Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has been named #8 among Schools for Social Work in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings. This marks SP2’s highest ranking ever, and the second time that the School has appeared in the list’s top 10.

U.S. News periodically ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, health, and many other fields, based solely on academic experts’ ratings. The Best Schools for Social Work category is part of the U.S. News Best Health Schools ranking.

 “At SP2, we prepare the next generation of social change agents to embrace the highest standards of research and practice, and to apply their knowledge and partnership where they are needed most in the world,” said SP2 Dean Sara “Sally” Bachman, PhD.  “Within our unique, interdisciplinary school, students in social work programs learn alongside future policy makers and nonprofit leaders from our world-class faculty, in the setting of an urban, Ivy League university. We are proud that our commitment to a transformative education has resulted in a rise in the school of social work rankings.”

Dedicated to the passionate pursuit of social innovation, impact, and justice, SP2 offers five top-ranked, highly respected degree programs: Master of Social Work, Doctorate in Clinical Social Work, PhD in Social Welfare, Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership, and Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP). For students interested in enhancing their MSSP with a certificate in data analytics, SP2 also offers the MSSP Program + Data Analytics for Social Policy Certificate.

SP2’s transdisciplinary centers and initiatives yield innovative ideas and better ways to shape policy and service delivery in a number of research areas: children, women, and family well-being; climate inequality; data-driven policy analysis and evidence-based practice; economic security; health equity, mental health, and aging; identity, immigration, and racism; mass incarceration, homelessness, and substance use; and social innovation, philanthropy, and nonprofit management.

SP2 also offers a range of certificate programs and dual degrees and engages in many collaborations with Penn’s eleven other schools.