UW News

March 17, 2020

University of Washington graduate and professional disciplines rank highly in US News’ Best Graduate School lists

UW News

globe in suzzallo library

Globe in Suzzallo Library

The University of Washington’s graduate and professional degree programs were widely recognized as among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Graduate School rankings released March 17.

Several schools and departments placed prominently in the 2021 rankings, including nursing, medicine, pharmacy and public affairs.

“More than at any time before, it is clear how much our society depends on highly trained and skilled researchers, health care professionals and experts across a vast array of disciplines to address and solve the serious challenges our world faces,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said. “I am deeply proud of the incredible programs across the UW that are producing these talented Ph.D.s and professionals, and these rankings are a fitting recognition of their outstanding quality and impact.”

The UW School of Nursing received the No. 1 overall ranking for a school offering a doctor of nursing practice program, a position it shared with Columbia University’s School of Nursing. The UW School of Nursing was ranked No. 2 among public schools that offer a master’s degree and tied for No. 6 overall.

The UW School of Medicine ranked second in the nation in the categories of family medicine and primary care medical schools . In 2018, medical student training in rural medicine ranked No. 1; this category has not been re-ranked since. Based on U.S. News calculations, the UW medical school received $783 million in National Institutes of Health federal research funding in fiscal year 2019. Harvard Medical School was the only institution listed as receiving a greater amount.

The UW School of Pharmacy rose in the ranking to seventh place from ninth.

Ranked third among public institutions, the UW’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance has maintained its top-10 ranking for the fourth consecutive year. The Evans School also ranked in the top 10 in the following areas: environmental policy, public finance and budgeting, social policy, nonprofit management and public management and leadership.

Information about U.S. News & World Report’s methodology can be found here.

Below is a roundup of the UW’s graduate and professional school and program rankings that were available under embargo to institutions before the full rankings were published.

TOP 10:

Doctor of Nursing Practice (overall): Tie for 1st

Biostatistics: Three-way tie for 1st (ranked in 2019)

Rural medicine: 1st (ranked in 2018)

Law librarianship: 1st (ranked in 2017)

Environmental policy: 2nd

Family medicine: 2nd

Primary care medical schools: Tie for 2nd

Microbiology: Tie for 2nd (ranked in 2019)

Library and information studies: 2nd (ranked in 2017)

Services for children and youth: 2nd (ranked in 2017)

School of Social Work (overall): Five-way tie for 3rd (ranked in 2019)

Digital librarianship: 3rd (ranked in 2017)

Information systems: 3rd (ranked in 2017)

Physics (nuclear): 4th (ranked in 2019)

Statistics: Tie for 4th (ranked in 2019)

Psychology (clinical): Three-way tie for 5th

Artificial intelligence: 5th (ranked in 2019)

Genetics/Genomics/Bioinformatics: 5th (ranked in 2019)

Evans School of Public Policy & Governance (overall): Tie for 6th

Nursing master’s (overall): Three-way tie for 6th

Computer science (overall): Tie for 6th (ranked in 2019)

Programming language: 6th (ranked in 2019)

Systems: 6th (ranked in 2019)

Education (special education): 7th

Pediatrics: 7th

Pharmacy: Six-way tie for 7th

Public finance and budgeting: 7th

Social policy: Tie for 7th

School library media: 7th (ranked in 2017)

Geriatrics: 7th (ranked in 2018)

School of Public Health (overall): 7th (ranked in 2020)

Education (elementary education): 8th

Education (secondary education): 8th

Nonprofit management: 8th

Nurse midwifery: Three-way tie for 8th

Chemistry (analytical): 8th (ranked in 2019)

Public management and leadership: Tie for 9th

Internal medicine: Tie for 10th

Speech-language pathology: Six-way tie for 10th

Earth sciences: Three-way tie for 10th (ranked in 2019)

TOP 25:

Anesthesiology: 13th

Biological sciences: Three-way tie for 23rd (ranked in 2019)

Business (information systems): Tie for 17th

Chemistry: Six-way tie for 24th (ranked in 2019)

Computer science (theory): 11th (ranked in 2019)

College of Education (overall): 14th

Education (administration/supervision): 11th

Education (psychology): Four-way tie for 18th

Education (policy): Three-way tie for 14th

Education (curriculum/instruction): Three-way tie for 11th

College of Engineering (overall): Three-way tie for 24th

Engineering (aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical): Three-way tie for 18th

Engineering (biomedical/bioengineering): Four-way tie for 12th

Engineering (chemical): Five-way tie for 23rd

Engineering (computer): Tie for 12th

Engineering (civil): Five-way tie for 16th

Engineering (electrical): Three-way tie for 19th

Engineering (industrial/manufacturing/systems): Three-way tie for 22nd

Entrepreneurship: 16th

Executive MBA: Tie for 18th

Foster School of Business (overall): Tie for 20th

Health care management: Tie for 15th (ranked in 2019)

History: Four-way tie for 23rd (ranked in 2019)

Information systems: Tie for 17th

Law (intellectual property law): Three-way tie for 18th

Local government management: 15th

Mathematics (applied math): 11th (ranked in 2019)

Mathematics (analysis): 17th (ranked in 2019)

Nurse practitioner (adult, acute care): Tie for 13th (ranked in 2019)

Nurse practitioner (psychiatric/mental health): Three-way tie for 11th

Obstetrics and gynecology: Four-way tie for 16th

Occupational therapy: Six-way tie for 23rd

Part-time MBA: Tie for 10th

Psychiatry: 18th

Physics: 22nd (ranked in 2019)

Physician assistant: 14th

Public policy analysis: Tie for 12th

Radiology: 13th

School of Medicine (medical research): 12th

Sociology: Five-way tie for 17th (ranked in 2019)

Sociology (population): 14th (ranked in 2019)

Surgery: 16th

Urban policy: Tie for 16th

TOP 35:

Accounting: Seven-way tie for 25th

College of Engineering (overall): Three-way tie for 24th

Economics: Tie for 35th (ranked in 2019)

Engineering (environmental/environmental health): Four-way tie for 27th

Engineering (materials): Tie for 29th

Engineering (mechanical): Three-way tie for 34th

English: Seven-way tie for 35th (ranked in 2019)Fine arts: Ten-way tie for 32nd

Law (environmental): Tie for 31st

Law (health care): Eight-way tie for 32nd

Mathematics: Six-way tie for 26th (ranked in 2019)

Physical therapy: Nine-way tie for 25th

Psychology: 10-way tie for 26th (ranked in 2019)

Political science: Four-way tie for 33rd (ranked in 2019)

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