On March 16, U.S. News will unveil the 2017 Best Graduate Schools on usnews.com, including rankings of business, law, education, engineering, medical and nursing programs.
For the first time, U.S. News will rank Doctor of Nursing Practice programs alongside master’s programs in nursing. DNP programs, which are rapidly growing, prepare nurses for the highest level of clinical practice.
Detailed statistical data collected about each program in the six largest graduate disciplines will be displayed on searchable directory pages on usnews.com, as well as in the “Best Graduate Schools 2017” print guidebook, on sale at newsstands on April 5.
Complete school data and the full versions of specialty rankings, such as executive MBA and international law, will only be available through the subscription-based U.S. News Graduate School Compass.
U.S. News will also publish fresh rankings of graduate programs in public affairs, in fine arts and in seven selected health-related fields: audiology, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, social work and speech-language pathology. These rankings, which are based solely on the ratings of academic experts, were last updated in 2012. New reputation-based rankings of nurse midwifery and nurse anesthesia programs will also be published in the 2017 edition.
Rankings of doctoral programs in the sciences and the social sciences and humanities, master’s degree programs in library and information studies, and other graduate programs in health will continue to be available on the site. These rankings are based on earlier published surveys and are labeled with the year that they were originally published.
Explanations of the full Best Graduate Schools ranking methodologies and data used to create all the rankings will also be available March 16.
Prospective graduate students can use the statistical data that schools report to U.S. News to compare factors such as acceptance rates; scores on the GRE, LSAT, MCAT and GMAT; student-faculty ratios; and job placement success upon graduation.
However, the Best Graduate Schools rankings should be a supplement for careful decision-making, not a substitute. Other factors to consider include a school’s course offerings and department culture, a student’s total cost to obtain the degree, the advising or mentoring a student can expect to receive, and the school’s location and campus life.
U.S. News encourages students to use the rankings as a tool to help choose the right program, not as the sole factor driving their final choice.
More from U.S. News
Chart: Average Debt and Starting Salary for Business School Graduates
In Photos: 2016 Best Business Schools
In Photos: 2016 Best Law Schools
New Best Graduate Schools Rankings Coming March 16 originally appeared on usnews.com
