By Joe Garvey
Twenty graduate programs or specialties and two colleges at Â鶹´«Ã½ have been listed among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its rankings of the Best Graduate Schools for 2022.
Among the highlights for Â鶹´«Ã½:
- The public administration program in the Strome College of Business was listed among the top 30% of schools in the public affairs category. The Darden College of Education and Professional Studies and the Strome College's part-time MBA program ranked in the top 50%.
- Eight programs - criminal justice (which is in the criminology category), aerospace engineering, nursing anesthesia, physical therapy, systems engineering, public administration, speech-language pathology and environmental engineering - ranked among the top 100 nationally.
- In at least 12 disciplines - clinical psychology, part-time MBA, criminal justice, education, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, nursing anesthesia, psychology, systems engineering, English and public administration - Â鶹´«Ã½'s ranking improved from 2021. Clinical psychology, computer science, criminal justice, English, nursing anesthesia and psychology are ranked this year after being unranked in 2021.
- The Batten College of Engineering and Technology and the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies were cited by the publication.
- The Master of Public Health program, which had been conducted with Eastern Virginia Medical School until Â鶹´«Ã½ began offering it on its own in the fall of 2020, is also new to the rankings.
"This recognition attests to the strength and breadth of our graduate programs," said Austin Agho, provost and vice president of academic affairs. "The faculty in the nearly 100 programs we offer has earned recognition both nationally and internationally, providing our students with world-class educational and research opportunities."
The number of Â鶹´«Ã½ programs cited in the survey has substantially increased since 2018, when the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies and four graduate programs earned rankings.
"Â鶹´«Ã½'s graduate profile is clearly on the rise, with programs from all six of our academic colleges ranked in the latest survey," said Robert Wojtowicz, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. "Students from all walks of life are attracted to Â鶹´«Ã½'s rigorous and diverse offerings at both the master's and doctoral levels as well as its flexible course-delivery options."
Here are Â鶹´«Ã½'s Best Graduate School rankings:
- No. 32 (tie), Criminal Justice (Criminology)
- No. 63 (tie), Engineering Schools: Aerospace Engineering
- No. 74 (tie), Nursing Anesthesia
- No. 75 (tie), Engineering Schools: Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems
- No. 83 (tie), Physical Therapy
- No. 83 (tie), Public Administration (Public Affairs)
- No. 92 (tie), Speech-Language Pathology
- No. 93 (tie), Engineering Schools: Environmental Engineering
- No. 112 (tie), Engineering Schools: Mechanical Engineering
- No. 113 (tie), Business Schools: Part-time MBA
- No. 114 (tie), Engineering Schools: Computer Engineering
- No. 117 (tie), Engineering Schools: Civil Engineering
- No. 118 (tie), Engineering Schools: Biomedical Engineering
- No. 119 (tie), Education Schools
- No. 123 (tie), Public Health, with EVMS
- No. 131 (tie), English
- No. 133 (tie), Computer Science
- No. 134 (tie), Engineering Schools: Electrical Engineering
- No. 154-202 (tie), Engineering Schools
- No. 181 (tie), Psychology
- No. 193 (tie), Best Fine Arts Program
- No. 199 (tie) Clinical Psychology
Â鶹´«Ã½ offers more than 50 master's programs, more than 40 doctoral programs and numerous certificates and licenses. Instruction is offered through various modes, including on-campus, video streaming, online and CD Rom. Â鶹´«Ã½ enrolls nearly 4,600 graduate students, almost half of whom are part-time. The newest program, a Master of Science in data science and analytics, launched during the fall semester.
Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area.
The Best Graduate Schools rankings in these areas are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators, which measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.
The data for the rankings came from statistical surveys of more than 2,125 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals, conducted in fall 2020 and early 2021.
In January, U.S. News & World Report cited Â鶹´«Ã½'s bachelor's program and five master's programs - business administration, engineering, computer information technology, nursing and education - in its ranking of Best Online Programs for 2021.
