ASU rank for research in public administration rises to No. 6 in world

Arizona State University has climbed to new heights in ShanghaiRanking’s 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, named No. 6 in the world for public administration research, up from No. 10 in 2021, according to a recently released report. ASU also ranks No. 2 among U.S. universities, up from No. 4 last year.

GRAS and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy examined 200 universities worldwide that conduct public administration research. The prestigious ranking places ASU ahead of Harvard, Columbia and Yale universities.

Public administration research is conducted at ASU’s School of Public Affairs, which is based at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

RELATED: 6 ASU academic programs ranked among top 25 in the world

Cynthia Lietz, the Watts College dean and a President’s Professor of social work, praised the School of Public Affairs faculty for achieving the ranking.

“Our faculty in the School of Public Affairs are internationally recognized for their work in science and technology, local government, organizational design, sustainability, emergency management and many important areas impacting the health of our communities,” Lietz said. “I am so pleased to see that their talent and efforts are being recognized in this important ranking.”

Spiro Maroulis, the School of Public Affairs interim director and an associate professor, praised the high worth the ranking represents to students.

“Our ranking reflects the tremendous value our public administration program delivers to students,” Maroulis said. “Our faculty are not only among the most innovative and recognized researchers in the field, but also take tremendous pride in educating future public service leaders. We are extremely pleased with the recognition of our program.”

Foundation Professor of Public Policy and Management Donald Siegel, who served as the School of Public Affairs director from 2017 until earlier this year, when he took over as co-director of ASU’s Global Center for Technology Transfer, said ASU’s prominence in public administration research also is reflected in its higher ranking than Harvard, Oxford, Columbia and Cornell — whose tuition can run as much as four times higher than ASU’s.

“Our stellar research performance stems from our highly productive faculty, who are key thought leaders in the field,” Siegel said. “(School of Public Affairs) faculty members currently serve as editors of the leading journals in public administration, public policy and management, have secured numerous major federal grants and prestigious fellowships and have garnered impressive lifetime achievement awards.”

Siegel said six faculty members who teach in the School of Public Affairs (including ASU President Michael Crow) are fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration. 

“We also have five cutting-edge research centers — the Center for Organization Research and Design; the Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Studies; the Center for Urban Innovation; the Center for Technology, Data and Society; and the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security — whose faculty have published many top-tier journal articles on key issues in the field,” Siegel said.

The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy have ranked ASU’s public administration program in the top 10 in the world and the top five in the U.S. since 2019.

ShanghaiRanking, also known as the Academic Ranking of World Universities, began to publish world university ranking by academic subjects in 2009. By introducing improved methodology, the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects was first published in 2017. The 2022 the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects contains rankings of universities in 54 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.