The Ranking Methodology Collaboration is key at the Scripps Research Institute s Beckman Center for Chemical Sciences. By Robert J. Morse and Samuel Flanigan ach year, U.S. News ranks professional-school programs in business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. These rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school s faculty, research, and students. For the rankings in all five areas, indicator and opinion data come from surveys of more than 1,200 programs and some 9,600 academics and professionals conducted in fall 2005. We also rank programs in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. These rankings are based solely on the ratings of academic experts (as are the health specialties in the professional-school section). For the first time since 2002, we ve updated our rankings of Ph.D. programs in the sciences (Page 56). And we ve produced new rankings of master s programs in library and information studies (Page 51) for the first time since 1999. To gather the opinion data, we asked deans, program directors, and senior faculty to judge the academic quality of programs in their field on a scale of 1 Our professional-school rankings are based on both expert opinion and statistical indicators. ( marginal ) to 5 ( outstanding ). In business, education, engineering, law, and medicine, we also surveyed professionals who hire new graduates. The statistical indicators used in our rankings of business, education, engineering, law, and medical schools fall into two categories: inputs, or measures of the qualities that students and faculty bring to the educational experience; and outputs, measures of graduates achievements linked to their degrees. Different output measures are available for different fields; as a result, the indicators we use in our models vary. In business, the value of students education can be gauged by their starting salaries after graduation and by how long it takes them to find jobs. In law, we look at the time it takes new lawyers to land jobs, plus state bar exam passage rates. This year we slightly modified our law school ranking methodology. After consulting with law school placement officials, we reduced the weight given to the employment rate of law school grads immediately upon finishing their studies and increased the weight placed on their employment rate nine months after graduation. We also returned to using the reported median lsat and undergraduate gpa for full-time law school entrants. We used a calculated median last year because of an absence of verifiable data for the actual median, but the American Bar Association now requires schools to report these data, permitting us to confirm the figures submitted to us. Scoring. To arrive at a school s rank, we examined the data for each quality indicator. Where appropriate, we adjusted the indicators in which low values actually indicate higher quality, such as acceptance rate. We then standardized the value of each indicator about its mean. The weights applied to the indicators reflect our judgment about their relative importance, as determined in consultation with experts in each field. The final scores were rescaled: The highest-scoring school was assigned 100, and the other schools scores were recalculated as a percentage of that top score. The scores were then rounded to the nearest whole number and schools placed in descending order. Every school s performance is presented relative to the other schools with which it is being compared. A school with an overall score of 100 did not necessarily top out on every indicator; rather, it accumulated the highest composite score. A school s rank reflects the number of schools that sit above it; if three schools are tied at 1, the next school will be ranked 4, not 2. Tied schools are listed alphabetically. More details about the methodology can be found with the ranking tables and at www.usnews.com, which also has extended rankings in many categories. l With Meadow Yerkie 16 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS DAVID BUTOW REDUX FOR USN&WR
Schools of Business THE TOP SCHOOLS Peer Recruiter 05 05 05 average 05 Employed 05 05 assessment assessment average average 05 starting graduates 3 months out-of-state total Overall score score undergrad GMAT acceptance salary employed at after tuition full-time score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) GPA score rate and bonus graduation graduation and fees enrollment 100 4.7 4.6 3.64 707 15.7% $116,730 88.1% 94.3% $37,500 1,821 2. Stanford University (CA) 99 4.8 4.6 3.56 712 10.8% $117,456 78.1% 93.0% $41,340 748 3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 98 4.8 4.6 3.52 714 21.1% $116,882 82.4% 91.8% $42,154 1,626 4. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 93 4.7 4.4 3.50 700 22.0% $112,632 77.9% 91.3% $40,044 752 Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL) 93 4.7 4.5 3.45 700 24.2% $110,435 79.0% 92.2% $38,844 1,067 6. University of Chicago 92 4.6 4.4 3.50 701 N/A $113,024 82.2% 93.0% $39,382 1,093 7. Columbia University (NY) 88 4.4 4.2 3.40 706 15.0% $113,184 79.0% 92.0% $39,770 1,180 University of California Berkeley (Haas) 88 4.5 4.1 3.49 702 23.1% $105,848 74.4% 94.1% $35,856 492 9. Dartmouth College (Tuck) (NH) 87 4.4 4.1 3.30 699 23.7% $116,380 78.5% 93.3% $38,640 504 10. University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) 84 4.1 4.0 3.57 700 30.6% $100,004 77.1% 94.2% $33,595 657 11. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) 83 4.3 4.1 3.42 701 45.6% $104,081 76.2% 90.0% $39,089 823 University of Michigan (Ross) 83 4.4 4.2 3.32 690 32.3% $108,231 78.7% 87.0% $38,989 882 13. New York University (Stern) 81 4.1 3.8 3.40 699 24.5% $108,790 78.9% 90.6% $37,700 775 University of Virginia (Darden) 81 4.1 4.3 3.29 668 49.1% $107,546 82.9% 95.4% $37,300 617 15. Yale University (CT) 78 4.1 4.0 3.42 683 28.1% $100,108 73.1% 89.4% $36,980 438 16. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) (PA) 76 3.9 4.1 3.38 692 35.1% $99,514 72.2% 88.9% $39,184 316 Cornell University (Johnson) (NY) 76 4.1 4.1 3.31 660 34.4% $104,010 77.0% 88.5% $37,700 579 18. Emory University (Goizueta) (GA) 73 3.7 3.6 3.50 681 39.5% $93,675 70.2% 93.5% $36,156 345 University of Texas Austin (McCombs) 73 3.8 4.0 3.38 672 39.4% $94,628 72.6% 90.0% $34,130 575 20. Univ. of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) 70 3.9 3.8 3.22 672 49.9% $100,272 72.6% 86.3% $35,595 549 21. Purdue University West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN) 68 3.6 3.8 3.35 657 49.0% $91,705 73.6% 91.5% $28,576 237 22. Ohio State University (Fisher) 67 3.5 3.2 3.44 662 49.2% $87,683 83.9% 95.4% $30,453 261 23. Indiana University Bloomington (Kelley) 66 3.7 3.9 3.33 646 39.7% $93,922 72.4% 82.9% $28,550 387 Michigan State University (Broad) 66 3.4 3.6 3.36 637 32.5% $87,537 84.6% 94.9% $23,830 186 University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Carlson) 66 3.6 3.0 3.33 650 48.1% $90,879 87.9% 96.7% $32,820 202 26. University of Rochester (Simon) (NY) 65 3.4 3.5 3.45 659 36.8% $93,754 66.2% 88.2% $35,085 272 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) 65 3.6 3.8 3.30 636 55.7% $88,909 75.3% 90.7% $35,205 260 28. University of Illinois 64 3.5 3.3 3.40 647 52.6% $80,041 77.3% 95.9% $25,218 192 29. University of Southern California (Marshall) 63 3.9 3.3 3.30 677 38.0% $90,264 56.2% 81.8% $70,164 ** 503 University of Washington 63 3.4 3.3 3.38 672 43.4% $82,568 67.1% 95.3% $25,224 226 31. Texas A&M University College Station (Mays) 62 3.1 3.3 3.44 635 42.8% $81,076 88.1% 96.6% $31,482 ** 149 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) (IN) 62 3.4 3.6 3.30 662 50.5% $88,189 58.1% 93.1% $32,395 309 University of Wisconsin 62 3.5 3.3 3.36 659 39.6% $80,524 71.9% 92.1% $26,964 229 34. Arizona State University Main Campus (Carey) 61 3.4 3.3 3.47 632 48.0% $79,003 78.0% 92.0% $25,325 183 Brigham Young University (Marriott) (UT) 61 3.0 3.3 3.51 660 56.3% $81,289 81.0% 91.4% $11,236 241 Georgetown University (McDonough) (DC) 61 3.3 3.6 3.22 658 47.4% $99,768 63.8% 88.3% $34,228 498 Georgia Institute 61 3.1 3.7 3.32 657 40.5% $78,877 75.0% 94.4% $24,814 136 38. Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park (Smeal) 59 3.3 3.6 3.33 652 37.9% $85,501 60.4% 87.9% $28,676 139 University of California Irvine (Merage) 59 3.2 3.5 3.38 678 40.2% $74,022 61.9% 90.5% $35,825 177 University of Maryland College Park (Smith) 59 3.4 3.3 3.29 641 41.7% $85,493 65.4% 91.5% $35,355 260 41. Boston College (Carroll) 58 3.2 3.4 3.30 643 41.8% $81,859 74.0% 92.2% $1,020 * 177 Southern Methodist University (Cox) (TX) 58 3.2 3.6 3.25 644 56.6% $86,950 70.8% 90.3% $33,289 145 University of Florida (Warrington) 58 3.3 3.2 3.32 674 38.8% $70,589 75.0% 90.4% $21,858 98 44. Boston University 57 3.0 3.3 3.29 655 44.8% $84,951 73.0% 91.9% $30,916 288 Rice University (Jones) (TX) 57 3.1 3.7 3.24 602 62.0% $92,183 70.7% 92.5% $32,820 292 46. University of California Davis 56 3.1 3.5 3.30 673 29.7% $77,894 67.4% 84.8% $34,005 117 University of Georgia (Terry) 56 3.2 3.2 3.30 651 36.2% $75,349 70.3% 92.2% $23,126 128 48. University of Pittsburgh (Katz) 55 3.2 3.5 3.32 624 54.9% $69,767 68.1% 92.8% $41,272 ** 185 49. Babson College (Olin) (MA) 53 3.3 3.6 3.14 623 69.1% $83,192 57.1% 88.9% $31,544 428 Tulane University 1 (Freeman) (LA) 53 3.1 3.0 3.35 655 60.4% $78,224 62.5% 87.5% N/A N/A Vanderbilt University (Owen) (TN) 53 3.4 3.3 3.25 624 51.4% $90,731 58.5% 80.7% $34,516 374 Sources: U.S. News and the schools. Assessment data collected by Synovate. Note: N/A means that the data were not provided by the school. *Tuition is per credit. **Tuition is reported for the complete degree program. 1 Tulane University was unable to complete the survey because of damage from Hurricane Katrina. Last year s data were used to calculate Tulane s ranking and are displayed here, with the exception of tuition. 20 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS SPECIALTIES PROGRAMS RANKED BEST BY BUSINESS SCHOOL DEANS AND M.B.A. PROGRAM DIRECTORS ACCOUNTING 1. University of Illinois 2. U. of Texas Austin (McCombs) 3. University of Michigan (Ross) 4. University of Chicago 5. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 6. University of Southern California (Marshall) 7. Stanford University (CA) 8. New York University (Stern) 9. Brigham Young University (Marriott) (UT) 10. Ohio State University (Fisher) ENTREPRENEURSHIP 1. Babson College (Olin) (MA) 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 4. Harvard University (MA) 5. University of Southern California (Marshall) 6. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 7. University of Michigan (Ross) 8. U. of Texas Austin (McCombs) 9. University of California Berkeley (Haas) 10. University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) EXECUTIVE M.B.A. 1. Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL) 2. University of Chicago 3. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 4. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) 5. New York University (Stern) 6. Columbia University (NY) 7. University of Michigan (Ross) 8. University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) 9. University of Southern California (Marshall) 10. Emory Univ. (Goizueta) (GA) FINANCE 1. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 2. University of Chicago 3. New York University (Stern) 4. Columbia University (NY) 5. Stanford University (CA) 6. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 7. University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) 8. University of California Berkeley (Haas) 9. Harvard University (MA) 10. Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL) INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 2. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) (PA) 3. U. of Texas Austin (McCombs) 4. University of Arizona (Eller) 5. University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Carlson) 6. University of Maryland College Park (Smith) 7. New York University (Stern) 8. Georgia State U. (Robinson) Stanford University (CA) 10. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) INTERNATIONAL 1. Thunderbird (Garvin) (AZ) 2. U. of South Carolina (Moore) 3. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 4. Columbia University (NY) New York University (Stern) 6. University of Michigan (Ross) 7. Harvard University (MA) 8. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) 9. University of Southern California (Marshall) 10. University of California Berkeley (Haas) MANAGEMENT 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. University of Michigan (Ross) 4. Northwestern U. (Kellogg) (IL) 5. Dartmouth Col. (Tuck) (NH) 6. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 7. University of Virginia (Darden) 8. University of California Berkeley (Haas) 9. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) 10. Columbia University (NY) MARKETING 1. Northwestern U. (Kellogg) (IL) 2. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 3. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) Harvard University (MA) 5. University of Michigan (Ross) 6. Stanford University (CA) 7. Columbia University (NY) University of Chicago 9. University of California Berkeley (Haas) University of Texas Austin (McCombs) NONPROFIT 1. Yale University (CT) 2. Harvard University (MA) 3. Stanford University (CA) 4. University of California Berkeley (Haas) 5. University of Michigan (Ross) 6. Northwestern U. (Kellogg) (IL) University of Virginia (Darden) 8. Columbia University (NY) 9. Duke University (Fuqua) (NC) 10. Case Western Reserve University (Weatherhead) (OH) Dartmouth Col. (Tuck) (NH) University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) PART-TIME M.B.A. 1. New York University (Stern) 2. University of Chicago 3. Northwestern U. (Kellogg) (IL) 4. University of California Los Angeles (Anderson) 5. University of California Berkeley (Haas) 6. University of Southern California (Marshall) 7. Georgia State U. (Robinson) U. of Mich. (Ross) 9. University of Minnesota Twin Cities (Carlson) 10. Southern Methodist University (Cox) (TX) PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS 1. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 2. Purdue University West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN) 3. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) (PA) 4. University of Michigan (Ross) 5. Stanford University (CA) 6. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 7. Harvard University (MA) 8. Northwestern U. (Kellogg) (IL) 9. Columbia University (NY) Indiana University Bloomington (Kelley) SUPPLY CHAIN/LOGISTICS 1. Massachusetts Institute (Sloan) 2. Michigan State U. (Broad) 3. Arizona State University Main Campus (Carey) 4. Ohio State University (Fisher) 5. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) (PA) 6. Stanford University (CA) 7. Pennsylvania State University University Park (Smeal) Purdue University West Lafayette (Krannert) (IN) 9. U. of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 10. U. of Tennessee Knoxville METHODOLOGY All 399 master s programs in business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business were surveyed. Of those, 347 responded, with 240 providing the data needed to calculate rankings based on a weighted average of the eight quality indicators described below. All 399 schools appear in the directory starting on Page 73. More information about the methodology appears on Page 16. Quality assessment (weighted by.40): Two separate surveys were conducted in the fall of 2005. Business school deans and directors of accredited M.B.A. programs were asked to rate overall academic quality of the master s programs at each school on a scale from marginal (1) to outstanding (5); 50 percent responded, and the resulting scores are weighted by.25 in the ranking model. Corporate recruiters and company contacts who hired M.B.A. graduates from previously ranked programs were also asked to rate the programs; 27 percent responded, and their ratings are weighted by.15 in the ranking model. Placement success (.35): This is measured by mean starting salary and bonus (40 percent) and employment rates for full-time M.B.A. program 2005 graduates, computed at graduation (20 percent) and three months later (40 percent). Those not seeking jobs and those for whom the school has no information are excluded from the placement rates. Salary figures are based on the number of graduates reporting data. The mean signing bonus is weighted by the proportion of graduates reporting their salary who received a bonus, since not everyone who reported a base salary received a signing bonus. Student selectivity (.25): The strength of full-time students entering in the fall of 2005 was measured by mean GMAT score (65 percent), mean undergraduate GPA (30 percent), and the proportion of applicants accepted by the school (5 percent). Overall rank: Data were standardized about their means, and standardized scores were weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the top school received 100; others received their percentage of the top score. Specialty rankings: These rankings are based solely on ratings by educators at peer schools. Business school deans and M.B.A. program heads were asked to nominate up to 10 programs for excellence in each specialty. Those receiving the most nominations are listed. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 21
