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Academics

Graduate Programs Keep Climbing in Rankings

This year's U.S. News rankings bring good news for NC State’s graduate programs. Three programs placed in the top five nationwide, while numerous other graduate programs advanced.

Red fireworks light up the sky above the Belltower as an explosive end to Packapalooza 2022.

NC State’s graduate programs in engineering, business, statistics and applied math advanced on the annual list of America’s best graduate schools published this week by U.S. News & World Report. Graduate programs in veterinary medicine, nuclear engineering, and biological and agricultural engineering continued their dominance on the list, ranking among the nation’s top five programs in their respective disciplines.

The 2023-2024 rankings are based on quality indicators such as student-faculty ratio, average GRE scores of incoming students and alumni success in the job market. They also rely heavily on peer assessments, giving significant weight to each school’s academic reputation.

An Engineering Powerhouse

NC State’s College of Engineering climbed a notch to 25th in the nation, reflecting the college’s overall excellence. Two of the college’s graduate programs — nuclear engineering, and biological and agricultural engineering, the latter jointly administered with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences — are among the top five in their respective fields in the nation, coming in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Graduate programs in the College of Engineering that climbed the rankings this year include biomedical engineering (jointly administered with UNC-Chapel Hill), which soared nine spots to 34th in the nation; chemical engineering, which moved up a spot to 19th; civil engineering, which jumped eight spots to 25th; computer engineering, which moved up one spot to 32nd; electrical engineering, which climbed four places to 30th; environmental engineering, which jumped four spots to 17th; and industrial engineering, which moved up one spot to 15th.

More Programs on the Move

The Poole College of Management’s offerings in business analytics leaped up seven spots from last year to rank 20th in the nation. Over in the College of Sciences, applied math moved up three spots to 18th in the nation, while statistics held steady at No. 11. And in the College of Education, educational administration continued its standing among the nation’s top 20, coming in at No. 19.

In addition, NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine ranked No. 5 to continue its 10-plus years as one of the top five veterinary schools in the nation.