The public administration program within the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs placed number one for international scholarly output based on quality and productivity in a recent study from the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

“For the second time this year, a comprehensive and rigorous study has placed UGA at the very top in the world in public administration scholarship,” said Stefanie Lindquist, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs. “The message is clear: UGA’s public administration faculty produce the highest quality scholarship and are the most productive on the globe. Kudos to our wonderful faculty.”

The article, written by Adam M. Williams, Derek R. Slagle and Darrin Wilson of Florida Atlantic University, assesses the scholarly activity of the field of public administration based upon the criteria from Thompson Reuters Journal Citation Reports to determine productivity, quality and overall annual institutional impact. The study was conducted for a five-year period between 2006 and 2010, in which UGA ranked number one in all three categories. 

In the Institutional Impact Final Rankings, UGA scored number one followed by the London School of Economics and Cardiff University. Other American institutions ranked in the top 10 include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, American University and Indiana University. 

“This is the second study in the past few months showing that the faculty in public administration at the University of Georgia are the most productive in the world in that academic discipline in terms of published research,” said Edward Kellough, head of the department of public administration and policy. “The members of our faculty engage in research addressing many issues central to the effective and efficient operation of democratic government, and it is gratifying to see the impact they are having and to have this richly deserved recognition.”

Earlier this year, the department placed number one in a study by scholars from the Netherlands that used five ranking methodologies to determine scholarly productivity. With each method, UGA scored number one consistently with Cardiff University and the London School of Economics placing second and third, respectively.

The public administration and policy program is currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Research conducted by the program’s faculty addresses a variety of issues that provide depth to the development of public policies and services provided by governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations. 

The study is available through the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration and is published in the Journal of Public Affairs Education. For more information, see http://www.naspaa.org/initiatives/jpae/jpae.asp. 

For more information about the School of Public and International Affairs and the department of public administration and policy, see www.spia.uga.edu.