The La Follette School of Public Affairs ranked 3rd in the nation among public schools in health policy and management and tied for 4th place among public schools in social policy in the 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings from the U.S. News & World Report.
The annual rankings report continues to showcase the La Follette School’s value for students looking to enter the world of public policy equipped with a world-class education that also carries national recognition. Overall, La Follette continues to rank among the top 10% of public policy schools in the nation and is tied for 11th among public schools.
With a commitment to keeping its program small and specialized, La Follette offers a tight-knit, supportive community with limited class sizes and easy access to La Follette faculty and staff. Being a University of Wisconsin-Madison student brings the added benefits of access to resources and scholars in one of the nation’s leading institutions for developing future leaders and one of the top public universities in the nation.
La Follette continues to expand its faculty with top scholars in a variety of research areas. This semester, La Follette welcomed Tony Lo Sasso, who specializes in the economics of the American healthcare system. He has already left an impression through his work in the classroom and impressive thought leadership by way of opinion pieces that have appeared in Forbes, Health Affairs, Fortune, and more.
Four additional faculty members will be joining La Follette in fall 2026.
La Follette’s curriculum emphasizes hands-on learning experiences, with opportunities to address public policy challenges with real-world clients. Many of these projects go on to have real-world impact as well.
The projects also give students exposure to potential career connections. “La Follette’s cost-benefit analysis course gave me firsthand experience working with a real client on a meaningful project that has the potential to help many Wisconsinites,” said Alivia Lindorfer (MPA ’25), who worked on a client project with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). “I think this experience was instrumental in helping me secure my current position with DHS.”
The school has recently revamped its career website thanks to a grant from Ascendium Education Group, making it even easier to connect students and employers.
The La Follette School also offers students unique opportunities to make connections with alumni and supporters through its Eat & Greet networking events and site visits to some of Wisconsin’s top public policy employers. 26 La Follette graduate students also attended numerous site visits to public-sector, private-sector, and nonprofit organizations as part of a January trip to the Twin Cities.
A highly customizable curriculum, with double and dual degree options available in public health, law, neuroscience, and urban and regional planning and certificates in energy analysis and business, draws many students to the school’s MPA and MIPA programs.
“The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings reflect La Follette’s ongoing commitment to being one of the premier options in the country for ambitious students looking to make an impact in the world of public policy,” La Follette School Director Susan Webb Yackee said. “While our school is motivated by results and not rankings, we always appreciate when others recognize that what we’re building at La Follette is special.”