AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas at Austin has more than 40 graduate programs ranked among the top 10 in the nation and three programs ranked No. 1, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 edition of “Best Graduate Schools,” released this morning.
The university has top 10 programs in multiple colleges and schools including business, engineering, education, natural sciences, Earth sciences, public affairs, communications, information, social work, pharmacy, the social sciences, and humanities.
U.S. News & World Report’s graduate rankings, separate from the magazine’s yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are among the most prestigious ratings in higher education. They are based on surveys of academic leaders and, for select programs, additional quantitative measures including placement test scores, student/faculty ratios, research expenditures and job placement success.
The three programs ranked No. 1 in the nation are accounting in the McCombs School of Business and petroleum engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, both updated this year, and Latin American history in the College of Liberal Arts, last updated in 2013. (U.S. News & World Report does not rank every discipline in every year).
Also updated this year: the College of Education is No. 10 in the nation (No. 3 among public universities), with four top 10 specialty areas. The Cockrell School of Engineering ranks No. 10 nationally (No. 6 among public universities) and has six specializations in the top 10, including the No. 2-ranked program in civil engineering. The University of Texas School of Law repeated as No. 15 nationally (No. 4 among publics). The School of Nursing ranks No. 17 nationally (No. 8 among publics). The McCombs School of Business ranks No. 16 in the country (No. 5 among publics) with four specializations in the top 10. The LBJ School of Public Affairs ranked No. 11 in the nation (No. 7 among publics). The School of Social Work repeated as No. 7 nationally (No. 4 among publics). The College of Pharmacy is No. 3 in the nation (No. 3 among publics).
UT Austin’s Dell Medical School is too new to be ranked, but the university scored top ratings in many of the other health disciplines: speech-language pathology (No. 7), clinical psychology (No. 8), and audiology (No. 13).
Several other graduate schools at UT Austin remain nationally ranked in the top 10, according to U.S. News & World Report data from 2013-2015 that was not revised this year. The Jackson School of Geosciences remains No. 8 for Earth sciences (No. 4 among publics). Computer science ranks No. 9 (No. 4 among publics). The School of Information ranks No. 6 (No. 5 among publics).
“The breadth of excellence at UT Austin is validated by the high rankings of our graduate programs,” said President Gregory L. Fenves. “Our programs provide tremendous value through the results of research and the education of innovators and leaders who will change the world for the better.”
The top rankings for graduate programs are consistent with other rankings for UT Austin, which has been named the 52nd best university for undergraduates in the United States (U.S. News & World Report), the 13th best value among public colleges (Kiplinger), and the 19th most productive university in the world for scientific research (Nature). UT Austin has maintained these levels of excellence and improved in many rankings despite cuts in state support during the past decade.
UT Austin graduate schools and programs that U.S. News & World Report ranked in the top 30 are listed below. An asterisk indicates a ranking that is based on earlier data and was not revised this year. These rankings are drawn from early figures released by U.S. News & World Report and could grow when fuller lists are published. Check news.utexas.edu for the most up-to-date lists:
Professional Schools
- Business – 16
- Accounting – 1
- Entrepreneurship – 6
- Finance – 15
- Information Systems – 3
- Management – 12
- Marketing – 11
- Production/Operations – 16
- Supply Chain/Logistics – 16
- Executive MBA – 17
- Part-Time MBA – 7
- Education – 10
- Administration/Supervision – 3
- Curriculum/Instruction – 7
- Education Policy – 18
- Educational Psychology – 6
- Elementary Teacher Education -11
- Secondary Teacher Education – 18
- Special Education – 4
- Engineering – 10
- Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering – 7
- Biomedical/Bioengineering – 19
- Chemical Engineering – 7
- Civil Engineering – 2
- Computer Engineering – 11
- Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering – 8
- Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering – 4
- Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering – 19
- Materials Engineering – 25
- Mechanical Engineering – 11
- Petroleum Engineering – 1
- Health Disciplines (other than Nursing)
- Audiology – 13
- Clinical Psychology – 8
- Pharmacy – 3
- Social Work – 7
- Speech-Language Pathology – 7
- Law – 15
- Clinical Training – 35
- Intellectual Property Law – 29
- International Law – 18
- Tax Law – 15
- Nursing – 17
- Nursing Administration – 13
- Public Affairs – 11
- Information and Technology Management – 7
- Nonprofit Management – 17
- Public Finance and Budgeting – 27
- Public Management Administration – 19
- Public Policy Analysis – 12
- Social Policy – 16
- Library and Information Studies Schools (UT Austin’s School of Information) – 6*
- Archives and Preservation – 4*
- Digital Librarianship – 9*
- Information Systems – 11*
- Law Librarianship – 2*
The Sciences
- Biological Sciences – 30*
- Ecology/Evolutionary Biology – 7*
- Chemistry – 12*
- Analytical – 4*
- Organic – 13*
- Theoretical – 12*
- Computer Science – 9*
- Artificial Intelligence – 7*
- Programming Language – 8*
- Systems – 8*
- Theory – 10*
- Earth Sciences (UT Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences) – 8*
- Geology – 5*
- Mathematics – 14*
- Analysis – 8*
- Applied Math – 10*
- Topology – 8*
- Physics – 14*
- Atomic/Molecular/Optical – 14*
- Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity – 9*
- Plasma – 3*
Social Sciences and Humanities
- Economics – 26*
- English – 17*
- History – 17*
- Latin American History – 1*
- Modern U.S. History – 12*
- Political Science – 21*
- Psychology – 14*
- Sociology – 14*
- Sociology of Population – 4*
- Fine Arts – 27
- Sculpture – 7
