Andrew Young School advances to top 10 in two U.S. News ranking categories
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

March 28, 2001

Contact: Betsy Robertson, 404-651-3572

ATLANTA - Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies ranks in the top 10 graduate programs nationally in the categories of public finance/budgeting and city management/urban policy, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2001 issue of "America's Best Graduate Schools."

The widely anticipated college rankings guide, which goes on newsstands April 2, lists Georgia State as 6th nationally in the area of public finance/budgeting, up from 11th in 1998, the last time such programs were rated. In city management/urban policy - a key academic discipline for the downtown Atlanta research university - Georgia State moved up to 7th -ranked from 16th.

Georgia State is listed as 31st overall among graduate schools in public affairs, up from 36th in 1998.

Georgia State's graduate programs in various public-affairs disciplines are housed in the university's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, which was formed in 1996.

"We moved up significantly in every category in which we were ranked since the school's inception," said Andrew Young School Dean Roy W. Bahl Jr. "That is a real tribute to the super group of faculty and research associates we have put together here. When our reputation catches up to our quality, I think we will be a top 10 school in every category."

Bahl attributed the rankings leap to significant research, outreach and teaching. The Andrew Young School has advised several state governors and legislatures on tax reform; conducted training programs in public finance in more than 40 countries; and developed a strong course concentration in budgeting and taxation. Graduates have obtained jobs in state and federal government offices, and also have been hired as faculty members other universities nationally and internationally.

In 1997, the school won the largest contract grant in the history of the university -- $10.9 million from the U.S. government to develop a new tax code, improve collections and lend fiscal advice to the Russian government.

"I think that special things are going on in the Andrew Young School, and I'm not at all surprised to see us in the top 10 in some areas of study," said former U.N. ambassador and longtime civil-rights leader Andrew Young, for whom the school was named in 1999. "And we are just going to keep on getting better. Too bad they don't have a ranking for doing good work around the globe. Surely we would be No. 1 in that category."

In the city management/urban policy area, the rankings increase was likely due to several high-profile research projects, including the development of a widely used sourcebook for the International City Managers Association; analyses of the unemployment problems of the inner-city poor; and an examination of urban economic development and environmental problems, Bahl said. The school is affiliated with Research Atlanta Inc., a think tank dedicated to the study of urban problems, and offers popular bachelor's and master's degrees in urban policy studies.