“(The rankings are) important for an institution as large and complex as MSU and that helps our reputation and is an indicator of our quality we offer to any of our students,” Cassella said.

The ranks ultimately equate into stronger students for the university, said Wolfgang Bauer, a chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The department contains MSU’s nuclear physics program, which also was ranked first in the country.

“This is the second year that we’ve been ranked number one,” Bauer said. “We have clearly seen an improvement in the quality of the graduate students who applied to our program this year compared to the years before. … The best people want to be with the best programs.”

The better the graduate student, the better research the department is able to produce, said Richard Schwartz, associate dean for graduate students in the MSU College of Natural Science.

“Getting good graduate students here, it really fosters good research,” Schwartz said. “It help us to do our reach mission more successfully.”

Last year, MSU beat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the rankings after trailing for about five years. And MSU isn’t likely to be going back to second place anytime soon, Bauer said.

“I think we will keep this (ranking) for at least the next decade,” Bauer said. “With (the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams) passing one milestone after another — MSU is really the place that has driven nuclear physics forward.”

Besides the elementary and secondary education programs, the MSU College of Education curriculum and instruction program and rehabilitation counseling program both were ranked as second in the country. Wilson said the positive rankings allow the college to be more bold in its initiatives.

“When you get ranking like this, sometimes people think what you should do is act very conservatively and maintain the rankings,” Wilson said. “We think it means we should take risks.”

Stefan Fletcher, president of the Council of Graduate Students said the ranking of graduate programs and colleges positively reflects on MSU as a whole.

“I think it’s a very good sign that MSU is moving in the right direction,” Fletcher said. “We’re positioning ourselves to increasingly be in graduate and professional education.”

Psychology and criminal justice senior Ekanem Linwood said the rankings will encourage students to apply.

“I think more people are interested in coming to MSU,” Linwood said. “That will open many doors for the university and its students.”