U.S. News Ranks UA Law School 11th Among Public Law Schools, 32nd Overall; UA School of Social Work Ranked 28th Among Publics, 42nd Overall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 11th among public law schools and 32nd among all law schools in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2009 edition of its annual “Best Graduate Schools” publication. The publication also ranks the UA School of Social Work 28th among social work programs at public universities and 42nd when both public and private institutions are included.

The 2009 ranking is the highest ever for the UA Law School, eclipsing last year’s mark of 15th among public law schools and 36th among all law schools. The UA Law School has been ranked among the top 50 law schools for 10 consecutive years.

“The Law School owes its continued success to an unyielding synergy of support within the University, law faculty, students, staff, and alumni,” said Ken Randall, dean of the UA School of Law.

“In the competitive marketplace of higher education there is no doubt that, with appropriate funding, our state offers premier educational opportunities. It is a proud day for our campus, the legal profession, and the State of Alabama,” Randall said.

UA is tied with the law schools at Ohio State University, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and the University of Georgia.

The School of Social Work’s ranking is also its highest ever. “We are pleased that our School has been recognized as a top 50 social work graduate program,” said Dr. James P. Adams Jr., dean of the UA School of Social Work. “Our faculty is quickly gaining a well-deserved reputation for conducting high-quality scholarship and for providing national leadership in social work education.”

The School of Social Work is tied with several other universities including Arizona State University, the University of Connecticut and the University of Texas-Arlington.

The national law school rankings involve reputational assessments by lawyers and judges as well as by law school deans and faculty throughout the United States. The rankings also include statistics in the areas of admissions, bar passage, and career services.

The UA Law School’s bar passage rate during the period surveyed was 97.2 percent, well above the state average of 79 percent. Additionally, some 96.5 percent of 2006 UA Law graduates were employed within nine months of graduation.

UA is the only university in the state that offers degrees in all three levels of social work education: Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work, and Doctor of Philosophy. The school has awarded some 3,000 M.S.W. degrees over its 40-year history. Doctoral degrees have been offered since 1975, beginning with a Doctor of Social Work program. The Ph.D. program was established in 1992.

U.S. News also ranked the UA College of Arts and Sciences’ graduate program in clinical psychology 62nd and the College of Education 87th in the nation. UA’s School of Library and Information Studies, a part of the College of Communication and Information Sciences, is ranked 30th. The library school ranking, while included in this year’s book, was conducted in 2006.