The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.
Pursuing a graduate degree can lead to career advancement, a chance to explore interests and new networking opportunities.
And at some colleges, many students take that route soon after graduating.
[Learn how to transition from college to graduate school.]
Among the 379 ranked colleges that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average proportion of 2015 graduates who went on to further their education within a year was 25.1 percent. To compare, the previous year’s average was 24.7 percent.
Meanwhile, among the 10 schools that topped this year’s list, the average was 74.6 percent — significantly higher than the previous year’s, at 58.5 percent.
Topping the list is CUNY–John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, which reported that 91 percent of 2015 alumni moved on to graduate school within a year.
More than half of the schools on the list are Regional Universities, meaning they offer a range of undergraduate and some master’s programs but few doctoral programs.
[Explore how to plot out graduate school applications as a college student.]
In contrast, very few 2015 grads of some ranked schools quickly pursued a master’s degree or doctorate. At Morrisville State College in New York, just 1 percent did so within a year. At Holy Cross College in Indiana, that figure was 2 percent.
Below are the 10 colleges where the highest percentage of 2015 graduates pursued an advanced degree within a year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School name (state) | Percentage of graduates pursuing an advanced degree within one year | U.S. News rank and category |
| CUNY–John Jay College of Criminal Justice | 91% | 108 (tie), Regional Universities (North) |
| Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN) | 87% | RNP*, Regional Universities (Midwest) |
| Huntingdon College (AL) | 87% | 10 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
| Millsaps College (MS) | 85% | 90 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Birmingham-Southern College (AL) | 80% | 132 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| University of California–Merced | 70% | 152 (tie), National Universities |
| Waynesburg University (PA) | 63% | 85 (tie), Regional Universities (North) |
| University of Evansville (IN) | 62% | 8 (tie), Regional Universities (Midwest) |
| Hardin-Simmons University (TX) | 61% | 33 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
| Keuka College (NY) | 60% | 131 (tie), Regional Universities (North) |
* RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find alumni data, complete rankings and much more. Sign up for the U.S. News Extra Help: College Admissions free email newsletter to receive expert advice twice a month.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The alumni data above are correct as of July 25, 2017.
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10 Colleges That Often Lead to Graduate School originally appeared on usnews.com
