We are on a clear upward trajectory, and are looking forward to making West Virginia University a bigger and bigger name in the field, producing the highest quality research that helps us all better understand topics like state policy responses to economic inequality, the mechanisms through which bureaucracies and legislatures can shape regulation, and the effectiveness of protests as a force in politics."

Eberly Dean Gregory Dunaway said, "It’s no secret that we work hard to maintain high-quality programs and grow our research funding. These rankings further illustrate the excellence of our faculty and students across a breadth of disciplines, and I’m proud to see our efforts being recognized.”

Other Eberly programs in the magazine's top 100 this year were: clinical psychology, 57; English, 99; and history, 98.

Other WVU programs in the top 100 were:

• Aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering (Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources), tie for 60.

• Chemical engineering and civil engineering (Statler), both tied for 94.

• Mechanical engineering (Statler), tied for 85.

• Law, tied for 96.

• Medicine, primary care, tied for 64.

• Medicine, research: tied for 86.

• Economics (College of Business and Economics), 83.

• Doctor of nursing practice (School of Nursing), 97.

 

-WVU-

jb/03/17/17

CONTACT: John A. Bolt; University Relations/Communications
304.293.5520; john.bolt@mail.wvu.edu

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