AUSTIN, Texas — The newest edition of “Best Graduate Schools” from U.S. News & World Report ranks 49 graduate schools and programs at The University of Texas at Austin in the top 10 in the nation based on a variety of factors. UT Austin has five specialty programs ranked No. 1 and places among the top five public universities in the country for the number of top 10 schools and specialties. Overall, the university saw 26 of its programs move up.
The university has top-10 specialties in more than a dozen of its colleges and schools. Four of UT Austin’s graduate colleges rank in the top 10: the LBJ School of Public Affairs (No. 7), the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (No. 8), Jackson School of Geosciences (No. 7, ranked under Earth sciences) and the School of Information (No. 5, ranked under library and information sciences).
| Public Universities with the Most Top 10 Graduate Rankings | ||
| Rank | University | 2022 |
| 1 | University of California, Berkeley | 118 |
| 2 | Michigan University | 110 |
| 3 | University of California, Los Angeles | 63 |
| 4 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49 |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin | 44 |
| 6 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 41 |
| 7 | University of Washington | 39 |
| 8 | University of Illinois | 37 |
| 9 | Georgia Institute of Technology | 23 |
| 9 | Ohio State University | 23 |
The five specialties ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, are accounting in the McCombs School of Business, petroleum engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences, and Latin American history and sociology of population, both in the College of Liberal Arts. Other notable improvements include:
- The LBJ School of Public Affairs moved up one spot to No. 7.
- The College of Education had five of its programs increase in rankings. The McCombs School of Business saw four specialty programs increase in rankings. And seven programs in the Cockrell School of Engineering moved up.
- The Executive MBA in the McCombs School moved up one spot to No. 11.
- The university added a newly ranked specialty: environmental policy at No. 14.
- African American History, unranked in previous surveys, rose to No. 10.
“It’s great to see our graduate programs getting more of the recognition they deserve,” said UT Austin President Jay Hartzell. “From here, we’ll continue to reach higher — recruiting elite faculty and outstanding students; fostering an atmosphere characterized by excellence, diversity and academic freedom; and leveraging the unique opportunities that being in Austin and in Texas affords us.”
U.S. News & World Report’s graduate rankings, which are published separately from the magazine’s yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are considered the gold standard of graduate and professional rankings. 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 publication updates some of its specialty rankings each year and republishes the most recent rankings in other areas. Areas updated this year were business, education, engineering, law, liberal arts, library and information studies, nursing and public affairs.
UT Austin graduate schools and programs that U.S. News & World Report ranked in the top 30 are listed below.
Business – 18
- Accounting – 1
- Business Analytics – 5
- Entrepreneurship – 9
- Finance – 14
- Information Systems – 4
- International – 24
- Management – 12
- Marketing – 11
- Production/Operations – 14
- Real Estate – 10
- Supply Chain/Logistics – 15
- Executive MBA – 11
- Part-Time MBA – 7
Education – 16
- Counseling – 15
- Curriculum/Instruction – 9
- Education Policy – 13
- Educational Administration/Supervision – 5
- Educational Psychology – 6
- Elementary Teacher Education – 13
- Higher Education Administration – 15
- Secondary Teacher Education – 10
- Special Education – 7
Engineering – 12
- Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical – 8
- Biomedical/Bioengineering – 17
- Chemical – 7
- Civil – 4
- Computer – 8
- Electrical/Electronic/Communications – 11
- Environmental/Environmental Health – 5
- Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems – 18
- Materials – 17
- Mechanical – 10
- Nuclear – 17
- Petroleum Engineering – 1
Health Disciplines (other than Nursing)
- Audiology – 14*
- Clinical Psychology – 10*
- Pharmacy (UT Austin’s College of Pharmacy) – 7*
- Social Work (UT Austin’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work) – 8*
- Speech-Language Pathology – 10*
Law – 16
- Business/Corporate Law – 17
- Contracts/Commercial Law – 11
- Constitutional Law – 9
- Criminal Law – 17
- Dispute Resolution – 19
- Environmental Law – 30
- Health Care Law – 29
- Intellectual Property Law – 26
- International Law – 18
- Tax Law – 16
Library and Information Studies Schools (UT Austin’s School of Information) – 5
- Archives and Preservation – 4
- Digital Librarianship – 7
- Information Systems – 8
Nursing
- Master’s – 21
- Doctor of Nursing Practice – 21
Public Affairs – 7
- Environmental Policy – 14 (new)
- International/Global Policy – 10
- Nonprofit Management – 23
- Public Finance and Budgeting — 25
- Public Management and Leadership – 15
- Public Policy Analysis – 18
- Social Policy – 21
The Sciences
Biological Sciences – 27*
- Ecology/Evolutionary Biology – 6*
Chemistry – 15*
- Analytical – 4*
- Organic – 16*
- Physical – 14*
Computer Science – 10*
- Artificial Intelligence – 8*
- Programming Language – 8*
- Systems – 8*
- Theory – 7*
Earth Sciences (UT Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences) – 7*
- Geology – 1*
- Geophysics and Seismology – 7*
Mathematics – 14*
- Analysis – 7*
- Applied Math – 9*
- Topology – 8*
Physics – 17*
- Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity – 10*
Social Sciences and Humanities
Economics – 21
English – 17
- American Literature After 1865 — 18
History – 11
- African American History — 10
- Latin American History – 1
- Modern U.S. History — 16
Political Science – 19
- American Politics — 20
- Comparative Politics —18
Psychology – 8*
Sociology – 11
- Sociology of Population – 1
- Sex and Gender – 6
- Social Stratification — 13
Fine Arts – 23*
- Sculpture – 6*
*Ranking not revised for 2022. Based on latest ranking available.
