US News released its latest rankings for graduate schools. Here’s where Penn State’s programs rank
Penn State saw some positive movement in U.S. News & World’s recently released rankings for the “2023 Best Graduate Programs,” faring particularly well in some of the publication’s newly rated programs.
In Earth Sciences, for example, the local university tied for No. 6 nationally — its highest overall program ranking — after U.S. News declined last year to rank many science-related departments, as it only does so periodically.
Penn State’s other top program rankings came in statistics, which was tied for No. 19, and physics, which tied for No. 23.
Of the 23 overall programs ranked by U.S. News, which bills itself as the “global authority in education rankings,” Penn State saw 11 ranked within the top 35 nationally. U.S. News further broke down certain programs like engineering into a series of specialized areas, such as aerospace engineering and nuclear engineering; Penn State boasted 15 top-10 finishes among those specialized areas.
PSU’s best rankings in those areas included Environmental Sciences (tied for No. 2), Geology (No. 3), Geochemistry (tied for No. 3), Higher Education Administration (tied for No. 4), Student Counseling (tied for No. 4), Supply Chain Management (tied for No. 4) and Indus Organizational Psychology (tied for No. 5).
Overall, Penn State finished around the middle of the Big Ten pack in most programs, though it largely experienced modest gains in existing program categories. Public Affairs saw the biggest rise by jumping 13 spots to a No. 70 ranking this year, which placed it 10th in the conference. Public Health saw the biggest drop, as it slipped 16 spots to a No. 70 ranking, good for a tie for 13th in the Big Ten. (Graduate nursing also went from a No. 24 ranking last year to being unranked this year, but a Penn State spokesperson clarified that was because the university no longer qualified for that category. Because the on-campus program is transitioning to an online one, PSU can instead qualify for U.S. News’ online program rankings next January.)
U.S. News’ ranking methodologies varied by program but primarily involved survey responses from tens of thousands of academics and professionals. For the six main disciplines (business, education, engineering, law, medicine, nursing), statistical indicators were also used to measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students.
Penn State’s rankings by U.S. News and how they compared to the Big Ten can be seen below. For full rankings or more information, visit usnews.com/best-graduate-schools.
Where Penn State ranks
Penn State’s full rankings are below and ordered from best overall program ranking to worst. Please note that only the specializations where PSU is ranked have been included.
Earth Sciences (Doctoral): tied-6 (tied-1st in Big Ten)
Earth Sciences specializations: Environmental Sciences — t-2; Geology — 3; Geochemistry — t-3; Paleontology — t-7; Geophysics/Seismology — t-9
Statistics (Doctoral): t-19 (4th in Big Ten)
Physics (Doctoral): t-23 (t-5th in Big Ten)
Physics specializations: Cosmology — 12; Condensed Matter — 14; Atomic — t-16
Economics (Doctoral): t-27 (t-6th in Big Ten)
Economics specializations: International — t-9; Microeconomics — 13; Econometrics — t-17
Biostatics (Doctoral): t-28 (t-6th in Big Ten)
Chemistry (Doctoral): t-30 (t-7th in Big Ten)
Chemistry specializations: Analytical — t-14; Biochemistry — t-16; Physical — 22
Engineering: 32 (8th in Big Ten)
Engineering specializations: Petroleum — t-7; Nuclear — t-9; Industrial — t-10; Agriculture — 11; Material — 11; Mechanical — t-14; Aerospace — t-15; Civil — t-17; Environment — t-21; Chemical — t-24; Electrical — t-25; Computer — t-27; Biomedical — t-34
Math (Doctoral): t-32 (t-8th in Big Ten)
Math specializations: Applied Math — t-21
Business/MBA (Full-Time): t-33 (t-4th in Big Ten)
Business/MBA specializations: Supply Chain Management — t-4; Production Operations — 10; Management — t-26; Accounting — t-28; Business Analytics — t-39
Computer Science (Doctoral): t-34 (t-7 in Big Ten)
Computer Science specializations: Systems — 20; Artificial Intelligence — t-24
Psychology (Doctoral): t-35 (9th in Big Ten)
Psychology specializations: Indus Organizational Psychology — t-5
Education: t-41 (11th in Big Ten)
Education specializations: Higher Education Administration — t-4; Student Counseling t-4; Educational Administration — 7; Special Education — t-12; Secondary Teacher Education — 13; Curriculum & Instruction — 14; Education Policy — t-14; Education Psychology — t-14; Elementary Teacher Education — t-16
Biological Sciences (Doctoral): t-58 (t-9th in Big Ten)
Law (Full-Time): t-58 (10th in Big Ten)
Law specializations: Environmental Law — t-44; Dispute Resolution — t-56; Clinical Training — t-64; Health Care Law — t-65; International Law — t-67; Constitutional Law — t-73; Legal Writing — t-84; Tax Law — 85; Business Corporate Law — t-90; Contracts-Commercial Law — t-92; Criminal Law — t-96; Intellectual Property Law — t-105; Trial Advocacy — t-106
Public Affairs: t-70 (10th in Big Ten)
Public Health: t-70 (t-13th in Big Ten)
Business/MBA (Part-Time): Unranked
Law (Part-Time): Unranked
Medical (Primary Care): Unranked
Medical (Research): Unranked
Nursing (Doctoral): Unranked
Nursing (Master’s): Unranked
Social Work: Unranked
