FAU Among ‘U.S. News & World Report’s’ 2022 ‘Best Graduate Schools’

U.S. News & World Report, Best Graduate Schools, Graduate Programs, Engineering, Business, Nursing, Medicine, Public Affairs

By gisele galoustian | 3/30/2021

Several Florida Atlantic University graduate programs are included in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” for 2022. Each year, U.S. News’ ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area. The Best Graduate Schools rankings in these areas are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. The data for the rankings in all six disciplines came from statistical surveys of more than 2,125 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals, conducted in fall 2020 and early 2021.

For the 2022 edition, U.S. News also published fresh academic reputation rankings for graduate programs in public affairs, public health schools and programs, and library and information studies, and for Ph.D. program rankings in economics, English, history, sociology, political science, and criminology and criminal justice.

Among the FAU programs listed in the 2022 “Best Graduate Schools” are the part-time MBA at No. 115 (up from No. 138 in 2021); overall engineering (No. 154-202); computer engineering at No. 122 (up from No. 127 in 2021); electrical engineering (No. 155); mechanical engineering at No. 139 (up from No. 160 in 2021); environmental engineering (No. 98); overall medical school (No. 93-123); medical school primary care (No. 93-123); nursing doctorate at No. 60 (up from No. 62 in 2021); and overall public affairs at No. 83 (up from No. 90 in 2021).

New this year, as part of the medical school rankings, FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine is ranked No. 24 in the nation in the “Most Diverse Medical Schools” category. U.S. News worked with the Robert Graham Center, a division of the American Academy of Family Physicians, as the data provider, to publish four new exclusive standalone rankings. One such ranking is the “Most Diverse Medical Schools,” which is based on the percentage of underrepresented minority students (Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander) enrolled in fall 2020 based on what medical schools reported to U.S. News.

“We are delighted to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report for our graduate programs in business, engineering, nursing, medicine, education and public affairs,” said Bret Danilowicz, Ph.D., FAU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I especially want to thank and congratulate our exceptional faculty, students and staff, who are without question, among the best in the nation. This latest achievement reflects our university’s commitment to student success and ranks us with the nation's most prestigious graduate programs.”

To gather the peer assessment data, U.S. News asked deans, program directors and senior faculty to judge the academic quality of programs in their field on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding). In business, education, engineering, law, nursing and medicine, U.S. News also surveyed professionals who hire or work with new graduates. The schools supplied U.S. News with the names for those surveyed for peer assessment and the professionals in each field in summer 2020.

As prospective students research course offerings and weigh schools’ intangible attributes, the information on the U.S. News website can help applicants compare concrete factors, such as student faculty ratio and job placement success upon graduation. Use the rankings to supplement – not substitute for – careful thought and individual inquiries.

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