Schools of Education THE TOP SCHOOLS PeerSuperintendent 05 mean 05 05 Ph.D. s & 05 05 05 funded assessment assessment GRE scores Ph.D. & Ed.D. student/ Ed.D. s % Ph.D. funded research/ Overall score score verbal/ acceptance faculty granted & Ed.D. research faculty member score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) quantitative 1 rate ratio 2 2004-05 students (millions) (thousands) 100 4.4 4.7 649/699 14.6% 19.4 47 37.8% $16.9 $469.8 2. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 98 4.3 4.7 567/640 25.8% 11.4 211 36.0% $35.0 $255.8 University of California Los Angeles 98 4.1 4.3 558/601 30.9% 14.9 69 46.9% $30.7 $613.8 4. Stanford University (CA) 96 4.6 4.6 640/680 10.4% 10.0 30 40.1% $15.9 $378.9 5. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 94 4.3 4.5 629/708 12.5% 6.3 34 47.0% $23.9 $281.4 6. University of California Berkeley 85 4.4 4.4 581/607 22.8% 12.3 41 58.7% $15.3 $449.0 7. University of Pennsylvania 84 3.8 4.1 600/663 20.4% 9.4 49 34.7% $16.1 $423.1 University of Wisconsin 84 4.4 4.4 533/61938.7% 4.1 92 52.2% $26.2 $162.5 9. University of Michigan 83 4.2 4.1 576/641 23.4% 9.4 34 61.0% $17.2 $318.6 10. Northwestern University (IL) 82 3.9 4.3 631/709 13.5% 6.4 8 31.7% $9.1 $395.7 11. New York University (Steinhardt) 80 3.6 4.1 581/634 11.6% 11.6 123 16.8% $28.8 $171.6 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 80 4.0 4.1 523/610 49.1% 7.6 111 56.4% $25.4 $206.2 University of Washington 80 3.8 3.9531/577 * 42.1% 8.0 2938.5% $27.1 $492.6 14. Michigan State University 76 4.2 4.2 538/630 48.0% 6.2 80 52.9% $19.9 $174.6 15. University of Oregon 73 3.4 4.1 482/586 14.6% 11.7 34 29.5% $26.1 $483.0 University of Texas Austin 73 3.94.3 531/594 38.6% 7.1 130 62.5% $20.9$168.9 17. Indiana University Bloomington 72 3.94.0 542/650 43.6% 5.2 8955.6% $18.4 $180.5 18. University of Illinois 70 4.2 3.9563/681 41.1% 4.965 51.8% $8.7 $91.7 19. Boston College (Lynch) 69 3.6 4.0 569/601 13.5% 10.1 50 27.5% $12.0 $199.3 University of Virginia (Curry) 693.9 4.2 548/617 50.4% 8.7 97 45.7% $11.6 $135.3 21. George Washington University (DC) 68 3.4 4.1 518/574 55.3% 10.2 62 38.3% $16.2 $384.9 University of Connecticut (Neag) 68 3.5 4.0 557/644 28.4% 6.8 42 32.9% $15.5 $292.5 University of Georgia 68 3.8 4.1 528/617 38.0% 5.2 141 37.7% $16.4 $87.1 24. Ohio State University 67 3.8 4.1 485/599 39.0% 4.1 82 44.2% $17.4 $156.6 University of Kansas 67 3.6 3.9500/550 44.9% N/A 53 36.5% $21.6 $251.1 University of Maryland College Park 67 3.93.8 525/603 36.1% 7.1 5955.0% $16.5 $163.7 27. University of Iowa 66 3.5 4.0 511/608 32.9% 6.1 56 53.6% $16.0 $181.3 University of Southern California (Rossier) 66 3.6 3.9 491/535 56.6% 35.1 194 61.8% $11.7 $402.0 29. Pennsylvania State University University Park 65 3.8 4.1 518/588 38.9% 5.2 90 69.3% $9.8 $84.8 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 65 3.8 4.3 532/570 51.7% 7.8 32 43.1% $10.5 $214.8 31. University of Pittsburgh 64 3.5 4.0 498/522 61.3% 6.3 54 36.9% $15.5 $227.9 32. Arizona State University Main Campus 62 3.6 4.0 522/600 28.8% 7.6 77 41.8% $12.7 $140.7 Johns Hopkins University (MD) 62 3.8 4.6 458/520 44.4% 11.8 8 3.1% $6.1 $267.4 Lehigh University (PA) 62 3.1 4.0 565/611 20.9% 7.5 23 28.9% $11.1 $370.5 35. Temple University (PA) 60 3.1 4.0 553/540 32.0% 2.4 66 33.5% $14.9$194.0 University of Florida 60 3.6 3.6 554/660 44.9% 7.5 50 40.0% $7.1 $87.8 University of Tennessee Knoxville 60 3.3 4.0 513/580 61.8% 3.7 47 33.2% $22.5 $189.5 Utah State University 60 2.93.3 518/603 15.2% 2.8 21 29.6% $30.6 $265.7 39. Cornell University (NY) 593.4 4.6 570/63930.6% 5.8 7 46.4% $1.0 $86.5 University of Delaware 593.1 3.8 604/651 32.2% 3.1 15 38.5% $11.0 $239.9 University of Missouri Columbia 593.4 3.7 500/601 32.0% 7.973 31.3% $14.4 $173.5 42. University of Illinois Chicago 58 3.5 3.9516/553 59.1% 3.3 1933.7% $12.3 $260.9 43. Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 57 3.2 4.0 524/601 29.3% 6.7 19 30.2% $10.6 $185.7 University of Colorado Boulder 57 3.6 3.7 577/602 26.1% 4.0 7 21.8% $4.8 $179.0 45. Texas A&M University College Station 56 3.4 4.1 480/545 62.2% 3.983 60.5% $12.3 $108.6 46. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 55 3.4 4.2 489/630 34.7% 2.6 31 61.8% $3.4 $50.1 University of Oklahoma 55 3.0 3.7 482/552 13.1% 7.6 27 48.8% $14.9$270.5 Washington University in St. Louis 55 3.2 3.9 591/647 * 13.3% 3.5 2 23.9% $1.6 $144.0 49. Syracuse University (NY) 54 3.4 3.9551/621 40.9% 6.8 25 35.9% $5.8 $120.4 50. University of Massachusetts Amherst 53 3.4 3.8 507/558 54.5% 7.6 46 40.9% $6.5 $133.5 University of North Carolina Greensboro 53 3.1 3.9501/520 33.3% 2.1 38 26.0% $14.3 $82.1 1 GRE scores are for doctoral students only. *School could not break out GRE scores for doctoral students; average scores for all entering students are shown. 2 Student/faculty ratio is for all full-time degree-seeking students and faculty. Sources: U.S. News and the schools. Assessment data collected by Synovate 24 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS SPECIALTIES PROGRAMS RANKED BEST BY EDUCATION SCHOOL DEANS ADMINISTRATION/SUPERVISION 1. University of Wisconsin 2. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. Pennsylvania State University University Park 6. Ohio State University 7. University of Texas Austin 8. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 9. University of Michigan 10. Michigan State University COUNSELING/ PERSONNEL SERVICES 1. University of Maryland College Park 2. University of Florida University of North Carolina Greensboro 4. University of Minnesota Twin Cities 5. University of Georgia University of Missouri Columbia 7. University of Wisconsin 8. Ohio State University 9. Pennsylvania State University University Park 10. Indiana University Bloomington CURRICULUM/INSTRUCTION 1. University of Wisconsin 2. Michigan State University 3. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 4. University of Illinois 5. Stanford University (CA) 6. Ohio State University 7. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 8. University of Michigan 9. University of Georgia 10. University of Virginia (Curry) EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 1. University of Wisconsin 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. University of Michigan 4. University of Illinois 5. Michigan State University 6. University of Maryland College Park 7. University of California Los Angeles 8. University of California Berkeley 9. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 10. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) EDUCATION POLICY 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. University of Wisconsin 4. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 5. University of Michigan 6. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 7. University of Pennsylvania 8. University of California Berkeley 9. Michigan State University 10. Pennsylvania State University University Park University of California Los Angeles ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 1. Michigan State University 2. University of Wisconsin 3. University of Georgia 4. Ohio State University 5. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 6. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 7. Indiana University Bloomington 8. University of Illinois University of Michigan University of Virginia (Curry) HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION 1. University of Michigan 2. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3. University of California Los Angeles 4. Michigan State University 5. University of Southern California (Rossier) 6. University of Maryland College Park 7. Indiana University Bloomington University of Georgia 9. Stanford University (CA) 10. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) SECONDARY EDUCATION 1. Michigan State University 2. University of Wisconsin 3. Stanford University (CA) 4. Ohio State University 5. University of Georgia 6. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 7. University of Virginia (Curry) 8. University of Illinois 9. Indiana University Bloomington 10. University of Michigan SPECIAL EDUCATION 1. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 2. University of Kansas 3. University of Oregon 4. University of Virginia (Curry) 5. University of Illinois 6. University of Minnesota Twin Cities 7. University of Maryland College Park 8. University of Texas Austin 9. University of Florida 10. University of Wisconsin VOCATIONAL/TECHNICAL 1. Pennsylvania State University University Park 2. University of Minnesota Twin Cities 3. Ohio State University 4. University of Georgia 5. University of Illinois 6. Virginia Tech 7. University of Wisconsin 8. Texas A&M University College Station 9. Oklahoma State University Southern Illinois University Carbondale University of Missouri Columbia METHODOLOGY Graduate programs at 276 schools granting doctoral degrees were surveyed. Of those, 242 responded; 240 provided the data needed to calculate rankings based on a weighted average of the 12 quality measures described here. Quality assessment (weighted by.40): Two surveys were conducted in the fall of 2005. Education school deans and deans of graduate studies were asked to rate program quality from marginal (1) to outstanding (5). Fifty percent responded. The resulting score is weighted by.25. School superintendents nationwide in a sampling of districts were also asked to rate programs. Twenty-six percent responded; their opinions are weighted by.15. Student selectivity (.18): This combines mean verbal and quantitative GRE scores of doctoral students entering in fall 2005 and the acceptance rate of doctoral applicants for the 2005 2006 academic year (.06 each). Where mean GRE scores are not available for doctoral students, mean GRE scores for all entering students may be substituted, if available. Faculty resources (.12): Resources include the 2005 ratio of all full-time degree-seeking students to full-time faculty (.02); the percentage of fulltime faculty holding awards or editorships among selected education journals in the past two years (.025); the number of doctoral degrees granted in the past school year (.05); and the proportion of fall 2005 degree-seeking students who were in doctoral programs (.025). Research activity (.30): This measure uses total education school research expenditures (.15), average expenditures per full-time faculty member (.10), and the proportion of full-time faculty in funded research (.05). Expenditures refer to separately funded research, public and private, conducted by the school, averaged over fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Overall rank: Data were standardized about their means, and standardized scores were weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the top school received 100; other schools received their percentage of the top score. Specialty rankings: Specialty ratings are based solely on nominations by education school deans and deans of graduate studies. They selected up to 10 top programs in each area. Those with the most votes are listed. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 25
EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS Teacher Preparation at the Top Education Schools Below, you ll find key information about teacher-prep programs at the top 50 U.S. News education schools, listed alphabetically. This table is not a ranking of these programs. Key attributes to consider when choosing a program include how many instructors are engaged in teacher prep, whether students intern in a professional development school that is closely tied to the university, and whether peer working groups are organized for student teachers. Type of 05 enrollment Alternative Students trained Students 05 full-time Preparation education in graduate route to in professional assigned to faculty offered for Nationally school: teaching licensure development peer working engaged in national School accredited 1 undergrad/grad programs program school groups teaching programs certification Arizona State University Main Campus No U and G N/A Yes All All 43 Yes Boston College (Lynch) Yes U and G 348 Yes All All 23 No Cornell University (NY) No U and G 26 No No All 8 No George Washington University (DC) Yes Grad 333 Yes Some Some 16 Yes Harvard University (MA) No Grad N/A No All All 9Yes Indiana University Bloomington Yes U and G 285 Yes Some Some 55 No Johns Hopkins University (MD) Yes Grad 412 No Some All 21 Yes Lehigh University (PA) No Grad 133 No Some Some 11 No Michigan State University No U and G 649No All All 69 No New York University (Steinhardt) No U and G 792 Yes Some All 59 No Northwestern University (IL) No U and G N/A Yes All All 8 No Ohio State University Yes U and G 738 No All All 115 Yes Pennsylvania State University University Park Yes U and G 55 No All All 87 No Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) Yes U and G 102 Yes Some Some 65 No Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) No Grad 354 No No All 48 No Stanford University (CA) Yes Grad 91 No All All 13 Yes Syracuse University (NY) No U and G 174 No All All 39No Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) Yes Grad 1,602 Yes Some All 82 No Temple University (PA) Yes U and G 632 No Some Some 49Yes Texas A&M University College Station Yes U and G 42 Yes All All 40 No University of California Berkeley No Grad 106 No All All 35 No University of California Los Angeles No Grad 374 Yes All All 7 Yes University of Colorado Boulder Yes Grad N/A No Some All 21 No University of Connecticut (Neag) Yes U and G 179No All All 50 No University of Delaware Yes U and G 303 Yes Some Some 47 No University of Florida Yes U and G 217 No Some All 44 No University of Georgia Yes U and G 1,169Yes Some Some 115 No University of Illinois Chicago No U and G 313 Yes No All 28 No University of Illinois No U and G 99 Yes Some Some 59 No University of Iowa No U and G 213 No No Some 36 Yes University of Kansas Yes U and G 288 No Some Some 24 No University of Maryland College Park Yes U and G 158 Yes All All 49Yes University of Massachusetts Amherst Yes Grad 327 Yes Some Some 31 No University of Michigan No U and G 88 No Some All 24 No University of Minnesota Twin Cities Yes U and G 958 No Some All 127 No University of Missouri Columbia Yes U and G N/A Yes All Some 88 No University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Yes U and G 182 Yes Some All 48 No University of North Carolina Greensboro Yes U and G 201 Yes Some Some 87 Yes University of Oklahoma Yes U and G 175 No All Some 33 Yes University of Oregon No Grad 304 No Some Some 12 No University of Pennsylvania No Grad 397 Yes Some All 8 No University of Pittsburgh No Grad 299 No Some All 25 No University of Southern California (Rossier) No U and G 162 No All All 26 No University of Tennessee Knoxville Yes U and G N/A Yes All All 112 No University of Texas Austin No U and G 123 No All Some 44 No University of Virginia (Curry) Yes U and G 143 No All All 22 No University of Washington No Grad N/A No All All 37 Yes University of Wisconsin No U and G 310 No Some Some 159No Utah State University Yes U and G 762 Yes No All 115 Yes Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) Yes U and G 139No Some All 32 No Washington University in St. Louis No U and G 51 No Some All 8 No 1 Denotes schools that are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, with the exception of the University of Virginia, which is accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. Accreditaton status as of February 2006. N/A means not available. Sources: U.S. News and the schools 26 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
