US News Ranks Four Schools, 50 Programs at UT Austin Among the Nation’s Best

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin’s graduate schools in engineering, law, education and nursing are ranked among the Top 15 in the nation, and the university’s accounting program is No. 1 in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2016 edition of “Best Graduate Schools,” released this morning.

In all, more than 50 science, social science, humanities and professional programs and disciplines are ranked in the Top 15 nationally according to the rankings, which are based on quantitative and qualitative measures, including GRE scores, student/faculty ratio, research expenditures, job placement success and ratings of academic experts, national faculty members and administrators.

U.S. News’ graduate rankings, separate from the magazine’s yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are among the most prestigious ratings in higher education.

The Cockrell School of Engineering ranks No. 10 nationally (No. 5 among public universities) and has eight specialty programs in the Top 15. The University of Texas School of Law repeated as No. 15 nationally (No. 4 among publics). The College of Education is No. 10 in the nation (No. 3 among publics), with five Top 15 specialty areas. The School of Nursing ranks No. 13 nationally (No. 5 among publics). The McCombs School of Business ranks No. 17 in the country (No. 5 among publics) with eight specializations in the Top 15.

Several other graduate schools at UT Austin remain nationally ranked according to U.S. News and World Report data from 2012-2014 that was not revised this year. (The publication does not rank every discipline in every year). The College of Pharmacy ranks No. 4 nationally (No. 4 among publics). 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 School of Social Work ranks No. 7 (No. 5 among publics) and the LBJ School of Public Affairs is No. 16 (No. 8 among publics).

“I’m tremendously proud of our graduate programs and the students, faculty, and administrators who make them the centers of excellence they are,” said President Bill Powers. “Graduate education is a critical link in the higher education ecosystem, and the fact that more than 50 of our programs rank in the top 15 testifies to UT Austin’s remarkable breadth and depth.”

Within the rankings for individual graduate disciplines and specializations, UT Austin has 10 programs ranked in the Top Five nationally, including five based on new data:

• Accounting (McCombs School of Business) No. 1
• Information Systems (McCombs School of Business) No. 3
• Administration/Supervision (College of Education) No. 3
• Special Education (College of Education) No. 4
• Civil Engineering (Cockrell School of Engineering) No. 3

The top rankings for graduate programs are also consistent with other rankings for UT Austin, which has been named the 28th best university in the world (Times Higher Education), the 53rd best overall university in the United States (U.S. News and World Report) and the 14th best value among public colleges (Kiplinger). 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 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 and World Report and could grow when fuller lists are published. Check utexas.edu/news for the most up-to-date lists:

Professional Schools

• Business – 17 Accounting – 1
• Entrepreneurship – 8
• Finance – 13
• Information Systems – 5
• International Business – 15
• Management – 18
• Marketing – 11
• Production/Operations – 15
• Supply Chain/Logistics – 15
• Executive MBA – 17
• Part-Time MBA – 7

Education – 10

• Administration/Supervision – 3
• Curriculum/Instruction – 11
• Educational Psychology – 10
• Higher Education Administration – 20
• Elementary Teacher Education – 15
• Special Education – 4

Engineering – 10

• Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical – 8
• Biomedical – 14
• Chemical – 6
• Civil – 3
• Computer – 9
• Electrical/Electronic/Communications – 10
• Environmental/Environmental Health – 6
• Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems – 22
• Materials – 24
• Mechanical – 13

Health Disciplines (other than Nursing)

• Audiology – 21
• Clinical Psychology – 11
• Pharmacy – 4
• Social Work – 7
• Speech-Language Pathology – 10

Law 15

• Clinical Training 22
• Intellectual Property Law 32
• International Law – 17

Nursing – 13 Public Affairs – 16*

• Information and Technology Management – 8*
• Nonprofit Management – 8*
• Public Finance and Budgeting – 16*
• Public Management Administration – 14*
• Public Policy Analysis – 11*
• Social Policy – 14*

School of Information – 5*

• Archives and Preservation – 4*
• Digital Librarianship – 9*
• Information Systems – 11*
• Law Librarianship – 2*

The Sciences

• Biological Sciences – 30* Ecology/Environmental Biology – 7*

Chemistry – 12*

• Analytical – 4*
• Organic Chemistry – 13*
• Theoretical – 12*

Computer Science – 9*

• Artificial Intelligence – 7*
• Programming Language – 8*
• Systems – 8*
• Theory – 10*

Earth Sciences – 8*

• Geology – 5*

Mathematics – 14*

• Analysis – 8*
• Applied Math – 10*
• Topology – 8*

Physics – 14*

• Atomic/Molecular – 14*
• Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity – 9*
• Plasma – 3*

Social Sciences and Humanities

• Economics – 26*
• English – 17*
• History – 17* Latin American History – 1*

Political Science – 21* Psychology – 14* Sociology – 14*

• Sociology of Population – 5*

Fine Arts – 22*

• Painting/Drawing – 16*
• Printmaking – 10*
• Sculpture – 15*

*Ranking not revised for 2015. Based on latest ranking available.