Bloustein School’s Planning Program Jumps to Fourth Overall, Second in Northeast in Survey of Nation’s Top Graduate Schools

The ranking is as follows:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. University of California-Berkeley
3. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
4. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
6. Cornell University
7. Harvard University
8. University of California-Los Angeles
9. University of Southern California
10. University of Pennsylvania.

      The survey, first published in 2006, was conducted by Planetizen, a Los Angeles-based planning and development network. The study was undertaken through surveys of planning professors and practitioners, current students and recent graduates.

      Planetizen covers a wide array of planning, design and development issues in areas such as transportation, global warming, architecture, infrastructure, housing, community development and historic preservation. Planetizen developed the guide to provide prospective students a credible comparison of graduate schools.

      In addition to the overall rankings, Planetizen asked planning professors and practitioners to rate the best graduate schools in 15 specialty areas. The Bloustein School was named in nine of those areas, including community development, economic development, environmental planning, housing, international development, land use planning, public health, technology and transportation.

      “The Bloustein School continues on the rise nationally for our leadership in urban planning according to our peers in the classroom and the workplace,” said Bloustein School Dean James W. Hughes. “The quality of our students, the job prospects open to them upon graduation and their satisfaction with their experience at Rutgers all helped in moving us up in the rankings. We prove our value day in, day out to the state of New Jersey through the quality of our research and the professionalism of the individuals we prepare for the workforce.”

      The Bloustein School was named in honor of former Rutgers President Edward J. Bloustein and is committed to a rebirth of the public service ethic in the United States. The school provides education, research and public service, and is home to 18 research centers and institutes. A unique feature of the Bloustein School is the hands-on experience its research centers provide graduate students in crafting state and local planning and public policy.

Media Contact: Rick Remington
732-932-6812, ext. 552
E-mail: remingr@rci.rutgers.edu