Schools of Engineering THE TOP SCHOOLS 05 faculty 05 engineering 05 research Peer Recruiter 05 05 membership school expenditures Ph.D. s 05 total Overall assessment assessment average accept- 05 Ph.D. in National research per faculty granted graduate score score quantitative ance students/ Academy ofexpenditures member 2004 engineering score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) GRE score rate faculty Engineering (in millions) (in thousands) 2005 enrollment 1. Massachusetts Institute 100 4.9 4.8 775 25.4% 4.4 13.2% $224.8 $622.7 273 2,717 2. Stanford University (CA) 95 4.9 4.6 778 35.8% 5.1 14.8% $142.7 $689.3 260 3,218 3. University of California Berkeley 86 4.8 4.6 773 17.5% 4.5 21.0% $118.0 $477.8 201 1,694 4. Georgia Institute 85 4.5 4.3 760 33.8% 4.1 5.0% $202.2 $426.6 275 3,685 5. University of Illinois 82 4.5 4.3 773 19.9% 4.1 2.2% $195.8 $473.0 220 2,507 6. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 80 4.2 4.1 751 36.5% 4.0 5.1% $211.6 $676.0 183 2,273 University of Michigan 80 4.5 4.1 770 42.3% 4.4 4.0% $157.4 $507.6 226 2,390 8. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 78 4.3 4.3 77224.8% 4.4 8.6% $142.3 $711.7 136 1,570 9. University of Southern California (Viterbi) 76 3.7 3.6 749 48.5% 5.7 14.1% $157.4 $965.4 91 3,560 10. California Institute 75 4.7 4.6 790 10.9% 5.3 10.1% $51.2$538.5 74 577 11. Cornell University (NY) 73 4.3 4.3 760 22.4% 4.2 8.7% $112.2 $544.8 116 1,234 University of California San Diego (Jacobs) 73 3.8 3.9 764 21.8% 4.9 11.0% $128.8 $805.2 68 1,147 13. University of Texas Austin 69 4.24.1 760 28.6% 3.7 8.8% $106.9 $464.6 143 2,059 14. Texas A&M University College Station (Look) 68 3.7 3.7 740 44.4% 3.0 3.5% $179.0 $675.4 148 2,187 15. University of California Los Angeles (Samueli) 66 3.7 3.8 766 34.6% 5.211.4% $88.3 $605.1 137 1,256 University of Maryland College Park (Clark) 66 3.6 3.7 760 24.0% 4.5 5.3% $145.3 $637.1 149 1,943 University of Wisconsin 66 4.1 3.8 779 21.2% 3.4 4.5% $123.2 $528.9 72 1,517 18. Princeton University (NJ) 63 4.1 4.278217.0% 3.3 12.6% $54.7 $437.9 72449 19. Pennsylvania State University University Park 60 3.9 3.8 752 34.1% 2.8 2.8% $121.0 $387.9 150 1,549 20. Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY) 58 3.6 3.8 767 37.8% 3.8 9.0% $75.0 $563.8 58 1,220 2 57 3.6 3.9 77212.8% 4.5 13.6% $33.2 $581.6 20 302 Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD) 57 4.0 3.9 767 18.4% 3.9 1.5% $53.2 $385.4 71 2,723 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL) 57 3.9 3.8 751 25.1% 3.8 5.1% $78.2 $446.7 83 1,195 University of California Santa Barbara 57 3.5 3.5 76220.8% 4.4 16.5% $69.1 $544.3 78 694 University of Washington 57 3.7 3.7 733 34.5% 4.25.3% $91.8 $482.9 95 1,451 26. Ohio State University 55 3.6 3.5 762 25.4% 2.8 2.4% $106.8 $420.6 96 1,235 University of Florida 55 3.5 3.7 752 53.6% 4.2 1.8% $92.1 $341.1 145 2,041 28. University of Minnesota Twin Cities 54 3.8 3.7 761 40.3% 3.8 5.9% $63.1 $280.4 115 1,631 29. Rice University (Brown) (TX) 53 3.7 3.8 757 21.7% 4.8 7.8% $33.1 $337.3 65 548 30. Duke University (NC) 52 3.6 3.8 760 26.6% 3.6 1.8% $55.4 $522.4 47 514 Virginia Tech 52 3.7 3.8 770 26.7% 2.6 2.1% $56.1 $183.4 113 1,817 32. University of Pennsylvania 51 3.5 3.6 757 31.4% 4.26.1% $47.1 $457.1 41 1,036 33. North Carolina State University 50 3.4 3.4 751 25.7% 3.0 3.8% $93.0 $330.8 97 1,795 Washington University in St. Louis (Sever) 50 3.3 3.6 760 32.5% 3.2 6.8% $53.3 $605.2 33 862 35. University of California Davis 49 3.4 3.5 756 31.5% 4.1 5.6% $60.0 $340.9 721,116 University of Rochester (NY) 49 2.7 3.0 763 15.7% 3.4 1.2% $99.1 $1,208.9 42 368 37. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) 48 3.6 3.8 754 31.5% 3.0 5.5% $41.7 $249.5 82 1,083 38. University of Virginia 47 3.4 3.4 741 20.5% 3.3 6.8% $50.6 $383.4 55 767 39. University of Colorado Boulder 46 3.4 3.4 745 63.5% 3.0 4.8% $57.6 $364.6 69 1,461 Yale University (CT) 46 3.3 3.8 769 13.6% 2.8 8.2% $24.4 $321.4 22 222 41. University of California Irvine (Samueli) 44 3.23.4 751 24.1% 4.5 5.3% $44.5 $315.9 45 965 42. Boston University 43 2.9 3.2 767 26.7% 3.9 3.4% $51.4 $472.0 56 682 Case Western Reserve University (OH) 43 3.3 3.4 758 28.0% 2.4 2.6% $40.6 $369.2 65 634 Dartmouth College (Thayer) (NH) 43 3.1 3.5 767 14.7% 2.3 2.4% $19.2 $493.0 22 186 Iowa State University 43 3.3 3.6 742 18.7% 2.3 1.0% $58.6 $277.6 62 878 University of Delaware 43 2.9 3.5 749 26.3% 4.5 3.2% $35.1 $369.5 61 708 47. Arizona State University (Fulton) 42 3.3 3.4 751 45.2% 3.1 3.2% $44.9 $245.5 63 1,498 Lehigh University (Rossin) (PA) 42 3.1 3.5 766 31.6% 2.8 7.5% $31.3 $256.7 53 576 Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 423.1 3.2 745 23.5% 1.5 3.9% $82.7 $397.8 51 890 Vanderbilt University (TN) 423.2 3.4 757 13.5% 3.6 1.2% $33.7 $400.9 23 386 Sources: U.S. News, the schools. Assessment data collected by Synovate. Names of department heads used in the specialty rankings came from the American Society for Engineering Education. 30 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS AEROSPACE/AERONAUTICAL/ASTRONAUTICAL 1. Stanford University (CA) 4.9 2. Massachusetts Institute 4.8 3. California Institute 4.6 4. Georgia Institute 4.2 University of Michigan 4.2 6. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 4.1 7. Cornell University (NY) 3.8 Princeton University (NJ) 3.8 University of Illinois 3.8 University of Texas Austin 3.8 BIOMEDICAL/BIOENGINEERING 1. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD) 4.7 2. University of California San Diego (Jacobs) 4.6 3. Georgia Institute 4.5 4. University of Washington 4.4 5. Duke University (NC) 4.2 University of Pennsylvania 4.2 7. Boston University 4.1 8. Massachusetts Institute 4.0 9. Case Western Reserve University (OH) 3.9 10. Rice University (Brown) (TX) 3.8 University of Michigan 3.8 CHEMICAL 1. Massachusetts Institute 4.8 2. California Institute 4.7 University of California Berkeley 4.7 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 4.7 5. University of Wisconsin 4.6 6. Stanford University (CA) 4.4 7. Princeton University (NJ) 4.3 University of Texas Austin 4.3 9. University of California Santa Barbara 4.2 University of Delaware 4.2 CIVIL 1. University of California Berkeley 4.7 University of Illinois 4.7 3. Stanford University (CA) 4.6 4. Georgia Institute 4.4 Massachusetts Institute 4.4 University of Texas Austin 4.4 7. California Institute 4.3 8. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 4.2 9. Cornell University (NY) 4.1 10. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4.0 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL) 4.0 University of Michigan 4.0 Virginia Tech 4.0 COMPUTER ENGINEERING 1. Massachusetts Institute 4.9 Stanford University (CA) 4.9 3. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4.8 University of California Berkeley 4.8 5. University of Illinois 4.6 6. University of Michigan 4.5 7. Georgia Institute 4.4 8. University of Texas Austin 4.3 9. Cornell University (NY) 4.2 10. California Institute 4.1 Princeton University (NJ) 4.1 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 4.1 ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC/COMMUNICATIONS 1. Massachusetts Institute 5.0 2. Stanford University (CA) 4.9 University of California Berkeley 4.9 4. University of Illinois 4.8 5. California Institute 4.7 6. University of Michigan 4.5 7. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4.4 Georgia Institute 4.4 9. Cornell University (NY) 4.3 10. University of Texas Austin 4.2 SPECIALTIES PROGRAMS RANKED BEST BY ENGINEERING SCHOOL DEPARTMENT HEADS Average assessment Average assessment ENVIRONMENTAL/ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 1. Stanford University (CA) 4.8 2. Johns Hopkins University (Whiting) (MD) 4.3 University of California Berkeley 4.3 University of Texas Austin 4.3 5. University of Illinois 4.2 University of Michigan 4.2 7. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4.0 Georgia Institute 4.0 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 4.0 10. California Institute 3.9 INDUSTRIAL/MANUFACTURING 1. Georgia Institute 4.8 2. University of Michigan 4.5 3. University of California Berkeley 4.2 4. Pennsylvania State University University Park 4.1 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 4.1 Stanford University (CA) 4.1 7. Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL) 4.0 8. Cornell University (NY) 3.9 Texas A&M University College Station (Look) 3.9 Virginia Tech 3.9 MATERIALS 1. Massachusetts Institute 4.7 2. University of Illinois 4.6 3. Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL) 4.5 University of California Santa Barbara 4.5 5. Stanford University (CA) 4.3 6. University of California Berkeley 4.1 University of Florida 4.1 University of Michigan 4.1 9. Cornell University (NY) 4.0 Pennsylvania State University University Park 4.0 MECHANICAL 1. Massachusetts Institute 4.9 2. Stanford University (CA) 4.8 3. California Institute 4.7 University of California Berkeley 4.7 5. University of Illinois 4.5 University of Michigan 4.5 7. Georgia Institute 4.4 8. Cornell University (NY) 4.3 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 4.3 10. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4.0 Northwestern University (McCormick) (IL) 4.0 Princeton University (NJ) 4.0 University of Texas Austin 4.0 NUCLEAR 1. University of Michigan 4.6 2. Massachusetts Institute 4.4 3. University of Wisconsin 4.1 4. Texas A&M University College Station (Look) 3.8 5. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.7 6. North Carolina State University 3.6 7. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.4 University of California Berkeley 3.4 9. Oregon State University 3.2 University of Florida 3.2 PETROLEUM 1. Stanford University (CA) 4.6 University of Texas Austin 4.6 3. Texas A&M University College Station (Look) 4.0 4. University of Tulsa (OK) 3.9 5. Colorado School of Mines 3.8 6. University of Oklahoma 3.3 7. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.2 8. University of Southern California (Viterbi) 3.0 9. Louisiana State University Baton Rouge 2.8 10. Texas Tech University 2.5 METHODOLOGY Programs at 199 engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees were surveyed; 185 responded, and the previous year s data were used for two additional schools that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Rankings for 187 schools were calculated based on a weighted average of the 10 indicators described below. (All schools are listed in the directory, beginning on Page 73.) Quality assessment (weighted by.40): Two surveys were conducted in fall 2005. Engineering school deans and deans of graduate studies were each asked to rate program quality from marginal (1) to outstanding (5); 61 percent responded. The resulting score is weighted by.25. Corporate recruiters and company contacts who hire engineers with graduate degrees from previously ranked engineering schools were also asked to rate programs; 27 percent responded. Their opinions are weighted by.15. Student selectivity (.10): The strength of master s and Ph.D. students entering in fall 2005 was measured by mean GRE quantitative score (67.5 percent) and acceptance rate (32.5 percent). Faculty resources (.25): Based on the 2005 ratio of full-time doctoral students to full-time faculty (30 percent) and full-time master s students to full-time faculty (15 percent); the proportion of full-time faculty in the National Academy of Engineering in 2005 (30 percent); and the number of engineering doctoral degrees granted in the last school year (25 percent). Research activity (.25): Based on total externally funded engineering research expenditures (60 percent) and research dollars per full-time tenured and tenure-track engineering faculty member (40 percent). Expenditures refer to separately funded research, public and private, conducted by the school, averaged over fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Overall rank: Data were standardized about their means, and standardized scores were weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the top-scoring school received 100; others received their percentage of the top score. Specialty rankings: These rankings are based solely on assessments by department heads in each specialty area. Department heads in their specialty area rated the other schools that offered the specialty on a 5-point scale. Those schools with the highest average scores appear here. Names of the department heads who were surveyed came from the American Society for Engineering Education. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 31
