The trend over time for the Law School in terms of the U.S. News ranking’s objective and subjective measures of excellence has been positive. The student-quality data (GPA, LSAT scores, acceptance rate) that U.S. News analyzes was even stronger this year than last year.

U.S. News altered its method for calculating the law school rankings last year by combining admissions data—a major factor used in the rankings—for day and evening programs. This year, U.S. News modified its methodology for the evening program rankings to use a different formula for peer assessment and to incorporate factors such as selectivity and an index of “part-time focus.”

In the 2011 edition, Fordham Law remained among the country’s most diverse law schools, and several specialty programs were nationally ranked:

• Dispute Resolution: No. 8
• Clinical Training: No. 13
• Intellectual Property Law: No. 15

“We are delighted to be recognized, but it’s no surprise that Fordham Law School’s evening program stands out from the competition,” said William M. Treanor, the dean of Fordham Law School. “We strongly value the flexibility the evening program provides for aspiring lawyers and we are delighted that, for nearly 100 years, it has helped people who otherwise would not have been able to attend law school to realize their dreams of becoming lawyers.”

“The graduates of our evening school have made their mark on the world in so many important ways—as superb trial lawyers, general counsel of major corporations, leaders in the business world, partners in firms, advocates for the poor, partners in major firms, important political leaders, and in so many other ways. The evening school has always played a central role in the law school’s mission, and it is wonderful that it has received this recognition.”

GSS was ranked 18th out of 94 schools listed in the magazine’s April 2 issue, sharing the position with the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, the University of Kansas and the University of Maryland-Baltimore. Fordham placed higher than many other notable universities, including Boston University and New York University.

Academic quality of programs was measured on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). GSS received a ranking of 3.5.

“I am very pleased that we ranked among the twenty top social work programs in the nation,” said Peter Vaughan, Ph.D., dean of the GSS. “This ranking is tribute to the excellent reputation of our fine faculty, especially when one considers that with possibly one exception the other ranked schools of social work have their own buildings, robust endowments and health science centers that support the research of the social work faculty.”

Taking top honors was Washington University in St. Louis, followed by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in second place and the University of Chicago in the third position.

The magazine ranked this year’s graduate programs in social work based on statistical indicators measuring quality of faculty, research and students. The data was gathered from more than 14,000 academics and professionals interviewed last fall.

U.S. News and World Report releases its list ranking the nation’s best graduate schools each spring. The ranking system takes into consideration a number of objective and subjective factors, including reputation, selectivity, placement success, and faculty resources.

Several Fordham Law specialty programs were also recognized by U.S. News. The Dispute Resolution program was ranked 10th in its field, International Law was ranked 11th, Clinical Legal Education was ranked 15th, and Intellectual Property was ranked 23rd. Fordham Law was also named among the country’s most diverse law schools.

“I’m delighted that the recent rankings recognize the quality of our outstanding faculty, staff, students, and alumni,” said William Michael Treanor, dean and professor of law. “The U.S. Newssurvey reflects what we have long known—that Fordham provides a complete legal education that is one of the best in the nation.”