Four MSU colleges are among the top 25 schools in the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report released Friday.

Seventeen MSU graduate programs were included in the rankings, which were published Monday.

The College of Education's elementary and secondary education programs were ranked No. 1 for the ninth year in a row. The college was ranked 15th overall.

"At Michigan State we say we are elite without being elitist, and I think this indeed shows that we are elite," MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said.

U.S. News ranks graduate and professional schools each spring. The publication collects statistical data and surveys from faculty and professionals.

Denbow said the rankings aren't necessarily as important as the reputation of MSU's graduate schools. He said at times, he doesn't agree with the criteria U.S. News & World Report uses, but said its rankings are credible.

"There's a lot of things in rankings that we would do differently," he said. "While we wouldn't agree with all the criteria, we do think it is credible because it has an integrity-based program."

In the past, Denbow said MSU has denounced other rankings the university has received such as the Princeton Review's top 20 party school list because they "purport to be rankings when all they are surveys."

Denbow said the U.S. News & World Report uses more scientific and quantitative data than the Princeton Review.

It's most important, Denbow said, that MSU lives up to its own standards.

Lea Johnson, editorial assistant and correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, said the ranking system works well.

"It's a good criteria for people who are seeking higher education," she said. "This is a good system."

But William Strampel, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said he doesn't take the rankings to heart.

"Anytime you get nationally recognized for anything, you are honored and privileged and happy," he said. "But you have to judge it with some reserve."

The college was ranked out of 150 medical schools in the United States, and received its highest ranking ever, Strampel said.

"We pride ourselves on providing physicians for the state of Michigan," he said. "The better the class, the better the care."

But to Strampel, ranking isn't important.

"The difference is probably just a couple of percentage points," he said. "We do a good job every year whether we're 20th or fourth."