Schools of Medicine THE TOP SCHOOLS RESEARCH Assessment 05 NIH Peer score by 05 05 05 research 05 05 05 total assessment residency average average 05 NIH research grants per faculty/ out-of-state medical Overall score directors undergrad MCAT acceptance grants faculty member student tuition school score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) GPAscore rate (in millions) (in thousands) ratio and fees enrollment 100 4.8 4.7 3.7611.7 5.2% $1,171.0 $155.7 10.2 $38,776739 2. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 80 4.8 4.6 3.84 11.5 5.9% $475.4 $216.3 4.7 $35,965 464 3. University of Pennsylvania 79 4.64.3 3.79 11.64.8% $500.8 $244.7 3.3 $39,467 617 4. University of California San Francisco 78 4.7 4.5 3.79 11.3 4.9% $422.9 $263.7 2.7 $34,573 600 Washington University in St. Louis 78 4.64.4 3.85 12.3 9.9% $358.9 $239.1 2.5 $39,720 593 6. Duke University (NC) 75 4.64.63.80 11.9 4.4% $330.8 * $195.2 * 4.2 $39,537 406 7. Stanford University (CA) 73 4.5 4.5 3.71 11.2 2.9% $244.5 * $332.2 * 1.5 $38,431 476 University of Washington 73 4.4 4.1 3.65 10.4 7.2% $538.8 $272.5 2.4 $34,697 810 9. Yale University (CT) 72 4.2 4.2 3.75 11.65.9% $300.7 $301.0 2.3 $37,655 441 10. Baylor College of Medicine (TX) 70 4.0 3.8 3.77 11.3 6.7% $454.2 $256.0 2.6 $23,683 678 11. Columbia U. Col. of Physicians and Surgeons (NY) 69 4.3 4.3 3.79 11.8 5.3% $300.3 $168.9 2.8 $41,873 634 University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 69 4.1 4.1 3.71 10.8 4.5% $426.8 $203.1 3.0 $33,751 690 University of Michigan 69 4.4 4.4 3.72 11.4 7.8% $315.2 $165.5 2.8 $34,787 688 14. University of California San Diego 67 4.0 4.0 3.73 11.0 6.0% $273.7 $343.5 1.6 $34,253 503 15. Cornell University (Weill) (NY) 66 4.1 4.2 3.73 11.5 4.3% $286.2 $141.3 4.9 $33,345 410 16. University of Pittsburgh 65 4.1 4.0 3.62 11.3 8.7% $330.0 $185.7 3.0 $37,608 584 17. University of Chicago (Pritzker) 64 4.1 4.1 3.74 10.9 7.2% $197.8 $253.3 1.9 $34,701 416 Vanderbilt University (TN) 64 4.1 4.1 3.73 11.3 6.7% $249.3 $152.9 3.7 $36,001 436 19. U. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas 61 4.2 4.0 3.78 11.0 13.3% $187.9 $128.9 1.6 $23,732 904 20. Northwestern University (Feinberg) (IL) 59 3.8 4.0 3.72 11.3 5.8% $205.9 $116.9 2.6 $40,001 678 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 59 3.9 4.1 3.65 10.6 7.1% $212.3 $171.5 1.7 $34,406 732 22. Case Western Reserve University (OH) 58 3.8 3.7 3.62 11.0 8.6% $240.2 $134.9 2.9 $39,384 624 Mayo Medical School (MN) 58 3.7 4.0 3.82 10.8 2.3% $201.8 $89.5 13.6$26,500 1 6 University of Alabama Birmingham 58 3.9 3.9 3.72 10.1 12.3% $193.4 * $181.6* 1.6 $38,210 683 25. University of Virginia 57 3.7 4.0 3.74 10.7 8.7% $146.2 * $165.7 * 1.6 $38,524 563 26. Emory University (GA) 56 3.8 3.9 3.64 11.1 8.2% $187.1 $105.6 3.8 $36,534 462 U. of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center 563.6 3.6 3.74 11.0 9.7% $223.1 $147.4 2.7 $72,791 561 28. Boston University 55 3.2 3.4 3.65 10.7 4.7% $196.4 $166.0 1.9 $39,960 632 University of Wisconsin 55 3.63.7 3.70 10.4 10.6% $182.8 $177.3 1.7 $32,942 619 30. Mount Sinai School of Medicine (NY) 52 3.5 3.5 3.67 11.0 5.0% $174.1 * $146.6 * 2.5 $37,050 470 University of Iowa (Carver) 52 3.63.63.71 10.2 11.9% $145.9 $167.7 1.5 $40,282 562 32. Dartmouth Medical School (NH) 51 3.3 3.8 3.70 10.7 7.2% $109.4 $136.2 2.7 $36,850 296 New York University 51 3.5 3.5 3.73 11.0 5.8% $138.8 $90.62.2 $38,175 703 Ohio State University 51 3.2 3.5 3.72 10.8 9.6% $227.1 $119.1 2.3 $28,717 839 Oregon Health and Science University 51 3.4 3.5 3.67 10.3 6.2% $188.5 $128.6 3.0 $38,760 489 36. University of Rochester (NY) 50 3.5 3.5 3.68 10.7 7.5% $140.6 $106.5 3.2 $37,379 408 University of Southern California (Keck) 50 3.2 3.6 3.60 11.0 7.0% $159.0 $130.1 1.8 $40,454 665 38. Brown University (RI) 49 3.1 3.63.62 11.1 4.3% $103.8 $147.7 2.0 $37,453 345 University of Minnesota Medical School 49 3.4 3.6 3.68 10.2 10.3% $148.4 $93.6 1.7 $37,769 937 Yeshiva University (Einstein) (NY) 49 3.4 3.4 3.65 10.5 8.8% $203.8 $80.5 3.5 $39,800 732 41. Wake Forest University (NC) 47 3.1 3.5 3.63 10.1 4.7% $128.2 * $147.5 * 2.0 $34,006 431 42. Tufts University (MA) 46 3.3 3.6 3.61 10.7 7.0% $85.9 $63.9 1.9 $43,579 703 University of Cincinnati 463.1 3.3 3.59 10.1 11.5% $190.2 $139.4 2.2 $41,004 629 University of Maryland 46 3.1 3.3 3.66 10.3 8.4% $159.8 * $138.2 * 1.9 $36,129 604 45. Indiana University Indianapolis 45 3.3 3.6 3.68 9.9 14.8% $101.1 * $78.5 * 1.1 $41,298 1,162 46. Georgetown University (DC) 44 2.9 3.5 3.61 10.2 5.2% $158.8 $90.2 2.5 $39,699 718 University of California Irvine 44 2.8 3.2 3.65 10.6 7.3% $82.2 $180.3 1.2 $35,065 388 48. University of California Davis 43 3.1 3.3 3.61 10.3 4.9% $72.8 $130.0 1.4 $35,065 404 University of Massachusetts Worcester 43 2.9 3.1 3.64 10.6 22.8% $121.0 * $128.8 * 2.3 N/A 412 50. Stony Brook University (NY) 42 2.8 3.0 3.60 10.7 10.5% $75.3 $150.6 1.1 $34,436 447 Tulane University 1 (LA) 42 2.9 3.4 3.50 10.5 4.8% $73.3 $134.1 0.9 627 University of Florida 42 3.0 3.3 3.65 10.5 10.4% $82.7 $75.4 2.2 $47,073 491 University of Utah 42 3.2 3.4 3.64 9.5 12.8% $101.7 $106.9 2.4 $32,805 398 *The school reported only research grants the National Institutes of Health made to the medical school. No grants to affiliated hospitals were reported. Sources: U.S. News and the schools. Assessment data collected by Synovate. 1 Tulane University was unable to complete the survey because of damage from Hurricane Katrina. Last year s data were used to calculate Tulane s ranking and are displayed here, with the exception of tuition. N/A: School does not accept out-of-state students to its M.D. program 34 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS THE TOP SCHOOLS PRIMARY CARE Assessment Peer score by 05 05 % 02-05 05 05 05 total assessment residency average average 05 graduates faculty/ out-of-state medical Overall score directors Selectivity undergrad MCAT acceptance entering student tuition school score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) rank GPAscore rate primary care ratio and fees enrollment 1. University of Washington 100 4.2 4.2 41 3.65 10.4 7.2% 46.0% 2.4 $34,697 810 2. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 87 3.7 3.7 34 3.65 10.6 7.1% 48.0% 1.7 $34,406 732 3. Oregon Health and Science University 85 3.7 4.0 41 3.67 10.3 6.2% 41.0% 3.0 $38,760 489 4. Mich. State U. Coll. of Osteopathic Medicine 80 2.63.1 115 3.49 8.5 17.2% 85.8% 0.3 $51,600 616 University of Massachusetts Worcester 80 3.2 3.3 44 3.64 10.6 22.8% 57.0% 2.3 N/A 412 6. Duke University (NC) 78 3.3 3.4 2 3.80 11.9 4.4% 43.1% 4.2 $39,537 406 East Carolina University (Brody) (NC) 78 3.0 3.6104 3.50 9.0 14.9% 62.0% 1.4 $32,633 286 U. of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center 78 3.4 3.617 3.74 11.0 9.7% 42.7% 2.7 $72,791 561 University of Wisconsin 78 3.3 3.7 36 3.70 10.4 10.6% 46.6% 1.7 $32,942 619 10. University of California San Francisco 77 3.63.68 3.79 11.3 4.9% 34.5% 2.7 $34,573 600 11. Baylor College of Medicine (TX) 76 3.1 3.6 10 3.77 11.3 6.7% 45.6% 2.6 $23,683 678 University of Iowa (Carver) 763.5 3.5 41 3.71 10.2 11.9% 43.1% 1.5 $40,282 562 University of Nebraska College of Medicine 762.9 3.3 56 3.75 9.7 15.3% 61.0% 1.2 $49,105 476 14. Michigan State University 75 3.2 3.8 93 3.52 9.4 6.6% 50.1% 0.7 $51,600 454 University of Vermont 75 3.2 3.4 93 3.50 9.5 5.9% 55.0% 1.2 $43,487 410 16. Brown University (RI) 74 3.1 3.5 23 3.62 11.1 4.3% 46.3% 2.0 $37,453 345 University of Minnesota Medical School 74 3.2 3.5 47 3.68 10.2 10.3% 47.4% 1.7 $37,769 937 University of Missouri Columbia 74 3.1 3.4 48 3.75 9.9 16.2% 52.0% 1.2 $42,620 368 University of Pennsylvania 74 3.4 3.4 5 3.79 11.64.8% 37.0% 3.3 $39,467 617 20. U. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas 73 3.1 3.5 163.78 11.0 13.3% 44.0% 1.6$23,732 904 21. Case Western Reserve University (OH) 72 3.3 3.3 29 3.62 11.0 8.6% 43.3% 2.9 $39,384 624 Dartmouth Medical School (NH) 72 3.3 3.3 28 3.70 10.7 7.2% 43.1% 2.7 $36,850 296 University of California Davis 72 3.2 3.4 48 3.61 10.3 4.9% 47.1% 1.4 $35,065 404 University of Rochester (NY) 72 3.5 3.8 29 3.68 10.7 7.5% 32.1% 3.2 $37,379 408 25. Harvard University (MA) 71 3.2 3.2 5 3.7611.7 5.2% 41.0% 10.2 $38,776739 University of New Mexico 71 3.5 3.3 84 3.59 9.5 9.3% 43.0% 2.0 $38,781 325 Wake Forest University (NC) 71 3.1 3.3 563.63 10.1 4.7% 49.0% 2.0 $34,006431 28. University of Alabama Birmingham 69 3.4 3.4 44 3.72 10.1 12.3% 38.0% 1.6 $38,210 683 University of Michigan 69 3.4 3.6 11 3.72 11.4 7.8% 29.9% 2.8 $34,787 688 U. of N. Tex. Hlth. Sci. Ctr. (Tex. Col. of Osteopathic Med.) 69 2.3 2.8 102 3.52 9.2 10.4% 77.7% 0.6 $26,724 520 31. University of Virginia 68 3.2 3.5 23 3.74 10.7 8.7% 37.0% 1.6 $38,524 563 Yeshiva University (Einstein) (NY) 68 2.8 3.0 38 3.65 10.5 8.8% 55.0% 3.5 $39,800 732 33. Indiana University Indianapolis 67 3.2 3.4 59 3.68 9.9 14.8% 41.3% 1.1 $41,298 1,162 Ohio State University 67 3.0 3.3 23 3.72 10.8 9.6% 43.0% 2.3 $28,717 839 University of California San Diego 67 3.1 3.2 17 3.73 11.0 6.0% 41.4% 1.6 $34,253 503 University of Maryland 67 3.0 3.2 44 3.66 10.3 8.4% 47.0% 1.9 $36,129 604 University of Pittsburgh 67 3.3 3.4 21 3.62 11.3 8.7% 34.9% 3.0 $37,608 584 38. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 66 2.9 3.3 96 3.62 9.2 24.9% 52.0% 1.7 $28,949 581 University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 66 3.2 3.1 23 3.71 10.8 4.5% 39.7% 3.0 $33,751 690 University of Connecticut 66 3.0 3.0 48 3.66 10.1 7.2% 50.3% 1.4 $42,780 313 41. East Tennessee State Univ. (Quillen) 65 2.9 3.3 87 3.63 9.3 12.0% 50.6% 1.1 $36,691 238 Emory University (GA) 65 3.0 3.2 23 3.64 11.1 8.2% 42.0% 3.8 $36,534 462 Johns Hopkins University (MD) 65 3.1 3.1 4 3.84 11.5 5.9% 37.0% 4.7 $35,965 464 Medical College of Wisconsin 65 2.9 3.5 48 3.72 9.9 8.4% 44.0% 1.3 $33,415 811 45. Medical College of Georgia 63 2.9 3.5 59 3.66 10.0 14.8% 42.3% 0.7 $34,660 711 Northwestern University (Feinberg) (IL) 63 2.9 3.2 13 3.72 11.3 5.8% 40.5% 2.6 $40,001 678 Oklahoma State Univ. Center for Health Sciences 63 2.7 2.9 109 3.59 8.5 27.5% 67.0% 0.2 $32,158 352 University of Utah 63 3.2 3.5 75 3.64 9.5 12.8% 36.3% 2.4 $32,805 398 49. Cornell University (Weill) (NY) 62 2.9 3.0 8 3.73 11.5 4.3% 40.4% 4.9 $33,345 410 University of Chicago (Pritzker) 62 2.8 2.9 20 3.74 10.9 7.2% 47.0% 1.9 $34,701 416 West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine 62 2.4 2.6 123 3.43 7.5 19.0% 87.3% 0.1 $45,878 397 N/A: The school does not accept out-of-state students to its M.D. program. Sources: U.S. News and the schools. Peer assessment data collected by Synovate USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 35
SPECIALTIES METHODOLOGY MEDICAL SCHOOL DEANS AND SENIOR FACULTY SELECT THE BEST PROGRAMS AIDS 1. University of California San Francisco 2. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. University of Washington 5. University of Alabama Birmingham 6. Univ. of California San Diego 7. Duke University (NC) 8. University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 9. Columbia U. College of Physicians and Surgeons (NY) University of North Carolina Chapel Hill DRUG/ALCOHOL ABUSE 1. Johns Hopkins University (MD) Yale University (CT) 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 5. University of California San Francisco 6. Columbia U. College of Physicians and Surgeons (NY) University of Pennsylvania 8. Univ. of California San Diego 9. Medical University of South Carolina 10. Washington Univ. in St. Louis FAMILY MEDICINE 1. University of Washington 2. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 3. Univ. of Missouri Columbia Univ. of Wisconsin 5. Oregon Health and Science University 6. Univ. of Michigan 7. University of New Mexico 8. Duke University (NC) 9. East Carolina University (Brody) (NC) 10. University of California San Francisco GERIATRICS 1. University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 2. Johns Hopkins University (MD) Mount Sinai School of Medicine (NY) 4. Duke University (NC) Harvard University (MA) Univ. of Michigan 7. University of Washington 8. Yale University (CT) 9. University of California San Francisco 10. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences INTERNAL MEDICINE 1. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 2. Harvard University (MA) University of California San Francisco 4. Duke University (NC) 5. University of Pennsylvania 6. University of Washington 7. Washington Univ. in St. Louis 8. Univ. of Michigan 9. U. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas Yale University (CT) PEDIATRICS 2. University of Pennsylvania 3. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 4. University of Cincinnati 5. Baylor College of Medicine (TX) 6. Washington Univ. in St. Louis 7. University of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center 8. University of California San Francisco 9. University of California Los Angeles (Geffen) 10. University of Washington RURAL MEDICINE 1. University of Washington 2. University of New Mexico 3. East Tennessee State University (Quillen) 4. Oregon Health and Science University University of Iowa (Carver) University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 7. East Carolina University (Brody) (NC) University of Minnesota Medical School 9. University of Nebraska College of Medicine 10. Dartmouth Medical School (NH) University of South Dakota WOMEN S HEALTH 2. University of California San Francisco 3. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 4. University of Pennsylvania 5. University of Pittsburgh 6. University of Washington 7. Univ. of Michigan 8. Univ. of Alabama Birmingham 9. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 10. Duke University (NC) Washington Univ. in St. Louis The 125 medical schools fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, plus the 19 schools of osteopathic medicine fully accredited by the American Osteopathic Association, were surveyed for the ranking of research medical schools; 126 schools provided the data needed to calculate the research rankings based on the indicators used in the medical school research model. The same medical and osteopathic schools were surveyed for the primary-care ranking; 126 schools provided the data needed to calculate the medical school primary-care ranking. The medical school research model is based on a weighted average of eight indicators, and the primary-care model is based on seven indicators. Four of the indicators are the same for both models. The research model factors in research activity; the primary-care model adds a measure of the proportion of graduates entering primary-care specialties. Quality assessment (weighted by.40): Peer assessment surveys were conducted in the fall of 2005, asking medical and osteopathic school deans, deans of academic affairs, and heads of internal medicine or the directors of admissions to rate program quality on a scale of marginal (1) to outstanding (5). Survey populations were asked to rate program quality for both research and primary-care programs separately on a single survey instrument. The response rate was 54 percent. A research school s average score is weighted by.20; the average score in the primary-care model is weighted by.25. Residency program directors were also asked to rate programs using the same 5- point scale on two separate survey instruments. One survey dealt with research and was sent to a sample of residency program directors in fields outside primary care, including surgery, psychiatry, and radiology. The other survey involved primary care and was sent to residency directors in the fields of family practice, pediatrics, and internal medicine. The response rate for those sent the research survey was 28 percent. The response rate for those sent the primary-care survey was 23 percent. Residency directors opinions are weighted by.20 in the research model and by.15 in primary care. The source for the names for both of the residency directors surveys was the Graduate Medical Education Directory 2005 2006 edition, published by the American Medical Association. Research activity (.30 in research model only): Research was measured as the total dollar amount of National Institutes of Health research grants awarded to the medical school and its affiliated hospitals (.20) and the average amount of those grants calculated per full-time medical school science and clinical faculty member (.10); both factors were averaged for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. An asterisk indicates schools that reported only NIH research grants to their medical school in 2005. Primary-care rate (.30 in primary-care model only): The percentage of medical or osteopathic school graduates entering primary-care residencies in the fields of family practice, pediatrics, and internal medicine was averaged over the 2003, 2004, and 2005 graduating classes. Student selectivity (.20 in research model,.15 in primarycare model): This is determined by three components that describe the medical or osteopathic class entering in fall 2005: mean composite Medical College Admission Test score (65 percent), mean undergraduate grade-point average (30 percent), and the acceptance rate, which is the proportion of total applicants accepted (5 percent). Faculty resources (.10 in research model,.15 in primarycare model): Resources were measured as the ratio of fulltime science and clinical faculty to medical or osteopathic students in 2005. Overall rank: Indicators were standardized about their means, and standardized scores were weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the top school received 100; other schools received their percentage of the top score. Specialty rankings: The rankings are based solely on ratings by medical school deans and senior faculty at peer schools. They each identified up to 10 schools offering the best medical school programs in each specialty area. Those programs receiving the most nominations in the top 10 appear here. 36 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
