Organization

The School is comprised of 10 academic departments, three major research units, and an array of outreach services. In addition to several core education programs, about half of the School’s students are enrolled in fine art, dance, counseling, occupational therapy and exercise science programs. The School also houses several service units that serve the School and the broader community. The Dean works with the School of Education Board of Visitors on a number of events and initiatives from literacy and alumni mentorship to fundraising and strategic priorities. Several standing committees of staff, faculty and students also support the Dean and the School’s strategic priorities.

National Rankings

The UW-Madison School of Education is consistently ranked one of the top schools of education in the nation. In the 2019 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Education Graduate Schools ratings, the School ranked No. 2 overall (tied with Harvard University).

The School also received high marks in several program ratings. According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of the Best Education Graduate Schools, UW-Madison programs ranked by education school deans and deans of graduate studies include:

Best Grad School rankings• No. 1 Curriculum/Instruction

• No. 1 Educational Psychology

• No. 1 Administration/Supervision

• No. 3 Counseling/Personnel Services

• No. 3 Education Policy

• No. 4 Elementary Education

• No. 6 Secondary

• No. 10 Special Education

Not all graduate programs are ranked by U.S. News and World Report each year.

For example, the School of Education’s Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education remains No. 1 in Rehabilitation Counseling, while the School’s Art Department is still home to the No. 1 printmaking program (as voted on by deans and department chairs in the fine arts). But those marks are from past years, as U.S. News did not re-rank those specialty programs this year.

Similarly, in other specialty programs that were not re-ranked by U.S. News this past year, the School of Education remains home to the No. 14 Occupational Therapy program (as voted on by program directors and faculty in health disciplines) and the No. 15 Fine Arts program (as voted on by deans and department chairs in the fine arts).


Dean Diana Hess