Posted April 8, 2008

Tyler School of Art surges in national rankings

 

The release of the 2009 edition of U.S.News & World Report’s annual guidebook, America’s Best Graduate Schools, brought stunning news for Temple’s Tyler School of Art.



Tyler’s overall ranking surged to 14th in the nation, leaping seven spots since U.S.News last ranked fine arts graduate programs in 2003.



In addition, Tyler’s graduate programs in ceramics (ranked 19th in the nation in the 2009 edition) and photography (18th) entered the national top 20 for the first time in the school’s history, joining Tyler’s longstanding top-ranked graduate programs in painting and drawing (7th), sculpture (8th) and printmaking (17th).



“We are thrilled that Tyler’s overall excellence is earning the school the national recognition it deserves,” said Therese Dolan, Tyler’s interim dean and professor of art history. “It’s especially gratifying knowing that we haven’t even moved into our wonderful new building at Temple’s Main Campus in Philadelphia yet. I’m confident that we’ll build on our success, and that Tyler’s ascent will continue when the national arts community sees what our new facility with its state-of-the-art equipment has to offer starting in 2009.”



Given that Tyler’s small, aging facility in suburban Elkins Park, Pa., likely had little positive impact on the rankings, Dolan stressed the importance of Tyler’s faculty.



“Tyler’s faculty is rich in exceptionally gifted teachers, scholars and artists — energetic people who’ve worked hard to raise our national profile,” she said.



The schools reputation also has been enhanced by the arrival of a wave of new faculty recruits. Tyler has hired 12 new tenured and tenure-track faculty members from the world’s leading institutions over the past two academic years, the largest cohort of new recruits since the school’s inception.

 

More rankings buzz


Tyler wasn’t the only Temple school or program celebrating good news in the 2009 edition of U.S.News America’s Best Graduate Schools.


After breaking into the national top 20 in the 2007 edition, the Beasley School of Law’s international programs rose to No. 16.



Temple Law kept its overall position as the second-ranked law school in Pennsylvania, and maintained its top-five national rankings in trial advocacy (2nd) and legal writing (4th).



The Fox School of Business held onto its No. 51 ranking, and Fox's international business program maintained its top 20 ranking, coming in at No. 18.



In the sciences, Temple’s graduate program in mathematics jumped to a No. 75 ranking, up 19 spots since 2006. Temple’s graduate program in physics debuted at No. 95.



Other Temple schools, colleges and programs ranked this year that continue to be highly regarded include the College of Education, the doctoral program at the School of Pharmacy, the speech language pathology and occupational therapy programs at the College of Health Professions, the clinical psychology doctoral program in the College of Liberal Arts and the social work program at the School of Social Administration.

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