UC Riverside’s School of Public Policy is less than a decade old, but its graduate school is already moving up swiftly in the national rankings compiled by US News and World Report.

This year the school achieved the rank of 76th in the nation, an improvement over its ranking of 102 in 2022. Only one other public policy school – the one at the University of Tennessee – improved in the rankings as much as UCR did during the past two years. 

Mark Long, the dean of Riverside’s school, attributed the fast rise to “our concerted effort to let our peer schools of public policy around the nation know about the exceptional quality of our faculty and the strength of our undergraduate and graduate programs.”

The school is just a year away from celebrating its 10th anniversary. The first 27 students for the school’s flagship master’s degree program arrived on campus in 2015. Just three years later, the school took over an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree program in public policy, which now has nearly 300 students.

“Our alumni are now maturing into important positions throughout the state and nation,” Long said. “Our school has grown rapidly and has one of the largest undergraduate programs in public policy in the nation.” 

The school also offers its undergraduates a fast track to a master’s degree. Last year it began a bachelor’s of arts/master’s in public policy option. This program allows undergraduates to complete both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. It is “a very attractive option for many,” Long said

UCR’s public policy majors are qualified for an array of job opportunities. Beyond work in politics, and in local, regional, state, and federal government, the school’s graduates are also needed for various government-relations jobs throughout the private sector.

“We could not be more proud of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni," Long said.