Jackson Free Press

(JACKSON, Miss.) – Jackson State University is cited in two national rankings as one of the top schools in the nation for educating African-Americans in a wide range of disciplines.

The 2012 list of “Top 100 Undergraduate Degree Producers” by Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranks JSU as No. 2 in the fields of biological and biomedical sciences and in education. Overall, the university was ranked No. 7 in all disciplines combined.

The rankings were determined through an analysis of U.S. Department of Education reports submitted by institutions, according to Diverse Issues.

Jackson State also was cited as one of the top master’s-degree producers, ranking eighth in physical sciences and 10th in the social sciences and history disciplines.

In other graduate disciplines, JSU ranked 14th in biological and biomedical sciences; 19th in health professional and related clinical sciences; 20th in education; 21st in computer and information sciences and support services; 31st in physical sciences and in English language and literature/letters.

JSU’s undergraduate-degree rankings also included engineering technologies/ engineering-related fields and mathematics and statistics, 8th; English language and literature/letters, 9th; and accounting and related services, 14th; finance/financial management services and marketing, 17th; health and medical administrative services and business, management, marketing and related support services, 20th.

JSU ranked 17th in producing education graduates when considering all minorities.

In its 2012 ranking of 218 universities across the country, Washington Monthly ranks JSU 47th, just behind the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, which was ranked 46th, and just ahead of the University of Virginia-Main at 48th. Jackson State is one of only two Historically Black Colleges or Universities to break into Washington Monthly’s top 50.

The Washington Monthly rankings are based on three factors:

• Social mobility, which gives colleges credit for enrolling many low-income students and helping them earn degrees;
• Research production, particularly at schools where undergraduates go on to earn Ph.D.s, and the amount of research dollars.
• Service, which considers the number of students service in military training programs, percentage of alumni in the Peace Corps, percentage of students receiving Pell grants and percentage of federal work-study grant money spent on community service projects.