Schools of Law THE TOP 100 SCHOOLS 05 School s Peer Assessment undergrad 05 LSAT 05 04 grads Employed bar Jurisdiction s assessment score by GPA score 05 student/ employed 9 months passage overall bar Overall score lawyers/judges 25th-75th 25th-75th acceptance faculty at after rate in passage score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) percentile percentile rate ratio graduation graduation jurisdiction rate 1. Yale University (CT) 100 4.9 4.9 3.79-3.95 168-175 6.2% 7.8 97.3% 98.9% 94.2%/NY 75% 2. Stanford University (CA) 92 4.8 4.8 3.80-3.96 167-172 7.8% 9.2 98.9% 98.9% 91.8%/CA 61% 3. Harvard University (MA) 91 4.9 4.8 3.68-3.92 170-176 11.5% 11.0 97.1% 99.5% 95.9%/NY 75% 4. Columbia University (NY) 86 4.7 4.6 3.50-3.80 168-173 14.6% 11.7 99.3% 99.3% 93.9%/NY 75% New York University 86 4.6 4.5 3.60-3.89 168-172 21.0% 11.1 96.3% 99.4% 97.1%/NY 75% 6. University of Chicago 81 4.7 4.6 3.46-3.80 168-172 14.7% 9.5 98.9% 99.5% 98.7%/IL 85% 7. University of Pennsylvania 79 4.4 4.4 3.43-3.85 166-171 12.5% 12.8 99.2% 99.2% 93.2%/NY 75% 8. University of California Berkeley 78 4.5 4.5 3.67-3.90 164-169 10.3% 14.2 96.8% 99.8% 83.7%/CA 61% University of Michigan 78 4.6 4.5 3.45-3.78 166-169 19.5% 16.9 95.0% 99.1% 95.8%/NY 75% University of Virginia 78 4.5 4.6 3.53-3.83 167-171 20.2% 13.0 97.5% 98.9% 91.2%/VA 74% 11. Duke University (NC) 77 4.2 4.3 3.54-3.86 165-169 21.4% 12.6 95.1% 100.0% 94.9%/NY 75% 12. Northwestern University (IL) 76 4.1 4.1 3.46-3.78 167-171 16.7% 11.9 97.2% 99.1% 97.5%/IL 85% 13. Cornell University (NY) 74 4.2 4.1 3.50-3.80 165-168 20.6% 10.3 96.8% 98.4% 92.2%/NY 75% 14. Georgetown University (DC) 73 4.2 4.3 3.42-3.80 167-170 19.3% 14.7 90.0% 98.2% 92.5%/NY 75% 15. University of California Los Angeles 71 4.0 3.9 3.51-3.82 162-169 16.1% 11.8 93.3% 99.7% 86.0%/CA 61% 16. University of Texas Austin 69 4.1 4.1 3.41-3.83 161-168 18.7% 16.7 94.5% 97.6% 91.6%/TX 79% 17. University of Southern California (Gould) 68 3.8 3.5 3.51-3.78 164-167 20.3% 13.0 88.1% 99.0% 80.5%/CA 61% Vanderbilt University (TN) 68 3.8 4.0 3.52-3.85 163-167 23.0% 16.4 91.6% 97.1% 90.5%/TN 82% 19. George Washington University (DC) 63 3.5 3.8 3.45-3.80 163-166 19.2% 15.1 94.0% 98.1% 87.2%/NY 75% University of Minnesota Twin Cities 63 3.6 3.7 3.30-3.78 162-167 28.2% 12.5 96.8% 98.6% 99.2%/MN 91% Washington University in St. Louis 63 3.5 3.7 3.20-3.70 161-167 25.3% 13.2 87.7% 98.8% 95.9%/MO 88% 22. Boston University 62 3.4 3.5 3.48-3.77 163-166 24.5% 12.1 87.3% 99.3% 95.0%/MA 84% University of Iowa 62 3.5 3.8 3.39-3.77 158-163 38.8% 12.2 88.2% 98.7% 89.1%/IA 86% University of Notre Dame (IN) 62 3.3 3.7 3.28-3.78 163-167 18.2% 14.3 86.7% 98.3% 95.6%/IL 85% Washington and Lee University (VA) 62 3.4 3.8 3.25-3.79 163-167 21.1% 10.5 76.9% 91.2% 85.7%/VA 74% 26. Emory University (GA) 61 3.4 3.8 3.28-3.63 161-165 29.1% 13.3 80.7% 98.7% 90.3%/GA 85% 27. Boston College 59 3.3 3.7 3.44-3.79 161-166 20.3% 13.9 71.4% 97.1% 92.6%/MA 84% College of William and Mary (Marshall-Wythe) (VA) 59 3.3 3.6 3.31-3.80 160-165 22.4% 15.7 84.9% 96.2% 84.6%/VA 74% University of Illinois 59 3.4 3.7 3.04-3.66 162-167 15.2% 12.6 72.1% 99.5% 89.7%/IL 85% University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 59 3.6 3.9 3.47-3.84 158-164 15.3% 16.9 72.0% 90.2% 84.6%/NC 75% University of Washington 59 3.2 3.3 3.51-3.84 159-165 21.5% 10.9 88.9% 99.4% 89.4%/WA 79% 32. Fordham University (NY) 58 3.2 3.3 3.37-3.76 164-167 21.4% 15.9 86.0% 98.4% 87.4%/NY 75% University of Wisconsin 58 3.5 3.5 3.30-3.77 158-163 23.5% 13.1 72.5% 97.3% 100.0%/WI 84% 34. Brigham Young University (Clark) (UT) 57 2.8 3.3 3.52-3.86 161-166 27.0% 18.9 83.2% 98.7% 91.4%/UT 90% University of California Davis 57 3.4 3.6 3.46-3.79 158-164 23.3% 13.5 81.3% 91.5% 75.7%/CA 61% University of Georgia 57 3.1 3.4 3.28-3.80 158-164 23.3% 15.3 76.4% 98.9% 92.6%/GA 85% 37. George Mason University (VA) 56 2.8 3.2 3.15-3.83 158-166 15.1% 16.5 98.2% 99.6% 79.6%/VA 74% Indiana University Bloomington 56 3.2 3.7 3.03-3.72 158-164 38.1% 14.1 87.4% 95.6% 92.3%/IN 84% 39. Ohio State University (Moritz) 55 3.2 3.6 3.33-3.72 158-164 27.6% 14.1 74.3% 96.7% 91.4%/OH 81% Wake Forest University (NC) 55 3.0 3.5 3.17-3.62 162-166 23.6% 10.2 77.2% 92.1% 88.2%/NC 75% 41. University of Florida (Levin) 54 3.2 3.5 3.40-3.86 157-164 23.6% 15.4 65.9% 96.0% 79.7%/FL 73% 42. University of Maryland 53 2.9 3.1 3.35-3.76 158-164 16.1% 11.9 78.0% 97.1% 78.2%/MD 72% 43. American University (Washington College of Law) (DC) 52 2.9 3.1 3.20-3.66 160-163 24.0% 14.3 83.2% 97.2% 84.9%/MD 72% Southern Methodist University (TX) 52 2.6 3.2 3.31-3.86 155-164 22.7% 15.4 N/A 95.9% 87.5%/TX 79% Tulane University 2 (LA) 52 3.2 3.5 3.28-3.73 158-163 25.6% 18.8 75.4% 94.7% 69.9%/LA 88% University of Alabama Tuscaloosa 52 2.7 3.0 3.18-3.71 160-164 26.4% 10.3 64.2% 97.8% 96.7%/AL 81% University of Arizona (Rogers) 52 3.1 3.1 3.28-3.78 159-164 23.6% 12.7 71.2% 92.9% 84.0%/AZ 74% University of California (Hastings) 52 3.3 3.7 3.38-3.69 160-164 23.8% 20.4 57.4% 91.7% 80.7%/CA 61% University of Colorado Boulder 52 3.0 3.3 3.43-3.82 160-164 25.5% 12.7 72.3% 89.7% 87.0%/CO 74% 50. University of Connecticut 51 2.9 3.1 3.23-3.63 159-163 17.1% 11.8 62.0% 96.4% 93.8%/CT 82% 51. Baylor University (TX) 49 2.3 2.9 3.51-3.92 161-165 21.3% 16.9 67.4% 97.8% 91.4%/TX 79% Case Western Reserve University (OH) 49 2.8 3.1 3.13-3.57 157-161 25.3% 14.7 72.6% 98.1% 87.7%/OH 81% 53. Arizona State University 48 2.9 3.0 3.10-3.69 154-161 27.3% 11.1 N/A 94.2% 75.3%/AZ 74% Cardozo-Yeshiva University (NY) 48 2.7 2.7 3.19-3.72 162-166 23.5% 15.8 73.7% 97.1% 79.8%/NY 75% Florida State University 48 2.8 2.9 3.21-3.67 158-161 22.5% 13.8 85.0% 98.9% 77.0%/FL 73% University of Cincinnati 48 2.5 2.9 3.29-3.83 156-162 36.7% 11.8 71.0% 96.3% 89.4%/OH 81% 57. University of Utah (S.J. Quinney) 47 2.8 2.8 3.46-3.81 158-162 30.5% 11.5 68.7% 90.9% 88.8%/UT 90% 44 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS 05 School s Peer Assessment undergrad 05 LSAT 05 04 grads Employed bar Jurisdiction s assessment score by GPA score 05 student/ employed 9 months passage overall bar Overall score lawyers/judges 25th-75th 25th-75th acceptance faculty at after rate in passage score (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) percentile percentile rate ratio graduation graduation jurisdiction rate 58. Brooklyn Law School (NY) 46 2.6 2.8 3.15-3.64 161-164 25.4% 20.5 71.7% 98.4% 83.8%/NY 75% Temple University (Beasley) (PA) 46 2.6 3.1 3.09-3.61 160-163 29.1% 14.7 69.4% 95.6% 88.3%/PA 81% 60. Illinois Institute (Chicago-Kent) 45 2.7 2.6 3.29-3.70 159-163 26.4% 12.4 72.1% 92.0% 86.5%/IL 85% University of Missouri Columbia 45 2.7 3.1 3.31-3.74 156-160 32.1% 13.2 58.8% 92.7% 88.8%/MO 88% University of Pittsburgh 45 2.8 2.8 3.12-3.63 157-161 28.6% 14.4 75.5% 96.7% 81.6%/PA 81% University of Tennessee Knoxville 45 2.7 2.8 3.36-3.86 155-161 19.9% 12.1 59.7% 85.4% 86.8%/TN 82% Villanova University (PA) 45 2.6 2.8 3.30-3.66 161-163 31.6% 17.7 66.7% 97.6% 79.0%/PA 81% 65. Loyola Law School (CA) 44 2.5 2.9 3.05-3.50 160-163 23.4% 16.1 73.7% 97.2% 65.5%/CA 61% Rutgers State University Camden (NJ) 44 2.5 2.9 3.10-3.65 159-163 13.9% 15.7 87.2% 92.8% 81.4%/NJ 80% University of Kentucky 44 2.5 2.8 3.30-3.81 157-163 34.7% 16.3 64.0% 97.6% 82.9%/KY 78% University of Miami (FL) 44 2.8 3.1 3.22-3.64 156-160 37.2% 19.6 73.4% 93.1% 82.2%/FL 73% University of San Diego 44 2.8 2.9 3.11-3.54 160-164 24.9% 14.3 65.8% 89.0% 70.9%/CA 61% 70. Loyola University Chicago 43 2.3 3.1 3.15-3.68 159-163 25.6% 16.8 77.7% 98.3% 91.6%/IL 85% Seton Hall University (NJ) 43 2.4 2.8 3.00-3.60 158-162 25.1% 14.9 92.1% 96.9% 82.2%/NJ 80% University of Denver (Sturm) 43 2.4 2.7 3.10-3.60 155-162 24.0% 14.1 87.3% 96.9% 64.1%/CO 74% University of Houston 43 2.7 2.4 3.22-3.73 157-162 25.1% 20.8 65.5% 95.6% 84.8%/TX 79% University of Kansas 43 2.6 3.3 3.27-3.77 154-160 26.5% 13.4 55.1% 88.5% 82.0%/KS 81% University of Nebraska Lincoln 43 2.4 3.1 3.30-3.83 153-159 40.7% 13.7 74.6% 91.7% 90.3%/NE 88% University of Oregon 43 2.8 3.2 3.17-3.66 156-160 37.3% 19.7 61.6% 91.6% 75.0%/OR 72% 77. Indiana University Indianapolis 42 2.5 3.1 3.32-3.76 152-158 30.2% 18.0 83.4% 93.8% 80.0%/IN 84% Lewis and Clark College (Northwestern) (OR) 42 2.3 3.1 3.04-3.65 158-164 37.8% 14.1 N/A 93.9% 68.3%/OR 72% University of New Mexico 42 2.4 2.7 3.07-3.65 150-159 20.8% 11.4 72.5% 93.7% 80.5%/NM 82% 80. DePaul University (IL) 41 2.3 2.8 3.12-3.66 158-161 25.8% 17.9 80.7% 94.3% 83.6%/IL 85% Rutgers State University Newark (NJ) 41 2.6 2.9 3.06-3.55 154-161 23.9% 15.4 67.2% 94.7% 72.8%/NJ 80% St. John s University (NY) 41 2.3 2.8 3.18-3.72 158-163 31.2% 17.2 68.8% 93.4% 86.0%/NY 75% St. Louis University 41 2.4 3.1 3.35-3.77 154-160 39.8% 17.6 71.0% 93.1% 85.5%/MO 88% University at Buffalo SUNY 41 2.5 2.7 3.15-3.64 152-157 36.3% 13.2 85.1% 95.0% 78.9%/NY 75% University of Oklahoma 41 2.4 3.1 3.32-3.76 154-160 26.3% 15.3 68.7% 88.4% 95.7%/OK 83% University of Richmond (VA) 41 2.2 3.1 3.10-3.54 160-163 26.4% 14.3 56.5% 92.6% 75.2%/VA 74% 87. Louisiana State University Baton Rouge 40 2.3 2.9 3.23-3.77 154-159 27.8% 16.6 77.5% 91.3% 77.8%/LA 88% Mercer University (GA) 40 2.0 3.0 3.02-3.67 153-158 30.2% 13.5 59.4% 98.4% 92.7%/GA 85% Northeastern University (MA) 40 2.3 2.5 3.10-3.58 159-163 26.6% 17.0 N/A 95.3% 81.7%/MA 84% Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) 40 2.2 3.2 3.11-3.67 154-157 29.4% 13.8 68.8% 93.4% 78.2%/PA 81% Pepperdine University (McConnell) (CA) 40 2.2 3.1 3.38-3.71 157-161 25.3% 19.8 57.5% 90.5% 74.1%/CA 61% Santa Clara University (CA) 40 2.4 2.9 3.21-3.60 157-161 37.4% 18.5 74.1% 94.5% 67.9%/CA 61% 93. Seattle University 39 2.2 2.7 3.17-3.63 152-159 26.0% 15.6 59.7% 100.0% 79.6%/WA 79% University of Hawaii (Richardson) 39 2.3 2.7 3.03-3.66 156-161 18.6% 13.6 68.4% 93.4% 76.0%/HI 77% University of San Francisco 39 2.2 2.9 3.13-3.59 157-161 31.7% 16.7 N/A 95.0% 65.5%/CA 61% University of Toledo (OH) 39 1.9 2.4 2.98-3.76 155-162 18.8% 13.4 86.6% 92.3% 90.4%/OH 81% 97. Georgia State University 38 2.3 2.8 3.16-3.66 156-161 21.2% 16.2 N/A 91.8% 92.2%/GA 85% University of Mississippi 38 2.2 2.8 3.26-3.77 151-158 27.2% 16.9 72.5% 94.5% 89.8%/MS 90% University of South Carolina 38 2.3 2.8 3.19-3.68 154-160 34.3% 17.8 59.2% 95.3% 87.0%/SC 84% University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (CA) 38 2.1 2.6 3.00-3.51 156-160 31.0% 16.1 N/A 96.1% 68.5%/CA 61% Sources: U.S. News and the schools. Assessment data collected by Synovate. N/A means that the data were not provided by the school. 2 School was unable to complete the survey because of damage from Hurricane Katrina; last year s data were used to calculate its ranking and are displayed here. Western State University in California, Barry University in Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida International University, John Marshall Law School Atlanta, St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota, and Appalachian School of Law in Virginia are not ranked because as of August 2005 they were provisionally approved by the American Bar Association. Three law schools in Puerto Rico Catholic University, Inter-America University, and the University of Puerto Rico are not ranked. METHODOLOGY The rankings of 180 accredited law schools are based on a weighted average of the 12 measures of quality described here. More on our methods appears on Page 16. Quality assessment (weighted by.40): Quality was measured by two surveys conducted in fall 2005. The dean and three faculty members at each school were asked to rate schools from marginal (1) to outstanding (5); 67 percent voted. Their average rating for a school is weighted by.25 in the ranking model. Lawyers and judges also rated schools; 26 percent responded. Their average rating is weighted by.15. Selectivity (.25): For full-time students entering in 2005, this combines median LSAT scores (50 percent), median undergrad GPA (40 percent), and proportion of applicants accepted (10 percent). Placement success (.20): Success is determined by employment rates for 2004 graduates at graduation (20 percent) and nine months after (70 percent) as well as their bar passage rate (10 percent). Employment rates include graduates reported as working or pursuing graduate degrees; for the nine-month rate only, 25 percent of those whose status is unknown are also counted as working. Those not seeking jobs are excluded. The bar passage rate indicator is the ratio of a school s rate in the cited jurisdiction to the overall state rate, computed for first-time test takers in summer 2004 and winter 2005. The jurisdiction cited is the state where the largest number of 2004 grads first took the test. Faculty resources (.15): Resources are based on average 2004 and 2005 expenditures per student for instruction, library, and supporting services (65 percent) and on all other items including financial aid (10 percent); 2005 student/teacher ratio (20 percent); and total number of volumes and titles in library (5 percent). Overall rank: A school s score on each indicator was standardized. Then scores were weighted, totaled, and rescaled so that the top school received 100 and other schools received a percentage of the top score. Specialty rankings: Rankings are based solely on votes by law faculty who are listed in the AALS Directory of Law Teachers 2004 2005 as teaching in the field or by directors of clinical and legal writing programs. They named up to 15 of the best in each field. Schools receiving the most votes are listed. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 45
