DC, Virginia's Best Grad Schools For 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of best graduate schools in the country for 2019. In all, six universities in The District and ten in Virginia had grad programs that earned top rankings. Ranking highest among Virginia schools were the University of Virginia law school at No. 9 in the nation and its business school at No. 13.

The six major disciplines U.S. News looked at were: business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing. None of Virginia or Washington, D.C., universities ranked among the top five nationwide, although both regions had plenty of showings overall in every category. For DC, the highest placings went to the Georgetown University law school at No. 14 and George Washington University's law school at No. 24.

“Prospective students can choose from a range of options to continue their education,” Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a press release. “The graduate school rankings and data are a great starting point for applicants to find the program that’s the best fit for them academically and financially.”

As U.S. News explains, certain professions like law and medicine require a graduate level credential and in other fields it may not be required but makes a person more marketable.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used expert opinions and statistical indicators. In the fall of 2017 and in early 2018, U.S. News conducted surveys of over 2000 programs and reputation surveys sent to academics and professionals. Statistical indicators varied based on discipline and U.S. News used both input and output measures. For example, in the business category, starting salary was an output measure while GMAT score was an input measure. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

Here’s how Virginia and Washington, D.C., schools ranked in each discipline:

VIRGINIA

Business:

• College of William and Mary (Mason) - Raymond A. Mason School of Business (55 tie)
• University of Virginia (Darden) - Darden School of Business (13 tie)

Education:

• College of William and Mary - School of Education (70 tie)
• George Mason University - Graduate School of Education (62 tie)
• Old Dominion University (Darden) - Darden College of Education (105 tie)
• University of Virginia (Curry) - Curry School of Education (16)
• Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Education (26)
• Virginia Tech - School of Education (95 tie)

Engineering:

• George Mason University (Volgenau) - Volgenau School of Engineering (116 tie)
• University of Virginia - School of Engineering and Applied Science (40)
• Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Engineering (132 tie)
• Virginia Tech - College of Engineering (30 tie)

Law:

• University of Virginia - School of Law (9 tie)

Medicine:

• Eastern Virginia Medical School (89 tie)
• University of Virginia - School of Medicine (26 tie)
• Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Medicine (72 tie)

Nursing:

• George Mason University - School of Nursing (55 tie)
• James Madison University - Department of Nursing (117 tie)
• Marymount University - School of Health Professions, Department of Nursing (210 tie)
• Old Dominion University - School of Nursing (124 tie)
• Radford University - Waldron College of Health & Human Services, School of Nursing (128 tie)
• University of Virginia - School of Nursing (20 tie)
• Virginia Commonwealth University - School of Nursing (41 tie)

WASHINGTON DC

Business:

• American University (Kogod) - Kogod School of Business (79)
• Georgetown University (McDonough) - Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business (25)
• George Washington University - School of Business (59 tie)
• Howard University - School of Business (78)

Education:

• The Catholic University of America - Department of Education (172 tie)
• Gallaudet University - Graduate School (144 tie)
• George Washington University - Graduate School of Education and Human Development (58 tie)
• Howard University - School of Education (105 tie)

Engineering:

• George Washington University - School of Engineering and Applied Science (86 tie)
• Howard University - College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences (132 tie)

Law:

• American University (Washington) - Washington College of Law (80 tie)
• The Catholic University of America - Columbus School of Law (110 tie)
• Georgetown University - Law Center (14)
• George Washington University - Law School (24 tie)
• Howard University - School of Law (128 tie)

Medicine:

• Georgetown University - School of Medicine (46 tie)
• George Washington University - School of Medicine and Health Sciences (62 tie)

Nursing:

• The Catholic University of America - School of Nursing (41 tie)
• Georgetown University - School of Nursing and Health Studies (25)
• George Washington University - School of Nursing (29)

Here are the top schools overall in each discipline:

Business:

Harvard University (1)
University of Chicago, Booth (1)
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton (3)
Stanford University (4)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan (5)

Education:

University of California, Los Angeles (1)
Harvard University (2)
University of Wisconsin, Madison (2)
Stanford University (4)
University of Pennsylvania (4)
New York University, Steinhardt (6)

Engineering:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1)
Stanford University (2)
University of California, Berkeley (3)
California Institute of Technology (4)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (4)
Carnegie Mellon University (6)

Law:

Yale University (1)
Stanford University (2)
Harvard University (3)
University of Chicago (4)
Columbia University (5)

Medicine:

Harvard University (1)
Johns Hopkins University (2)
New York University (3)
Stanford University (3)
University of California-San Francisco (5)
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (6)
University of Pennsylvania (6)

Nursing:

Johns Hopkins University (1)
Duke University (2)
Emory University (3)
University of Pennsylvania (4)
University of Washington (5)

You can see the full rankings here.

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