Grad programs ranked among nation’s best by U.S. News

Several UB graduate and degree professional programs have been recognized as among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report in its annual ranking of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”

SUNY Distinguished Professor James A. Gardner, UB Law School interim dean and Bridget and Thomas Black Professor, expressed pride in the Law School’s rise in the overall ranking from No. 100 to No. 87.

“We are gratified at this recognition of the quality of our program,” Gardner said. “We take particular pride in the acknowledgment of the success our graduates have found in the job market.”

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences rose one spot to No. 59.

“Our faculty, staff and students, as well as our alumni and corporate partners, work tirelessly to build some of the very best engineering programs in the nation. We are very pleased to see their efforts again recognized in the rankings,” said Dean Liesl Folks.

In a new ranking, the master’s degree program in rehabilitation counseling was rated as one of the nation’s best at No. 21.

The Graduate School of Education online programs continued their top 25 national ranking, rising to 23 in the U.S. News ratings. Overall, the school is ranked No. 76.

The School of Public Health and Health Professions moved up five spots to No. 31 and the School of Management is ranked N0. 79, the only business school in Western New York to be nationally ranked.

Although U.S. News this year did not rank all graduate programs in the social sciences, humanities,  sciences and  health sciences, UB programs and schools in these disciplines previously have been ranked among the best in the nation.

These include graduate programs in fine arts, English, clinical psychology, library and information studies, history, political science, psychology, social work and sociology, as well as programs in audiology, biostatistics, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics and physics. Graduate programs in pharmacy, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology also have been ranked as among the best by U.S. News.

The U.S. News graduate school rankings are based on surveys of administrators at more than 1,350 programs and more than 13,500 academics and professionals conducted during the fall of 2013 and early 2014.

The online rankings were based on five categories: student engagement, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, admissions selectivity and peer reputation.