These VA Grad Schools Are Among Best In U.S.

VIRGINIA — Sixteen colleges in Virginia 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 engineering, medicine, business, law, education, nursing and social sciences.

In Virginia, the following institutions made the rankings:

Best Business Schools

• University of Virginia - Darden (No. 11)
• William & Mary - Mason (No. 61)

Best Law Schools

• University of Virginia (No. 4)
• George Mason University - Scalia (No. 31)
• William & Mary Law School (No. 31)
• Washington and Lee University (No. 36)
• University of Richmond (No. 71)
• Regent University (No. 94)
• Liberty University (No. 141)
• Appalachian School of Law (No. 178-195)

Best Engineering Schools

• Virginia Tech (No. 31)
• University of Virginia (No. 39)
• George Mason University - Volgenau (No. 85)
• Virginia Commonwealth University (No. 125)
• Old Dominion University - Batten (No. 149)

Best Education Schools

• University of Virginia (No. 6)
• Virginia Commonwealth University (No. 24)
• William & Mary (No. 49)
• George Mason University (No. 90)
• Old Dominion University - Darden (No. 90)
• Virginia Tech (No. 90)
• Liberty University (No. 213)
• Regent University (No. 217)
• Shenandoah University (No. 234-258)

Best Nursing Schools: Master's

• George Mason University (No. 16)
• University of Virginia (No. 20)
• Old Dominion University (No. 34)
• James Madison University (No. 68)
• Marymount University (No. 97)
• Shenandoah University - Custer (No. 109)

Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice

• George Mason University (No. 10)
• Old Dominion University (No. 36)
• University of Virginia (No. 47)
• Virginia Commonwealth University (No. 74)
• James Madison University (No. 106)
• Marymount University (No. 124)
• Liberty University (No. 143-158)

Best Medical Schools: Research

• Virginia Commonwealth University (Tier 2)
• Eastern Virginia Medical School (Tier 3)
• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Tier 4)

Best Medical Schools: Primary Care

• Virginia Commonwealth University (Tier 2)
• Eastern Virginia Medical School (Tier 3)
• Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Tier 3)

This year’s rankings emphasize the results that education can bring. There were minimal changes in this year’s ranking formulas. A few new rankings were computed to help students make the best-informed decisions for their careers.

Three new law school rankings focus on different career outcomes for graduates, including employment in full-time, long-term jobs at big law firms (greater than 500 attorneys), in federal clerkships and at public interest organizations.

Here are the top schools by category:

Best Business Schools: Executive MBA

1. The University of Pennsylvania – Wharton
2 Northwestern University – Kellogg (Illinois) and Stanford University (California) (tie)
4. University of Chicago (Illinois)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Best Law Schools

1. Stanford University (California) and Yale University (Connecticut) (tie)
3. The University of Chicago
4. University of Virginia
5. University of Pennsylvania – Carey

Best Education Schools

1. University of Wisconsin – Madison
2. Teachers College – Columbia University (New York), University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) (tie)
5. University of California – Los Angeles

Best Engineering Schools

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University (California)
3. University of California, Berkeley
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
5. California Institute of Technology

Best Nursing Schools: Master’s

1. Emory University (Georgia)
2. Johns Hopkins University (Maryland)
3. Ohio State University
4. Vanderbilt University (Tennessee)
5. Duke University (North Carolina)

Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice

1. Johns Hopkins University (Maryland)
2. Duke University (North Carolina)
3. University of Washington
4. Rutgers University – Newark (New Jersey) and University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (tie)

Best Medical Schools: Research (Tier 1)

Baylor College of Medicine (Texas)
Case Western Reserve University (Ohio)
Emory University (Georgia)
Hofstra University/Northwell Health (New York)
The Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Minnesota)
Ohio State University
University of California – Los Angeles
The University of California – San Diego
The University of California – San Francisco
The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
The University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
The University of Rochester (New York)
The University of South Florida
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Vanderbilt University (Tennessee)
Yale University

Best Medical Schools: Primary Care (Tier 1)

East Carolina University – Brody (North Carolina)
East Tennessee State University – Quillen
Saint Louis University (Missouri)
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
UMass Chan Medical School (Massachusetts)
University of Arizona – Tucson
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of California – Davis
University of California – San Francisco
University of Hawaii – Manoa
University of Kansas Medical Center,
University of Minnesota
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Western University of Health Sciences (California)

Additionally, U.S. News issued new rankings of graduate programs in other popular academic disciplines, including computer science and public affairs. Because each program is different, the rankings methodologies vary by discipline and graduate degree level.