SPECIALTIES PROGRAMS RANKED BEST BY FACULTY WHO TEACH IN THE FIELD DISPUTE RESOLUTION 1. Pepperdine University (McConnell) (CA) 2. University of Missouri Columbia 3. Ohio State University (Moritz) 4. Harvard University (MA) 5. Hamline University (MN) 6. Cardozo-Yeshiva University (NY) 7. Georgetown University (DC) 8. Willamette University (Collins) (OR) 9. Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) Stanford University (CA) CLINICAL TRAINING 1. Georgetown University (DC) 2. American University (Washington Col. of Law) (DC) 3. New York University 4. Washington Univ. in St. Louis 5. CUNY Queens College University of Maryland 7. University of New Mexico 8. Yale University (CT) 9. Northwestern University (IL) 10. Univ. of Michigan ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 1. Lewis and Clark College (Northwestern) (OR) 2. Vermont Law School 3. Pace University (NY) 4. University of Maryland 5. Georgetown University (DC) 6. University of Oregon 7. Tulane University (LA) 8. Duke University (NC) 9. University of Colorado Boulder 10. Stanford University (CA) HEALTH LAW 1. St. Louis University 2. University of Houston 3. University of Maryland 4. Seton Hall University (NJ) 5. Boston University Case Western Reserve University (OH) 7. Loyola University Chicago 8. Indiana University Indianapolis Widener University (DE) 10. DePaul University (IL) Univ. of Minnesota Twin Cities INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW 1. University of California Berkeley 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. George Washington Univ. (DC) 4. Santa Clara University (CA) 5. University of Houston 6. Cardozo-Yeshiva Univ. (NY) 7. Duke University (NC) Franklin Pierce Law Center (NH) 9. Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent) 10. Columbia University (NY) INTERNATIONAL LAW 1. New York University 2. Columbia University (NY) 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. Georgetown University (DC) 5. Yale University (CT) 6. George Washington Univ. (DC) 7. American University (Washington Col. of Law) (DC) 8. Univ. of Michigan 9. University of California Berkeley University of Virginia LEGAL WRITING 1. Seattle University 2. Mercer University (GA) 3. Temple Univ. (Beasley) (PA) 4. Stetson University (FL) 5. John Marshall Law School (IL) Northwestern University (IL) 7. University of Nevada Las Vegas (Boyd) 8. Univ. of Michigan 9. Brooklyn Law School (NY) 10. Boston College Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago-Kent) Villanova University (PA) TRIAL ADVOCACY 1. Stetson University (FL) 2. Temple University (Beasley) (PA) 3. South Texas College of Law 4. Loyola Law School (CA) University of Notre Dame (IN) 6. Baylor University (TX) 7. Georgetown University (DC) Northwestern University (IL) University of Akron (OH) Washington University in St. Louis TAX LAW 1. New York University 2. University of Florida (Levin) 3. Georgetown University (DC) 4. Northwestern University (IL) 5. Harvard University (MA) University of Miami (FL) 7. Boston University University of California Los Angeles 9. Stanford University (CA) University of San Diego Other Schools to Consider The next two quartiles of schools are listed alphabetically in two groups, the Third Tier and Fourth Tier. Law schools within each of these tiers should be considered broadly similar in quality. To be listed, a law school must be accredited and fully approved by the American Bar Association and must draw most of its students from the United States. Remember that in considering a law school you should look not only at its ranking or tier but also at other characteristics its location, price, course offerings, and faculty expertise, to name a few. More information on all the schools is available in the directory (Page 73). THIRD TIER (ranking begins at 101; schools are listed alphabetically) 05 School s Peer Assessment undergrad 05 LSAT 05 04 grads Employed bar Jurisdiction s assessment score by GPA score 05 student/ employed 9 months passage overall bar score lawyers/judges 25th-75th 25th-75th acceptance faculty at after rate in passage (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) percentile percentile rate ratio graduation graduation jurisdiction rate Albany Law School-Union University (NY) 2.1 2.4 2.89-3.53 153-157 40.3% 14.8 52.8% 95.8% 77.5%/NY 75% Catholic University of America (Columbus) (DC) 2.4 2.9 3.06-3.53 156-160 31.7% 16.3 63.5% 90.1% 71.9%/MD 72% Cleveland State University (Cleveland-Marshall) 2.0 2.1 3.14-3.59 151-157 30.7% 12.7 64.1% 90.8% 72.9%/OH 81% Creighton University (NE) 2.0 3.2 3.21-3.72 150-156 36.0% 15.4 71.7% 97.6% 84.3%/NE 88% Drake University (IA) 2.0 2.8 3.14-3.69 153-156 42.3% 17.8 N/A 95.1% 86.0%/IA 86% Duquesne University (PA) 1.8 2.6 3.23-3.61 153-156 44.4% 16.3 79.0% 86.4% 80.0%/PA 81% Gonzaga University (WA) 2.1 2.7 3.13-3.56 152-156 36.8% 18.0 N/A 93.3% 75.9%/WA 79% Hofstra University (NY) 2.4 2.5 3.03-3.64 155-160 38.0% 17.7 N/A 91.8% 68.6%/NY 75% Howard University (DC) 2.1 2.8 2.93-3.57 148-155 23.2% 13.0 80.4% 86.1% 52.1%/MD 72% Loyola University New Orleans 2 2.1 2.8 3.16-3.63 151-156 34.0% 17.6 80.3% 98.6% 60.1%/LA 88% Marquette University (WI) 2.3 2.8 3.14-3.62 155-159 39.5% 17.3 62.0% 94.0% 100.0%/WI 84% New York Law School 2.1 2.5 3.12-3.61 153-157 38.7% 20.3 N/A 90.0% 64.3%/NY 75% Northern Illinois University 1.7 2.2 3.05-3.63 154-158 34.8% 18.4 52.2% 89.9% 86.4%/IL 85% Pace University (NY) 2.1 2.3 3.09-3.50 153-156 32.8% 15.4 N/A 89.6% 73.1%/NY 75% Quinnipiac University (CT) 1.9 2.2 3.08-3.53 155-159 23.1% 14.5 N/A 92.2% 73.9%/CT 82% Samford University (Cumberland) (AL) 1.8 2.5 2.98-3.52 154-158 31.7% 18.2 60.3% 97.0% 84.7%/AL 81% Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2.0 2.6 3.13-3.67 152-157 36.7% 12.6 N/A 82.3% 83.3%/IL 85% 46 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS 05 School s Peer Assessment undergrad 05 LSAT 05 04 grads Employed bar Jurisdiction s assessment score by GPA score 05 student/ employed 9 months passage overall bar score lawyers/judges 25th-75th 25th-75th acceptance faculty at after rate in passage (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) percentile percentile rate ratio graduation graduation jurisdiction rate Southwestern University School of Law (CA) 1.8 2.0 3.11-3.60 154-158 25.7% 15.7 79.6% 91.4% 58.4%/CA 61% Stetson University (FL) 2.1 2.5 3.28-3.71 152-156 23.5% 17.5 49.4% 91.1% 74.3%/FL 73% Syracuse University (NY) 2.4 3.1 3.12-3.54 153-157 33.8% 15.7 67.5% 92.7% 76.0%/NY 75% Texas Tech University 2.0 2.4 3.28-3.75 151-158 35.2% 16.6 77.8% 95.9% 85.1%/TX 79% University of Akron (OH) 1.8 1.9 3.12-3.67 156-160 31.3% 13.9 65.4% 89.2% 78.7%/OH 81% University of Arkansas Fayetteville 2.2 2.9 3.09-3.69 152-159 24.4% 13.2 N/A 91.7% 85.1%/AR 82% University of Arkansas Little Rock (Bowen) 2.1 2.6 3.20-3.73 151-158 16.5% 16.9 N/A 96.2% 76.9%/AR 82% University of Idaho 2.0 2.7 3.10-3.58 152-159 31.4% 16.8 45.6% 88.3% 76.0%/ID 76% University of Louisville (Brandeis) (KY) 2.2 2.4 3.43-3.68 155-159 28.9% 15.0 61.5% 91.0% 79.2%/KY 78% University of Maine 2.2 2.9 3.16-3.58 153-159 40.3% 15.5 N/A 90.1% 69.0%/ME 75% University of Memphis (Humphreys) 1.8 2.1 3.07-3.61 154-158 22.8% 14.2 52.9% 96.5% 85.8%/TN 82% University of Missouri Kansas City 2.2 2.9 3.14-3.66 152-156 38.2% 20.4 N/A 88.1% 85.0%/MO 88% University of Montana 2.0 2.7 3.17-3.70 151-157 37.6% 18.2 N/A 89.1% 85.5%/MT 83% University of Nevada Las Vegas (Boyd) 2.1 2.2 3.55-3.67 155-160 12.1% 15.0 60.0% 82.5% 65.2%/NV 73% University of North Dakota 1.9 2.7 3.25-3.74 147-154 45.1% 19.0 N/A 88.3% 83.7%/ND 82% Vermont Law School 2.2 2.6 2.89-3.47 151-158 50.6% 13.3 N/A 94.2% 73.9%/VT 85% Washburn University (KS) 1.9 2.7 3.04-3.66 151-155 35.9% 14.4 N/A 92.3% 71.4%/KS 81% Wayne State University (MI) 2.3 2.8 3.33-3.72 153-159 39.6% 19.6 N/A 84.1% 83.5%/MI 74% Willamette University (Collins) (OR) 2.1 2.7 3.12-3.62 153-157 35.1% 15.6 N/A 84.5% 82.9%/OR 72% FOURTH TIER (ranking begins at 137; schools are listed alphabetically) 05 School s Peer Assessment undergrad 05 LSAT 05 04 grads Employed bar Jurisdiction s assessment score by GPA score 05 student/ employed 9 months passage overall bar score lawyers/judges 25th-75th 25th-75th acceptance faculty at after rate in passage (5.0 highest) (5.0 highest) percentile percentile rate ratio graduation graduation jurisdiction rate Ave Maria School of Law (MI) 1.5 1.9 2.80-3.50 150-160 67.3% 14.0 37.7% 84.9% 100.0%/MI 74% California Western School of Law 1.7 2.5 2.98-3.56 151-156 37.0% 18.7 N/A 42.7% 58.1%/CA 61% Campbell University (Wiggins) (NC) 1.5 2.2 3.03-3.50 153-158 20.5% 17.0 82.3% 84.4% 77.6%/NC 75% Capital University (OH) 1.7 2.1 2.96-3.50 151-156 38.1% 16.3 N/A 88.0% 74.7%/OH 81% Chapman University (CA) 1.5 1.8 3.01-3.61 154-158 30.2% 17.7 53.3% 91.0% 66.7%/CA 61% CUNY Queens College 1.8 2.1 3.03-3.52 149-156 20.6% 12.5 29.5% 73.9% 63.9%/NY 75% Florida Coastal School of Law 1.3 1.8 2.88-3.49 150-154 36.8% 17.8 N/A 92.1% 71.2%/FL 73% Franklin Pierce Law Center (NH) 1.9 2.4 3.00-3.60 150-156 37.6% 18.5 N/A 86.4% 61.5%/NH 64% Golden Gate University (CA) 1.7 1.8 3.00-3.47 150-155 35.7% 22.4 N/A 67.9% 34.8%/CA 61% Hamline University (MN) 1.8 2.2 3.16-3.61 153-159 40.4% 18.5 47.1% 81.0% 85.6%/MN 91% John Marshall Law School (IL) 1.8 2.4 2.80-3.38 152-156 36.2% 21.8 55.6% 89.3% 74.2%/IL 85% Michigan State University 2.1 2.8 3.04-3.66 155-161 35.4% 20.7 N/A 78.7% 67.6%/MI 74% Mississippi College 1.5 2.4 2.99-3.51 149-153 38.5% 21.4 60.0% 95.8% 83.7%/MS 90% New England School of Law (MA) 1.7 1.8 3.12-3.56 150-153 37.2% 25.2 27.7% 81.1% 74.1%/MA 84% North Carolina Central University 1.5 1.9 2.80-3.50 143-152 20.0% 18.8 N/A 83.0% 71.8%/NC 75% Northern Kentucky University (Chase) 1.6 2.0 3.01-3.57 152-158 24.8% 17.4 65.0% 91.8% 79.4%/KY 78% Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (FL) 1.8 1.5 2.93-3.37 148-152 27.8% 13.4 N/A 77.1% 61.6%/FL 73% Ohio Northern University (Pettit) 1.5 2.4 3.15-3.69 150-155 27.1% 14.8 N/A 86.1% 71.9%/OH 81% Oklahoma City University 1.6 2.2 2.78-3.43 148-152 40.7% 18.6 N/A 76.8% 71.8%/OK 83% Regent University (VA) 1.4 1.7 3.08-3.72 150-156 44.7% 18.3 46.0% 89.1% 61.0%/VA 74% Roger Williams University (Papitto) (RI) 1.7 1.9 2.94-3.54 151-155 41.1% 19.9 N/A 69.3% 70.7%/RI 77% Southern University 1 (LA) 1.3 1.6 2.66-3.25 * 144-149 * 22.0% * 13.3 * N/A 89.5% * 34.0%/LA * 88% South Texas College of Law 1.7 1.9 2.98-3.50 151-156 36.9% 19.7 N/A 80.1% 69.9%/TX 79% St. Mary s University (TX) 1.7 2.3 2.81-3.42 151-156 37.2% 23.5 N/A 85.7% 78.9%/TX 79% St. Thomas University (FL) 1.4 1.8 2.58-3.33 147-152 38.9% 20.2 N/A 58.1% 61.5%/FL 73% Suffolk University (MA) 1.9 2.1 3.10-3.60 154-158 42.4% 17.1 57.5% 86.7% 79.5%/MA 84% Texas Southern University (Marshall) 1.5 1.9 2.58-3.23 144-149 21.8% 16.3 73.9% 75.2% 54.5%/TX 79% Texas Wesleyan University 1.6 2.0 2.89-3.50 153-157 29.0% 17.9 42.6% 82.9% 65.5%/TX 79% Thomas Jefferson School of Law (CA) 1.4 2.4 2.74-3.39 151-156 24.1% 21.9 N/A 82.9% 35.6%/CA 61% Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI) 1.3 1.9 2.72-3.39 146-152 68.5% 23.6 N/A 71.2% 55.1%/MI 74% Touro College (Fuchsberg) (NY) 1.7 1.8 2.87-3.44 150-153 34.6% 17.4 N/A 65.7% 65.2%/NY 75% University of Baltimore 1.9 2.3 2.98-3.52 152-156 30.1% 21.9 N/A 84.7% 56.8%/MD 72% University of Dayton (OH) 1.9 2.4 2.87-3.45 152-156 27.4% 15.4 N/A 85.8% 75.3%/OH 81% University of Detroit Mercy 1.5 1.8 3.00-3.50 147-153 46.2% 17.8 N/A 89.9% 69.2%/MI 74% University of South Dakota 1.8 2.9 2.95-3.74 150-156 34.9% 16.1 48.6% 75.0% 69.4%/SD 74% University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) 1.3 1.4 2.76-3.23 149-155 23.0% 11.5 N/A 77.6% 36.4%/MD 72% University of Tulsa (OK) 2.0 2.5 2.80-3.50 150-154 34.3% 16.3 52.7% 87.4% 74.7%/OK 83% University of Wyoming 2.0 2.8 3.06-3.65 149-156 25.8% 17.2 N/A 82.5% 70.3%/WY 68% Valparaiso University (IN) 1.9 2.7 2.97-3.58 150-155 21.5% 15.5 33.1% 80.6% 82.9%/IN 84% Western New England College (MA) 1.5 1.6 2.70-3.32 151-156 43.0% 16.5 55.0% 79.5% 68.3%/CT 82% West Virginia University 2.0 2.5 3.19-3.79 148-155 39.0% 23.2 N/A 79.3% 80.2%/WV 78% Whittier Law School (CA) 1.4 1.9 2.86-3.32 152-155 29.6% 16.6 54.4% 91.4% 39.9%/CA 61% Widener University (DE) 1.8 2.2 2.81-3.46 150-154 36.4% 17.5 54.1% 87.2% 71.9%/PA 81% William Mitchell College of Law (MN) 1.9 2.8 3.24-3.66 151-158 48.0% 23.6 53.7% 84.0% 89.1%/MN 91% 1 School did not return its U.S. News statistical survey. 2 School was unable to complete the survey because of damage from Hurricane Katrina; last year s data were used to calculate its ranking and are displayed here. Note: Numbers with * are from the fall 2004 entering class or school year and the 2003 graduating class as reported to the American Bar Association. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 47
Law School Diversity To identify law schools where students are most likely to encounter classmates from different racial or ethnic groups, U.S. News has created a diversity index based on the total proportion of minority students not including international students and the mix of racial and ethnic groups on campus. The index is calculated using demographic data reflecting each law school s student body during the 2005 2006 academic year, including both full- and part-time students. The groups that form the basis for our calculations are African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and non-hispanic whites. Our formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The closer a school s number is to 1.0, the more diverse is the student population. Law schools that enroll a large proportion of students from one ethnic group, even if it is a minority group, don t score high in this index. To be included in the table, a law school must be accredited by the American Bar Association. Because student-body ethnic diversity data are not consistently compiled and reported as yet for other types of graduate schools, U.S. News has prepared a diversity table for law schools only. THE MOST DIVERSE SCHOOLS Diversity index Largest minority School (1.0 highest) and its proportion Texas Southern University (Marshall) 0.66 African-American, 50% Florida A&M University 0.65 African-American, 41% University of the District of Columbia (Clarke) 0.63 African-American, 33% Florida International University 0.61 Hispanic, 41% Rutgers State University Newark (NJ) 0.59 African-American, 14% Santa Clara University (CA) 0.58 Asian-American, 27% University of New Mexico 0.58 Hispanic, 24% North Carolina Central University 0.57 African-American, 46% Loyola Law School (CA) 0.56 Asian-American, 25% St. Thomas University (FL) 0.56 Hispanic, 28% University of Southern California (Gould) 0.56 Asian-American, 20% Whittier Law School (CA) 0.54 Asian-American, 19% CUNY Queens College 0.53 Asian-American, 15% Southwestern University School of Law (CA) 0.53 Asian-American, 20% University of California Davis 0.53 Asian-American, 24% University of Hawaii (Richardson) 0.53 Asian-American, 57% Stanford University (CA) 0.52 Hispanic, 13% University of California Berkeley 0.52 Asian-American, 19% University of Illinois 0.52 Asian-American, 18% American University (Washington Col. of Law) (DC) 0.51 Asian-American, 12% Columbia University (NY) 0.51 Asian-American, 16% Yale University (CT) 0.51 Asian-American, 14% University of California (Hastings) 0.50 Asian-American, 24% University of Chicago 0.50 Asian-American, 13% University of San Francisco 0.50 Asian-American, 19% Cornell University (NY) 0.49 Asian-American, 18% Northwestern University (IL) 0.49 Asian-American, 16% University of Arizona (Rogers) 0.49 Hispanic, 11% University of Pennsylvania 0.49 