The Maxwell School, since its founding at Syracuse University in 1924, has been defined by its dedication to graduate study in two distinct but overlapping spheres: the professional world of leadership in public and international affairs, and the academic world of research and scholarship in all the social sciences.

This combination of resources is unique as Maxwell is virtually the only school to provide the best of two worlds: professional training in public policy and administration in the academic context of the social sciences.

At Maxwell, students in the professional programs of public administration and international relations learn the skills, wisdom, and humanity required of public leaders in an increasingly complex world. Doctoral students become well-grounded in their disciplines, as well as in the real-world consequences of their scholarship. At the Maxwell School, both are enlightened by a rigorous examination of the infinite mysteries of the human condition.

Recently, the Maxwell School took first place among schools of public affairs in U.S. News and World Report's annual survey of "America's Best Graduate Schools," appearing in the March 20, 1995, issue. This survey was the first to rate schools with graduate professional programs in public affairs. Deans, top administrators, and senior faculty members of the 223 accredited schools that make up the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) were asked to rank the reputations of their peer institutions on the basis of academic quality.

Though such surveys have been rare over the years, Maxwell has consistently taken top billing. The Gourman Report has long put Maxwell's public administration department in first place for programs of its kind in the nation, and in the 1980s, a review of public affairs schools published in Public Administration Review also put Maxwell in the top slot.

Dean John Palmer called the U.S. News & World Report ranking a validation of the School's position in the field and maintains that selection as the best public affairs graduate school in the United States by a widely read periodical will significantly increase Maxwell's visibility.