17 Illinois Graduate Schools Make U.S. News 2023-24 Ranking

ILLINOIS — Seventeen colleges and universities in Illinois were ranked among the Best Graduate Schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report, which released its annual rankings Tuesday.

The rankings, intended as a guide for prospective graduate students, evaluate programs in a variety of disciplines, including business, education, engineering, health, nursing, public affairs, and science.

The rankings for medical schools and law schools will be released at a later date.

This year, the rankings are weighed more for academic quality than for reputation to give prospective students a better idea of how well they’ll be prepared for their chosen professions.

“Students face tough choices when it comes to the value of their graduate education — especially as many invest a lot of time and money in their schooling,” LaMont Jones, senior editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release. “This year, our rankings prioritize output measures of academic quality — allowing students to gauge how well an institution succeeds in its mission of preparing its graduates for professional life.”

In Illinois, the following grad schools were recognized:

Business (Full-Time MBA):

• University of Chicago Booth Business School (1st)
• Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business (2nd)

Business (Part-time MBA)

• University of Chicago Booth Business School (2nd)
• Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business (3rd)

Chemistry

• University of Chicago (2nd)
• Northwestern University (t-7th)
• University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (9th)

Computer Science

• University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana (5th)
• University of Chicago (t-24th)
• Illinois Institute of Technology (t-83rd)

Earth Science

• University of Chicago (t-20th)
• University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (t-30th)
• Northwestern University (t-47th)

Education:

• University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (t-12th)
• University of Illinois-Chicago (t-27th)

Engineering:

• University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (t-12th)
• Northwestern University-McCormick School of Engineering (t-27th)
• University of Illinois-Chicago (61st)
• Illinois Institute of Technology-Armour College of Engineering (79th)

Healthcare Management

• Rush University, Chicago (3rd)
• University of Chicago (t-27th)

Math

• University of Chicago (6th)
• Northwestern University (t-16th)
• University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (t-20th)
• University of Illinois-Chicago (t-43rd)
• Illinois Institute of Technology (117th)

Nursing (DNP)

• Rush University, Chicago (3rd)

Nursing (Masters):

• University of Illinois-Chicago (t-14th)
• Rush University, Chicago (t-20th)
• Loyola University-Chicago (t-60th)
• Lewis University (t-73rd)
• University of St. Francis (t-121st)
• Northern Illinois University (t-150th)
• Elmhurst University (t-150th)
• Fitchburg State University (167th-184th)

Physician’s Assistant

• Northwestern University (8th)
• Rush University-Chicago (t-50th)
• Southern Illinois University (t-50th)

Physics

• University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (t-5th)

Public Affairs

• University of Chicago (t-8th)
• University of Illinois-Chicago (t-36th)
• Northern Illinois University (t-53rd)
• University of Illinois-Springfield (t-67th)
• DePaul University (t-118th)
• Southern Illinois-University (t-147th)

Rehabilitation Counseling

• Illinois Institute of Technology (t-19th)
• Northern Illinois University (t-30th)

Veterinary Medicine

• University of Illinois (t-15th)

See the full rankings via U.S. News, for part-time MBA rankings and for disciplines in health, public affairs, and sciences.

Among highlights from the rankings:

The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was the top full-time MBA school, followed by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Teachers College at Columbia University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor tied as the No. 1 graduates schools for education, and three schools tied for No. 3: Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was ranked as the best engineering school, followed by Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Emory University moved into the No. 1 spot for best nursing schools for master’s degrees, followed by Johns Hopkins University at No. 2 and University of Pennsylvania at No. 3.

Johns Hopkins University remains at No. 1 among nursing schools for doctorate-level programs, followed by Columbia University, Duke University, Rush University, and the University of Washington all tied for No. 2.

New this year are five master’s degree-level rankings in the following public health specialties: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy, and management, and social and behavioral sciences, as well as an inaugural ranking in the Ph.D. physics specialty called physics of living systems.

The rankings also include master’s programs in health care management, physician assistant, rehabilitation counseling, and veterinary medicine.