U.S. News Releases 2022 Best Graduate Schools Rankings

People attend graduate school for all sorts of reasons: to obtain an influential, meaningful or prestigious job; to increase their knowledge and skills in a field; to boost their earning power; to facilitate a career change or a promotion; to better contribute to society or fulfill their own potential.

Graduate applications surged during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, but demand for programs in certain fields, such as law and medicine, has since softened. Applications to business programs, though, have stayed close to peak levels.

Graduate school hopefuls seeking guidance on the viability of their candidacy at a particular school can refer to the U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings and data released today. This information can help them decide where to apply.

[Read: What Graduate School Is and Who Should Consider Attending.]

The 2023 edition of the rankings evaluates a variety of graduate programs, including those in the following six popular fields: business, law, medicine, nursing, engineering and education.

The indicators of excellence within one field of study are not necessarily identical to those in another; thus, there are significant differences in the ranking methodologies. However, one commonality among the rankings for the six major academic disciplines is that they assess both the accomplishments of a school’s incoming students and the career outcomes of a school’s graduates.

This year, U.S. News overhauled its evaluation of law school bar passage rates in the Best Law Schools rankings. The computations now incorporate all graduates who took the bar for the first time, and they account for the impact of geography on pass rates.

In addition to the rankings of the six major disciplines as well as specialties within them, U.S. News publishes rankings of various graduate programs based purely on the opinions of academic experts. There is also a new reputation-only ranking this year that focuses on doctorates in biostatistics, a field in which career opportunities are growing.

Below is a summary of the top-ranked schools in each of the six major graduate program areas:

— Best Business Schools

— Best Law Schools

— Best Medical Schools

— Best Nursing Schools

— Best Engineering Schools

— Best Education Schools

Best Business Schools

Unlike last year, when there was a clear winner in the full-time MBA program rankings, two schools share the No. 1 distinction this year: the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. These schools displaced Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in California, which is now tied for No. 3 with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois.

While the top 10 mostly consists of the same schools as last year, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business joined the ranks this year, rising from a tie at No. 13 last year to No. 10 this year. Meanwhile, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business — which tied for No. 10 last year — each dropped slightly in the rankings, with Dartmouth taking the No. 11 spot and NYU tying for No. 12 with Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in North Carolina.

[See: Top 40 Business Schools.]

Further down the full-time MBA rankings, there were some significant changes. For example, the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary in Virginia soared 24 spots, rising from No. 71 to a tie at No. 47.

Meanwhile, the very top of the part-time MBA rankings looks similar to last year, since the top five schools held onto their same ranks. The part-time program at Chicago’s Booth School of Business remains No. 1.

Best Law Schools

Per usual, the Connecticut-based Yale Law School reigned supreme in the rankings of full-time law programs, and it was once again followed by Stanford Law School at No. 2. The University of Chicago Law School snatched the No. 3 spot from the Massachusetts-based Harvard Law School, which held that place last year but is now tied for No. 4 with Columbia Law School in New York.

NYU School of Law is ranked slightly lower this year than last year, since it now places at No. 7 but previously was tied for sixth place. The Duke University School of Law in North Carolina dropped out of the top 10 this year, sliding from a tie at No. 10 last year to No. 11 this year.

[See: Top 40 Law Schools.]

Looking beyond the top 10, multiple law schools moved up in the rankings. The Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana, for instance, jumped 31 spots, rising from a tie at No. 134 to a tie at No. 103.

Meanwhile, in the part-time law school rankings, the Georgetown University Law Center in the District of Columbia is once again at the top, followed as it was last year by the D.C.-based George Washington University Law School, which took second place, and the Fordham University School of Law in New York City, which claimed third place.

Best Medical Schools

Though the No. 1 and No. 2 schools in the research-oriented medical school rankings remain the same as last year, with Harvard Medical School maintaining its lead and NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine keeping its second place position, there were some major changes within the top tier of the rankings.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore climbed four spots, rising from a tie at No. 7 last year to a tie at No. 3 this year, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine leapt up three spots, rising from No. 9 last year to a tie at No. 6 this year.

Among medical programs focused on primary care, the Seattle-based University of Washington School of Medicine kept its No. 1 position, followed once again by the University of California–San Francisco School of Medicine at No. 2. Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota Medical School swapped ranks with the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill School of Medicine, with the former taking third place, and the latter placing fifth.

Two schools moved up to crack the top 10 of the primary care rankings this year. The University of California–Davis School of Medicine jumped up three spots, rising from No. 11 to No. 8, while the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine surged from a tie at No. 34 last year to a tie at No. 10 in the new edition.

Best Nursing Schools

As it did last year, the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing claimed the No. 1 spot in the nursing master’s program rankings. The Atlanta-based Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing tied for second place with the Duke University School of Nursing, which was tied for third place last year.

Within the Doctor of Nursing Practice program rankings, Johns Hopkins rose from second place to first place, and there is now a three-way tie for the No. 2 slot, which is shared by Duke, the Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, and the University of Washington School of Nursing.

Best Engineering Schools

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering maintained its lead in the graduate engineering rankings, and it was once again followed by Stanford University School of Engineering in second place and the University of California–Berkeley College of Engineering in third place.

Best Education Schools

The University of Pennsylvania School of Education now has exclusive possession of the No. 1 spot in the graduate education schools rankings — a distinction it previously shared with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which is now ranked No. 2. The University of California–Los Angeles Graduate School of Education & Information Studies comes in at No. 3, just as it did before.

Searching for a grad school? Access our complete rankings of Best Graduate Schools.

More from U.S. News

45 Graduate Degree Jobs That Can Pay More Than $100K

Is Graduate School Worth the Cost?

How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree — and Should You Get One?

U.S. News Releases 2022 Best Graduate Schools Rankings originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 03/29/22: This story has been updated with new information, including data from the U.S. News 2023 Best Graduate Schools rankings.

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