The University of Michigan continues to be recognized nationally in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools.
Among the programs ranked each year in America’s Best Graduate Schools — business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing — U-M maintained top-20 rankings in all six categories.
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The annual list for U-M programs includes:
• The College of Engineering ranked fourth.
• The Law School ranked eighth.
• The Medical School’s research ranked No. 15, and its primary-care program ranked seventh.
• The School of Education ranked No. 14.
• The School of Nursing ranked eighth.
• The Stephen M. Ross School of Business ranked seventh.
For the third year, U.S. News ranked doctor of nursing practice programs along with master’s programs in nursing. U-M’s program ranked No. 18 in the nation.
U-M officials note that rankings are just one measure of an academic program. What matters most in choosing a school is the match between the particular interests, abilities and ambitions of each student with the specific programs, approaches and opportunities offered by a particular school.
U.S. News also published new rankings based on peer assessment only for graduate areas in the sciences, which were last ranked in 2015, and social work and public affairs, both last ranked in 2017. The rankings for these schools and programs are updated every two-to-four years, not annually.
The updated U-M rankings this year are:
• Biology (23).
• Biostatistics (11).
• Chemistry (15).
• Computer science (11).
• Earth sciences (10).
• Mathematics (12).
• Physics (13).
• Public affairs (5).
• Social Work (1).
• Statistics (12).
In addition to the main program rankings, U-M was rated on 71 specialties. Of those, three were ranked first: higher education administration, nuclear engineering and social policy.
Many specialties did not receive new rankings this year. But among those that did, U-M was ranked as follows:
• Biology specialties: ecology/evolutionary (6).
• Business specialties: accounting (4), entrepreneurship (7), executive MBA (6), finance (10), information systems (13), international (5), management (3), marketing (4), nonprofit (5), part-time MBA (6), production/operations (3), and supply chain/logistics (6).
• Chemistry specialties: analytical (4), biochemistry (11) and organic (10).
• Computer science specialties: artificial intelligence (10) and systems (9).
• Earth sciences specialties: geochemistry (8), geology (5), and paleontology (4).
• Education specialties: administration/supervision (12), curriculum/instruction (6), education policy (7), educational psychology (2), elementary education (2), higher education administration (1), and secondary education (2).
• Engineering specialties: aerospace (5), biomedical (9), chemical (11), civil (7), computer (6), electrical/electronic (7), environmental (3), industrial/manufacturing (2), materials (9), mechanical (5), and nuclear (1).
• Law specialties: clinical training (7), international law (6), intellectual property law (19), legal writing (17), and tax law (10).
• Mathematics specialties: algebra/number theory/algebraic geometry (7), applied math (11), analysis (14), discrete mathematics and combinations (4), and geometry (11).
• Medical specialties: anesthesiology (6), internal medicine (7), obstetrics & gynecology (4), pediatrics (13), psychiatry (13), radiology (9), and surgery (6).
• Nursing specialties: administration (8), nurse practitioner/adult/gerontology and primary care (8), nurse practitioner/family (10), and informatics (8).
• Physics specialties: elementary particles/fields/string theory (10).
• Public affairs specialties: environmental policy and management (6), health policy and management (5), local government management (19), public finance and budgeting (20), public management and leadership (27), public policy analysis (2), social policy (1), and urban policy (10).
• Statistics specialties: biostatistics (11) and statistics (12).
Also, UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint ranked 111 and 101, respectively, among part-time MBA programs.
Editor’s note: This story was written based on preliminary data released to institutions. Any information added after U.S. News releases its full rankings will be reflected on its website at usnews.com/best-graduate-schools.
