U.S. News ranks UB grad programs among best in nation

The results are in: Thirty-four UB graduate and professional degree programs have been cited as among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report in its annual ranking of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” published March 11.

Jaekyung Lee, dean of the Graduate School of Education, expressed pride in the school’s overall ranking jumping 24 spots — to 55 from 79 — and in the online program’s ranking of 25.

“Big progress in this national ranking — we are now placed within the top 15 percent of education schools — signifies GSE’s continuous improvement towards national prominence. Our goal is to have real impact on education beyond the numbers, and we still have a long way to go,” said Lee.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ overall placement moved to 60 from 61 and distinguished itself in the U.S. News rankings of the engineering disciplines of chemical engineering, which moved to 36 from 43, and mechanical engineering, which moved to 49 from 68. UB programs in aerospace engineering (39), civil engineering (31), electrical engineering (77), environmental engineering (46) and industrial engineering (25) also were ranked among the best by U.S. News.

“We are pleased that the excellence of our engineering degree programs has been recognized in the rankings again this year, most especially because our programs are also highly affordable,” said Liesl Folks, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The UB School of Management was ranked 74 out of 453 MBA programs surveyed — up another spot from last year’s 14-place jump.

“This ranking is further evidence of how our efforts to enhance the quality of our academic programs and global reputation are paying off,” said Arjang Assad, dean of the School of Management.

The UB Law School is again ranked among the top tier at No. 100, as is the School of Nursing at 79 and the School of Social Work at 26. UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is ranked No. 64 in the research category among the nation’s top medical schools.

In the U.S. News’ health sciences category, three UB programs earned a No. 17 ranking: audiology, the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program and the nurse anesthesia program. Other UB programs ranked in this category include clinical psychology (42), occupational therapy (36), physical therapy (51), public health (36), rehabilitation counseling (23) and speech-language pathology (25).

Among the best programs in the social sciences, arts and humanities, UB’s PhD program in English is ranked No. 44 in the country; the university’s PhD program in psychology is ranked No. 63 and the master of fine arts program (MFA) is ranked No. 72. UB’s master’s program in library and information studies is ranked No. 39. Other UB rankings include history (92), political science (76) and sociology (78).

Several UB programs were included in the U.S. News rankings of the best programs in the sciences: biostatistics (70), biological sciences (115), chemistry (76), computer science (63), geology (88), mathematics (73) and physics (85).