Schools
Best Grad Schools In Massachusetts 2020: U.S. News & World Report
Massachusetts schools littered the newest rankings of best grad schools by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News & World Report has released its 2020 rankings of the best graduate schools in the country and, of course, Massachusetts schools littered the annual list.
The rankings for 2020 evaluate programs in business, law, medicine, engineering, education and nursing, according to U.S. News. The publication explained the rankings are unique for each field.
U.S. News says government data shows that both master’s-level and doctorate-level jobs are forecast to increase in the near future.
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“Whether you’re looking to pursue a degree in law, medicine or business, the best graduate schools rankings offer the in-depth data and information you need to start your search,” Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a press release. “You can compare data on factors that most interest you — whether that’s how many law students pass the bar and are employed at graduation, or the student-faculty ratio and research expenditures at engineering schools.”
This is how Massachusetts schools ranked for each program evaluated by U.S. News:
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Education
- Harvard, 1
- BC, 22
- BU, 30
- UMass-Boston, 66
- UMass, 71
- UMass-Lowell, 152
Below are the top schools for education:
Harvard
University of Pennsylvania
University of California-Los Angeles; Stanford University; University of Wisconsin-Madison (tie)
Engineering
- MIT, 1
- Harvard, 21
- Northeastern, 34
- BU, 36
- UMass, 58
- Tufts, 67
- WPI, 89
- UMass-Lowell, 118
- UMass-Dartmouth, 148
Below are the top schools for engineering:
MIT
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
Full-time law
- Harvard, 3
- BU, 23
- BC, 27
- Northeastern, 64
- Suffolk, 143
Below are the top schools for full-time law:
Yale University
Stanford University
Harvard
Full-time business
- Harvard, 3
- MIT, 3
- BC, 43
- BU, 50
- Northeastern, 58
- Bentley, 63
- UMass, 74
Below are the top schools for full-time Business MBA:
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Stanford University
University of Chicago (Booth); MIT; Harvard (tie)
Medical
- Harvard, 1
- BU, 30
- Tufts, 56
Below are the top schools for medical research:
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Pennsylvania; Stanford University
Nursing
- BC, 28
- MGH Institute of Health, 53
- UMass, 61
- Northeastern, 70
- UMass-Boston, 83
- Simmons, 111
- UMass-Dartmouth, 115
- Framingham State, 149
- Fitchburg State, 152
- UMass-Lowell, 156
- Curry, 184
Below are the top schools for nursing:
Johns Hopkins University
Duke University
University of Pennsylvania
U.S. News says in its methodology that the rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions and “statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students.” Statistical indicators include inputs like admission test scores and outputs like starting salaries. (You can read the full methodology here.)
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