33 PA Graduate Schools Make U.S. News 2023-24 Ranking

PENNSYLVANIA — More than 30 colleges in Pennsylvania were ranked among the Best Graduate Schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual rankings Tuesday.

The rankings, intended as a guide for prospective graduate students, evaluate programs in a variety of disciplines, including business, education, engineering, health, nursing, public affairs and science.

The rankings for medical schools and law schools will be released at a later date.

Top schools in Pennsylvania included the University of Pennsylvania (for business, education, and a nursing Master's); Carnegie Mellon (for engineering), and the University of Pittsburgh (for a nursing doctorate). There are dozens of other Keystone State universities on the list.

This year, the rankings are weighed more for academic quality than for reputation to give prospective students a better idea how well they’ll be prepared for their chosen professions.

“Students face tough choices when it comes to the value of their graduate education — especially as many invest a lot of time and money in their schooling,” LaMont Jones, senior editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release. “This year, our rankings prioritize output measures of academic quality — allowing students to gauge how well an institution succeeds in its mission of preparing its graduates for professional life.”

In Pennsylvania, the following grad schools were recognized:

Business (Full-Time):

3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

18. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)

37. Pennsylvania State University--University Park (Smeal)

84. Temple University (Fox)

86. University of Pittsburgh (Katz)

98. Lehigh University

102. Drexel University (LeBow)

127. La Salle University

Education:

3. University of Pennsylvania

27. University of Pittsburgh

46. Temple University

49. Pennsylvania State University--University Park

77. Lehigh University

112. Drexel University

168. Duquesne University

170. West Chester University of Pennsylvania

174. Indiana University of Pennsylvania

189. Arcadia University

235. East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Engineering:

5. Carnegie Mellon University (Carnegie)

19. University of Pennsylvania

32. Pennsylvania State University--University Park

47. University of Pittsburgh (Swanson)

85. Lehigh University (Rossin)

97. Drexel University

157. Temple University

171. Villanova University

Nursing DNP:

10. University of Pittsburgh

62. Duquesne University

69. Villanova University

97. Drexel University

134. University of Scranton

136. Robert Morris University

143. La Salle University

147. DeSales University

153-169. Cedar Crest College

153-169. Clarion University - Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Nursing (Masters):

3. University of Pennsylvania

41. Duquesne University

60. Villanova University

123. DeSales University

123. University of Scranton

130. Moravian University

143. La Roche University

See the full rankings via U.S. News, for part-time MBA rankings and for disciplines in health, public affairs and sciences.

Among highlights from the rankings:

The University of Chicago’s Booth school of Business was the top full-time MBA school, followed by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Teachers College at Columbia University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor tied as the No. 1 graduates schools for education, and three schools tied for No. 3: Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was ranked as the best engineering school, followed by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Emory University moved into the No. 1 spot for best nursing schools for master’s degrees, followed by Johns Hopkins University at No. 2 and University of Pennsylvania at No. 3.

Johns Hopkins University remains at No. 1 among nursing schools for doctorate level programs, followed by Columbia University, Duke University, Rush University and the University of Washington all tied for No. 2.

New this year are five master’s degree-level rankings in the following public health specialties: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, and social and behavioral sciences, as well as an inaugural ranking in the Ph.D. physics specialty called physics of living systems.

The rankings also include master’s programs in health care management, physician assistant, rehabilitation counseling and veterinary medicine.

This story contains reporting from Patch’s national desk.