Every year, like clockwork, the U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News) gives us its Best US Graduate Schools Ranking. If you are considering applying for graduate school in 2022 this list might be of great use to you.
Why should I study in the US?
The United States has always been one of the most desired destinations for students across the world. The number of international students in the US for 2019/2020 was 1,075,496 according to statista. Although the coronavirus pandemic took a toll on that number for the 2020/2021 period, those numbers will likely rise again.
With more than 5,000 higher education institutions to choose from, the US can offer you diverse academic opportunities in all disciplines. According to the U.S. News & World Report, approximately half of the best global universities are located in the US.
Many of these universities offer cutting-edge facilities, an unparalleled multicultural experience and great career prospects. Having a US school’s name on your diploma can open doors on a global scale. If you are looking for a great school in the US, this ranking might help you with the decision.
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How should I use the ranking?
Before you jump into the listings, make sure you check out the ranking methodology to better understand the value of this ranking based on your own criteria. Also, look at the full lists, not just at the top – they contain a great diversity of reputable institutions that provide quality education.
The best US graduate schools
Every year the U.S. News ranks professional school programmes in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialities in each area. Periodically, they also rank programmes in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, healthcare and others, which they base solely on academic experts' ratings.
The U.S. News ranking methodology
The U.S. News ranking is comprised of two types of data: statistical surveys on more than 2,125 programmes that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, students and research and reputation surveys from more than 23,000 academics and professionals’ expert opinions about programme excellence.
In 2021, U.S. News has analysed over 6,000 graduate programmes, and lists 1,182 schools in their full rankings.
Here are the top 5 schools in each of the six fields that the U.S. ranking has listed.
Business
#1 Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
#2 University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School (Philadelphia, PA)
#3 University of Chicago – Booth School of Business (Chicago, IL)
#4 Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management (Evanston, IL)
#5 (tie) Harvard University (Boston, MA)
(tie) Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, MA)
Education
#1 (tie) Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
(tie) University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
#3 University of California – Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
#4 University of Wisconsin – Madison (Madison, WI)
#5 Vanderbilt University – Peabody (Nashville, TN)
Engineering
#1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
#2 Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
#3 University of California – Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
#4 (tie) California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA)
(tie) Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
(tie) Purdue University--West Lafayette (West Lafayette, IN)
Law
#1 Yale University (New Haven, CT)
#2 Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
#3 Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
#4 (tie) Columbia University (New York, NY)
(tie) University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Medicine: research
#1 Harvard University (Boston, MA)
#2 New York University – Grossman (New York, NY)
#3 Duke University (Durham, NC)
#4 (tie) Columbia University (New York, NY)
(tie) Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
(tie) University of California – San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
Medicine: primary care
#1 University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
#2 University of California – San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
#3 University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
#4 Oregon Health and Science University (Portland, OR)
#5 University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
Nursing
#1 Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
#2 Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
#3 (tie) Duke University (Durham, NC)
(tie) University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
#5 Columbia University (New York, NY)
Just remember – if you are headed to the US for your studies, always look at the full picture. There are plenty of top schools that deserve your attention beyond the top five.