Asian-American, 15% University of Texas Austin 0.49 Hispanic, 19% Harvard University (MA) 0.48 Asian-American, 13% University of California Los Angeles 0.48 Asian-American, 16% University of Maryland 0.48 African-American, 15% Northeastern University (MA) 0.47 Asian-American, 12% Nova Southeastern University (Broad) (FL) 0.45 Hispanic, 20% St. Mary s University (TX) 0.45 Hispanic, 21% Diversity index Largest minority School (1.0 highest) and its proportion University of Michigan 0.45 Asian-American, 11% University of San Diego 0.45 Asian-American, 15% Arizona State University 0.44 Hispanic, 15% California Western School of Law 0.44 Asian-American, 13% Emory University (GA) 0.44 African-American, 10% George Washington University (DC) 0.44 Asian-American, 10% Chapman University (CA) 0.42 Asian-American, 18% Fordham University (NY) 0.42 Asian-American, 11% New York University 0.42 Asian-American, 11% St. John s University (NY) 0.42 Asian-American, 10% Touro College (Fuchsberg) (NY) 0.42 African-American, 9% University of Houston 0.42 Asian-American, 12% University of Wisconsin 0.42 African-American, 8% Brooklyn Law School (NY) 0.41 Asian-American, 15% Georgetown University (DC) 0.41 Asian-American, 10% Golden Gate University (CA) 0.41 Asian-American, 16% Seattle University 0.41 Asian-American, 14% Temple University (Beasley) (PA) 0.40 Asian-American, 12% Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI) 0.40 African-American, 12% University of Miami (FL) 0.40 Hispanic, 12% University of Nevada Las Vegas (Boyd) 0.40 Asian-American, 12% Duke University (NC) 0.39 African-American, 11% Ohio State University (Moritz) 0.39 Asian-American, 10% University of Florida (Levin) 0.39 Hispanic, 11% University of Notre Dame (IN) 0.39 Asian-American, 8% Northern Illinois University 0.38 African-American, 8% Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) 0.38 African-American, 7% University of Arkansas Fayetteville 0.38 African-American, 16% Boston College 0.37 Asian-American, 11% Boston University 0.37 Asian-American, 15% Illinois Institute (Chicago-Kent) 0.37 Asian-American, 10% Rutgers State University Camden (NJ) 0.37 Asian-American, 8% University of Colorado Boulder 0.37 Asian-American, 9% University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 0.37 African-American, 10% University of Oklahoma 0.37 Native American, 10% University of the Pacific (McGeorge) (CA) 0.37 Asian-American, 13% Note: The diversity index is based on ethnicity data collected by U.S. News from each law school. The methodology used to compute the index was published in a 1992 article by Philip Meyer and Shawn McIntosh in the International Journal of Public Opinion Research. For this index, students classified as ethnicity unknown/unreported were counted as white. A more detailed explanation of the methodology is available at www.usnews.com. 48 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS Library and Information Studies THE TOP SCHOOLS Our ranking is based on a 2005 survey of deans, program directors, and senior faculty members at 50 schools with accredited master s programs. SPECIALTIES The institutions below received the most nominations from survey respondents at peer institutions for their excellence in a given specialty. Average assessment 1. University of Illinois 4.5 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 4.5 3. Syracuse University (NY) 4.3 4. University of Washington 4.2 5. University of Michigan 4.0 6. Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 3.9 7. Indiana University Bloomington 3.8 University of Pittsburgh 3.8 University of Texas Austin 3.8 10. Florida State University 3.7 11. Drexel University (PA) 3.6 University of Wisconsin 3.6 THOMPSON MCCLELLAN ARCHIVES AND PRESERVATION 1. University of Texas Austin 2. Univ. of Maryland College Park University of Michigan 4. University of Pittsburgh 5. Univ. of California Los Angeles 6. Simmons College (MA) 7. UNC Chapel Hill 8. University of Wisconsin 9. SUNY Albany DIGITAL LIBRARIANSHIP 1. U. of Illinois 2. Syracuse University (NY) 3. University of Michigan 4. UNC Chapel Hill 5. University of Washington 6. Drexel University (PA) Rutgers St. U. New Brunswick (NJ) 8. Indiana University Bloomington 9. Univ. of California Los Angeles 10. University of Pittsburgh HEALTH LIBRARIANSHIP 1. University of Pittsburgh 2. UNC Chapel Hill 3. University of North Texas University of Washington 5. Texas Woman s University Univ. of Maryland College Park 7. University of Missouri Columbia 8. Syracuse University (NY) U. of Illinois Univ. of South Carolina Columbia INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1. Syracuse University (NY) 2. University of Michigan 3. University of Washington 4. U. of Illinois 5. Drexel University (PA) University of Pittsburgh 7. UNC Chapel Hill 8. Indiana University Bloomington Rutgers St. U. New Brunswick (NJ) 10. Florida State University LAW LIBRARIANSHIP 1. University of Washington 2. Catholic Univ. of America (DC) 3. University of Texas Austin 4. Indiana University Bloomington 5. U. of Illinois UNC Chapel Hill SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA 1. Rutgers St. U. New Brunswick (NJ) 2. Univ. of South Carolina Columbia 3. Univ. of Maryland College Park 4. Syracuse University (NY) 5. Florida State University 6. San Jose State University (CA) University of Washington 8. Indiana University Bloomington 9. University of Hawaii Manoa University of Pittsburgh SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 1. Florida State University U. of Illinois 3. Rutgers St. U. New Brunswick (NJ) 4. University of Pittsburgh 5. Univ. of California Los Angeles Univ. of Maryland College Park University of Wisconsin 8. UNC Chapel Hill 9. University of Washington 10. Simmons College (MA) Studying library science at the Univ. of Illinois Methodology: The library and information studies program rankings are based solely on the results of a peer assessment survey. Respondents were asked to rate the academic quality of programs on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). Scores for each school were totaled and divided by the number of respondents who rated that school. The response rate was 51 percent. Surveys were conducted by Synovate in the fall of 2005. Note: Lists of schools consist of those master s programs accredited by the American Library Association. The survey was sent to the dean of the program, the program director, and a senior faculty member in each of these programs. USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 51
The Sciences PH.D. PROGRAMS RANKED BEST BY DEANS AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRS Ranked in 2006 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Programs surveyed are drawn from the National Science Foundation s Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards for 1999 through 2004. Listed schools may have multiple programs. Methodology is on Page 60. Average assessment 1. Stanford University (CA) 4.9 2. Harvard University (MA) 4.8 Massachusetts Institute 4.8 University of California Berkeley 4.8 5. California Institute 4.6 Johns Hopkins University (MD) 4.6 7. Cornell University (NY) 4.5 Yale University (CT) 4.5 9. Princeton University (NJ) 4.4 University of California San Francisco 4.4 Washington University in St. Louis 4.4 12. Duke University (NC) 4.3 Rockefeller University (NY) 4.3 University of California San Diego 4.3 University of Michigan 4.3 University of Wisconsin 4.3 17. University of California Davis 4.2 University of Washington 4.2 19. Columbia University (NY) 4.1 University of Chicago 4.1 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas 4.1 22. Baylor College of Medicine (TX) 4.0 University of California Los Angeles 4.0 24. University of Illinois 3.9 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 3.9 University of Pennsylvania 3.9 University of Texas Austin 3.9 28. Cornell University (Weill) (NY) 3.8 Northwestern University (IL) 3.8 University of Colorado Boulder 3.8 Vanderbilt University (TN) 3.8 32. Brandeis University (MA) 3.7 Emory University (GA) 3.7 Indiana University Bloomington 3.7 University of California Irvine 3.7 36. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 3.6 Mayo Medical School (MN) 3.6 University of Arizona 3.6 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 3.6 40. Brown University (RI) 3.5 Case Western Reserve University (OH) 3.5 Dartmouth College (NH) 3.5 Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.5 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.5 Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 3.5 SUNY Stony Brook 3.5 University of California Santa Barbara 3.5 University of Georgia 3.5 University of Virginia 3.5 Yeshiva University (Albert Einstein) (NY) 3.5 51. Michigan State University 3.4 Average assessment Ohio State University 3.4 Rice University (TX) 3.4 University of Maryland College Park 3.4 University of Massachusetts Medical Center Worcester 3.4 56. Arizona State University 3.3 OGI School of Sci. & Engineering Oregon Health & Sci. U. 3.3 University of Alabama Birmingham 3.3 University of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center 3.3 University of Florida 3.3 University of Iowa 3.3 University of Massachusetts Amherst 3.3 University of Oregon 3.3 University of Pittsburgh 3.3 University of Rochester (NY) 3.3 University of Texas Health Science Center Houston 3.3 University of Utah 3.3 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SPECIALTIES BIOCHEMISTRY/BIOPHYSICS/ STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY Stanford University (CA) 3. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. University of California Berkeley 5. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco 6. California Inst. 7. Yale University (CT) 8. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 9. Rockefeller University (NY) 10. Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas CELL BIOLOGY 2. Univ. of California San Francisco 3. Stanford University (CA) 4. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 5. Rockefeller University (NY) University of California Berkeley 7. Johns Hopkins University (MD) Yale University (CT) 9. Washington Univ. in St. Louis 10. Univ. of California San Diego ECOLOGY/EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 1. University of California Davis 2. University of California Berkeley 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. University of Chicago 5. Duke University (NC) 6. Cornell University (NY) Univ. of Michigan 8. Indiana University Bloomington Princeton University (NJ) University of Georgia University of Texas Austin Univ. of Wisconsin GENETICS/GENOMICS/ BIOINFORMATICS 2. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Stanford University (CA) 4. California Inst. 5. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco 6. University of California Berkeley Univ. of California San Diego Washington Univ. in St. Louis 9. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 10. Yale University (CT) IMMUNOLOGY/INFECTIOUS DISEASE 2. Stanford University (CA) Yale University (CT) 4. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 5. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco Washington Univ. in St. Louis 7. University of California Berkeley Univ. of California Los Angeles MICROBIOLOGY 1. Stanford University (CA) 2. Harvard University (MA) 3. Univ. of Wisconsin 4. University of California Berkeley 5. Yale University (CT) 6. Washington Univ. in St. Louis 7. University of Illinois 8. Johns Hopkins University (MD) University of Georgia University of Washington 56 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE ARTS & SCIENCES PROGRAMS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco 4. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 5. Univ. of California Berkeley 6. California Inst. 7. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 8. Rockefeller University (NY) Washington Univ. in St. Louis 10. Yale University (CT) CHEMISTRY Ranked in 2006 Average assessment 1. Massachusetts Institute 5.0 University of California Berkeley 5.0 3. California Institute 4.9 Harvard University (MA) 4.9 Stanford University (CA) 4.9 6. University of Illinois 4.5 7. Columbia University (NY) 4.4 University of Wisconsin 4.4 9. Cornell University (NY) 4.3 Northwestern University (IL) 4.3 University of Texas Austin 4.3 12. University of California Los Angeles 4.2 Yale University (CT) 4.2 14. Princeton University (NJ) 4.1 University of Chicago 4.1 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 4.1 17. University of Michigan 4.0 18. Texas A&M University College Station 3.9 University of California Irvine 3.9 University of California San Diego 3.9 University of Pennsylvania 3.9 22. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.8 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.8 24. Georgia Institute 3.7 Indiana University Bloomington 3.7 Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.7 Ohio State University 3.7 University of Colorado Boulder 3.7 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 3.7 University of Washington 3.7 31. Rice University (TX) 3.6 University of California San Francisco 3.6 University of California Santa Barbara 3.6 34. University of California Davis 3.5 University of Florida 3.5 University of Pittsburgh 3.5 University of Utah 3.5 38. Duke University (NC) 3.4 Emory University (GA) 3.4 Iowa State University 3.4 University of Arizona 3.4 42. Michigan State University 3.3 University of Virginia 3.3 Washington University in St. Louis 3.3 45. Colorado State University 3.2 Florida State University 3.2 University of Maryland College Park 3.2 University of Southern California 3.2 NEUROSCIENCE/NEUROBIOLOGY 2. Stanford University (CA) Univ. of California San Diego 4. Rockefeller University (NY) 5. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 6. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco Yale University (CT) 8. Columbia University (NY) 9. California Inst. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. ANALYTICAL 1. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 2. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3. University of Illinois 4. University of Arizona Univ. of Wisconsin 6. Indiana University Bloomington 7. University of Texas Austin 8. Univ. of Michigan 9. Iowa State University 10. University of Washington BIOCHEMISTRY 2. University of California Berkeley 3. Univ. of Calif. San Francisco 4. California Inst. 5. Massachusetts Institute 6. Univ. of Wisconsin 7. Stanford University (CA) Univ. of California San Diego 9. Univ. of California Los Angeles 10. Johns Hopkins University (MD) Yale University (CT) INORGANIC 1. Massachusetts Institute 2. California Inst. 3. University of California Berkeley 4. Northwestern University (IL) 5. University of Illinois 6. Texas A&M U. College Station 7. Stanford University (CA) 8. Univ. of Wisconsin 9. Harvard University (MA) Univ. of Minnesota Twin Cities University of North Carolina Chapel Hill CHEMISTRY SPECIALTIES COMPUTER SCIENCE ORGANIC 2. University of California Berkeley 3. California Inst. 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. Massachusetts Institute 6. Columbia University (NY) 7. University of Illinois 8. University of Wisconsin 9. University of California Irvine 10. University of Texas Austin PHYSICAL 1. University of California Berkeley 2. California Inst. 3. Massachusetts Institute 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. Harvard University (MA) 6. University of Chicago 7. University of Illinois 8. Univ. of Wisconsin 9. University of Colorado Boulder 10. Columbia University (NY) THEORETICAL 1. University of California Berkeley 2. California Inst. 3. Columbia University (NY) 4. Harvard University (MA) 5. Massachusetts Institute Northwestern University (IL) 7. Stanford University (CA) University of Chicago 9. University of Wisconsin 10. University of Illinois University of Texas Austin Ranked in 2006 Average assessment 1. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 5.0 Massachusetts Institute 5.0 Stanford University (CA) 5.0 University of California Berkeley 5.0 5. Cornell University (NY) 4.6 University of Illinois 4.6 7. University of Washington 4.5 8. Princeton University (NJ) 4.4 9. University of Texas Austin 4.3 University of Wisconsin 4.3 11. California Institute 4.2 Georgia Institute 4.2 Continued on Page 58 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 57
Average assessment 13. University of California San Diego 4.0 University of Maryland College Park 4.0 15. Harvard University (MA) 3.9 University of California Los Angeles 3.9 University of Michigan 3.9 18. Columbia University (NY) 3.8 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.8 University of Pennsylvania 3.8 Yale University (CT) 3.8 22. Brown University (RI) 3.7 Rice University (TX) 3.7 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 3.7 25. Duke University (NC) 3.6 University of Massachusetts Amherst 3.6 University of Southern California 3.6 28. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.5 29. New York University 3.4 Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 3.4 University of California Irvine 3.4 University of Virginia 3.4 33. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.3 COMPUTER SCIENCE SPECIALTIES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 1. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4. University of California Berkeley 5. University of Washington 6. University of Texas Austin 7. University of Pennsylvania 8. University of Illinois 9. Univ. of Maryland College Park 10. Cornell University (NY) PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE 1. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 2. Stanford University (CA) University of California Berkeley 4. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 5. Cornell University (NY) 6. University of Washington 7. Princeton University (NJ) 8. Rice University (TX) University of Illinois 10. Univ. of Wisconsin COMPUTER SCIENCE SYSTEMS 1. University of California Berkeley 2. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 3. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. University of Illinois 6. University of Washington 7. Univ. of Wisconsin 8. University of Texas Austin 9. University of California San Diego 10. Princeton University (NJ) THEORY 1. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. 2. Stanford University (CA) 3. University of California Berkeley 4. Cornell University (NY) 5. Princeton University (NJ) 6. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 7. Harvard University (MA) 8. Columbia University (NY) 9. Georgia Institute 10. University of Washington Ranked in 2006 Average assessment 1. California Institute 4.9 2. Massachusetts Institute 4.8 Stanford University (CA) 4.8 4. University of California Berkeley 4.6 5. Columbia University (NY) 4.4 University of Michigan 4.4 7. Pennsylvania State University University Park 4.3 8. University of Arizona 4.2 9. Harvard University (MA) 4.1 University of Texas Austin 4.1 11. Princeton University (NJ) 4.0 University of California Los Angeles 4.0 University of Washington 4.0 Yale University (CT) 4.0 15. Cornell University (NY) 3.9 University of California San Diego 3.9 University of Chicago 3.9 University of Wisconsin 3.9 19. Brown University (RI) 3.8 University of California Santa Cruz 3.8 21. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.7 University of California Davis 3.7 University of California Santa Barbara 3.7 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 3.7 25. Rice University (TX) 3.6 University of Colorado Boulder 3.6 Washington University in St. Louis 3.6 EARTH SCIENCES SPECIALTIES GEOCHEMISTRY 1. California Institute 2. Pennsylvania State University University Park 3. University of California Berkeley 4. Massachusetts Institute 5. Univ. of Michigan 6. Columbia University (NY) 7. Yale University (CT) 8. Harvard University (MA) 9. Stanford University (CA) 10. University of Maryland College Park GEOLOGY 1. Stanford University (CA) 2. Massachusetts Institute 3. California Institute Pennsylvania State University University Park 5. Univ. of Michigan University of Texas Austin 7. University of Arizona 8. University of California Berkeley 9. Univ. of Wisconsin EARTH SCIENCES 10. University of Washington GEOPHYSICS AND SEISMOLOGY 1. California Institute 2. Massachusetts Institute 3. Stanford University (CA) 4. University of California Berkeley 5. University of California San Diego 6. Columbia University (NY) 7. Harvard University (MA) 8. University of Texas Austin 9. Princeton University (NJ) 10. Colorado School of Mines Univ. of California Los Angeles PALEONTOLOGY 1. University of Chicago 2. Harvard University (MA) 3. Univ. of Michigan Yale University (CT) 5. University of California Berkeley 6. University of Kansas 7. University of Cincinnati 8. University of Iowa 9. University of Texas Austin 10. Ohio State University 58 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS
THE ARTS & SCIENCES PROGRAMS EXCLUSIVE RANKINGS MATHEMATICS Ranked in 2006 Average assessment 1. Massachusetts Institute 5.0 2. Harvard University (MA) 4.9 Princeton University (NJ) 4.9 Stanford University (CA) 4.9 University of California Berkeley 4.9 6. University of Chicago 4.8 7. California Institute 4.6 New York University 4.6 University of Michigan 4.6 Yale University (CT) 4.6 11. Columbia University (NY) 4.5 12. Cornell University (NY) 4.4 University of California Los Angeles 4.4 14. University of Wisconsin 4.3 15. Brown University (RI) 4.2 University of Texas Austin 4.2 17. University of Illinois 4.1 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 4.1 University of Pennsylvania 4.1 20. University of Maryland College Park 4.0 21. Duke University (NC) 3.9 Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.9 Northwestern University (IL) 3.9 Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 3.9 University of California San Diego 3.9 26. Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.8 Rice University (TX) 3.8 SUNY Stony Brook 3.8 29. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 3.7 Indiana University Bloomington 3.7 Ohio State University 3.7 Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.7 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 3.7 University of Washington 3.7 35. CUNY Graduate School and University Center 3.6 Georgia Institute 3.6 University of Utah 3.6 38. University of California Davis 3.5 University of Illinois Chicago 3.5 University of Virginia 3.5 Washington University in St. Louis 3.5 MATHEMATICS SPECIALTIES APPLIED MATH 1. New York University 2. Massachusetts Institute 3. California Institute 4. Univ. of California Los Angeles 5. University of Minnesota Twin Cities 6. Brown University (RI) 7. Princeton University (NJ) 8. Stanford University (CA) University of Texas Austin 10. University of California Berkeley DISCRETE MATHEMATICS AND COMBINATIONS 1. Massachusetts Institute 2. Princeton University (NJ) Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) University of California San Diego 5. University of Michigan 6. University of California Berkeley 7. Georgia Institute Ohio State University 9. University of Illinois 10. California Institute GEOMETRY 2. Massachusetts Institute Stanford University (CA) 4. University of California Berkeley 5. Princeton University (NJ) 6. Columbia University (NY) 7. SUNY Stony Brook 8. University of Michigan 9. University of Chicago 10. New York University LOGIC 1. University of California Berkeley 2. University of California Los Angeles 3. University of Illinois 4. University of Wisconsin 5. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) University of Illinois Chicago 7. Cornell University (NY) University of Notre Dame (IN) 9. Stanford University (CA) 10. Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) STATISTICS 1. Stanford University (CA) 2. University of California Berkeley 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill University of Wisconsin 6. Cornell University (NY) University of Chicago University of Minnesota Twin Cities University of Washington 10. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) TOPOLOGY 1. University of California Berkeley 2. Princeton University (NJ) 3. Massachusetts Institute 4. Harvard University (MA) 5. Stanford University (CA) University of Chicago 7. Columbia University (NY) 8. University of Texas Austin 9. University of Michigan 10. Cornell University (NY) ALGEBRA/NUMBER THEORY/ ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY 2. University of California Berkeley 3. Princeton University (NJ) 4. University of Michigan 5. University of Chicago 6. Massachusetts Institute 7. Columbia University (NY) 8. Yale University (CT) 9. Univ. of Wisconsin 10. Univ. of California Los Angeles University of Illinois ANALYSIS 1. Princeton University (NJ) 2. University of California Berkeley 3. Massachusetts Institute 4. New York University 5. University of Chicago 6. University of California Los Angeles 7. Stanford University (CA) 8. University of Michigan 9. Harvard University (MA) Yale University (CT) PHYSICS Ranked in 2006 Average assessment 1. Massachusetts Institute 5.0 Stanford University (CA) 5.0 3. California Institute 4.9 4. Harvard University (MA) 4.8 Princeton University (NJ) 4.8 University of California Berkeley 4.8 7. Cornell University (NY) 4.7 8. University of Chicago 4.6 University of Illinois 4.6 10. University of California Santa Barbara 4.4 11. Columbia University (NY) 4.3 University of Texas Austin 4.3 Continued on Page 60 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS 59
ATOMIC/MOLECULAR/OPTICAL 1. University of Colorado Boulder 2. Massachusetts Institute 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. California Inst. Univ. of Michigan 7. University of California Berkeley 8. University of Arizona 9. Rice University (TX) 10. Univ. of Maryland College Park University of Rochester (NY) University of Texas Austin CONDENSED MATTER 1. University of Illinois 2. Cornell University (NY) 3. Harvard University (MA) 4. Massachusetts Institute 5. Stanford University (CA) 6. U. of California Santa Barbara 7. University of California Berkeley 8. Princeton University (NJ) PHYSICS Average assessment 13. University of Michigan 4.2 Yale University (CT) 4.2 15. University of Maryland College Park 4.1 16. University of California Los Angeles 4.0 University of California San Diego 4.0 University of Colorado Boulder 4.0 University of Pennsylvania 4.0 University of Washington 4.0 University of Wisconsin 4.0 22. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.8 SUNY Stony Brook 3.8 24. Ohio State University 3.7 Pennsylvania State University University Park 3.7 Rutgers State University New Brunswick (NJ) 3.7 27. Rice University (TX) 3.6 University of Minnesota Twin Cities 3.6 29. Brown University (RI) 3.5 Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 3.5 Duke University (NC) 3.5 Michigan State University 3.5 Northwestern University (IL) 3.5 University of California Irvine 3.5 35. Boston University 3.4 Georgia Institute 3.4 Indiana University Bloomington 3.4 New York University 3.4 Purdue University West Lafayette (IN) 3.4 University of Arizona 3.4 University of California Davis 3.4 University of Florida 3.4 University of Rochester (NY) 3.4 University of Virginia 3.4 PHYSICS SPECIALTIES 9. University of Chicago 10. California Inst. COSMOLOGY/RELATIVITY/GRAVITY 1. California Inst. 2. University of Chicago 3. Princeton University (NJ) 4. Massachusetts Institute 5. Harvard University (MA) 6. University of California Berkeley 7. Stanford University (CA) 8. U. of California Santa Barbara 9. Pennsylvania State University University Park 10. University of Texas Austin ELEMENTARY PARTICLES/ FIELDS/STRING THEORY 1. Princeton University (NJ) 2. California Inst. Stanford University (CA) 4. Harvard University (MA) 5. Massachusetts Institute 6. University of California Berkeley 7. University of Chicago 8. U. of California Santa Barbara 9. Cornell University (NY) 10. Univ. of Michigan NUCLEAR 1. Massachusetts Institute 2. Michigan State University University of Washington 4. SUNY Stony Brook 5. California Inst. Yale University (CT) 7. Indiana University Bloomington 8. Columbia University (NY) 9. University of California Berkeley 10. University of Illinois PLASMA 1. Massachusetts Institute Princeton University (NJ) 3. University of California Los Angeles 4. Univ. of Wisconsin Rankings of doctoral programs in the sciences are based on the results of surveys sent to academics in each discipline during the fall of 2005. The questionnaires asked individuals to rate the quality of the program at each institution on a 5-point scale: outstanding (5), strong (4), good (3), adequate (2), or marginal (1). Individuals who were unfamiliar with a particular school s programs were asked to select don t know. Scores for each institution were determined by computing a trimmed mean (eliminating the two highest and two lowest responses) of the ratings of all respondents who rated that school; average scores were then sorted in descending order. Surveys in the biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, the earth sciences, mathematics, and physics were conducted by Synovate. The universe of schools surveyed consisted of schools that awarded at least five doctoral degrees according to the National Science Foundation report Science and METHODOLOGY 5. Univ. of Maryland College Park 6. University of California San Diego 7. University of Texas Austin 8. Columbia University (NY) University of Iowa 10. University of Colorado Boulder Univ. of Michigan QUANTUM 1. Massachusetts Institute 2. Harvard University (MA) 3. California Institute 4. Stanford University (CA) 5. University of California Berkeley 6. U. of California Santa Barbara Univ. of Michigan 8. Princeton University (NJ) 9. Yale University (CT) 10. Cornell University (NY) University of Colorado Boulder University of Illinois Univ. of Maryland College Park Engineering Doctorate Awards for the years from 1999 through 2004. In the biological sciences, graduate programs may be offered in a university s medical school as well as its college of arts and sciences. In those cases, the medical school s program was considered separately. Questionnaires were sent to the department heads and directors of graduate studies at each program in each discipline. Response rates were as follows: for the biological sciences, 21 percent of those surveyed responded; for chemistry, 30 percent; for computer science, 52 percent; for the earth sciences, 40 percent; for mathematics, 40 percent; and for physics, 39 percent. Specialty rankings are based on nominations by department heads and directors of graduate studies at peer schools from the list of schools surveyed. These respondents ranked up to 10 programs in each area. Those with the most votes appear here. Expanded rankings can be found at www.usnews.com. 60 USN&WR AMERICA S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOLS