U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 edition of America’s Best Graduate schools ranked many Ohio State graduate and professional programs highly again. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Ohio State’s graduate and professional programs have once again been ranked highly in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 edition of America’s Best Graduate schools.
According to a university press release, multiple colleges reported programs that fell within the top 10 of this year’s rankings. The highest ranking colleges in their respective fields are the No. 3 College of Veterinary Medicine and the No. 2 College of Education and Human Ecology’s student counseling and personnel services program.
According to the report, the Department of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering ranked No. 8 in the country, along with the College of Nursing’s Master of Science program and the College of Public Health’s Master of Health Administration program.
“Ohio State’s graduate and professional programs continue their excellent showing, and these latest rankings are a testament to the value that our programs offer our dedicated students as they prepare to emerge as next-generation leaders,” Melissa L. Gilliam, executive vice president and provost, said in the release.
Not all programs are ranked by U.S. News and World Report each year, and the 2024 rankings only cover a limited number of Ohio State’s more than 200 doctoral and master’s programs, according to the release.
The College of Arts and Sciences had five natural and mathematical science programs in the top 40 this year, as well as ranking No. 3 in analytical chemistry and No. 10 in its Doctor of Audiology program, according to the report.
The Fisher College of Business’ working professional Master of Business Administration program ranked 15th overall, according to the report. Multiple specialties within Fisher’s full-time Masters of Business Administration program received top-15 rankings — including its supply chain program, recognized as fifth overall.
This year’s rankings were particularly successful for the College of Education and Human Ecology, which ranked No. 1 among Ohio universities, No. 25 in the country and No.17 among public universities, according to the release, according to the report.
According to the release, the number of the college’s top-10 specialty graduate programs increased for a second-straight year, with seven total — including secondary teacher education, elementary teacher education, curriculum and instruction, higher education administration, educational psychology and educational administration and supervision.
Colette Dollarhide, program chair and professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology’s second-ranked counselor education program, said she is excited about the program’s increase in nationwide ranking from No. 4 to No. 2.
“We’ve been a program for over 50 years — one of the first ones in the country, and we’ve consistently been in the top ten,” Dollarhide said. “We tend to hover around No. 4 — last year we were at No. 4, and so this progress from four to two is absolutely wonderful.”
Dollarhide said while good rankings may help boost admissions and enrollment, the focus of the Counselor Education program remains on keeping that production up.
“The programs are just simply doing the best work that they can do,” Dollarhide said. “It’s a happy circumstance that this also happens to have been noticed at the national level by the people who provide input for these rankings.”
Other highlights from the rankings came from the engineering, nursing, public affairs, public health and veterinary medicine colleges.
The College of Engineering’s graduate program improved from 30th to 27th in the nation, according to the release. In addition to the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering’s eighth place rank, seven other engineering specialties — materials, nuclear, industrial and manufacturing, aerospace and aeronautical, electrical, computer science and mechanical — also reached the top 25.
The College of Nursing’s Master of Science program ranked eighth nationally and its Doctor of Nursing practice program ranked 11th — the fifth-consecutive year both programs have been ranked in the top 20, according to the release.
The John Glenn College of Public Affairs was ranked No.19 in the nation and in the top-10 percent of public affairs graduate professional degree programs nationwide, taking the top spot in Ohio, according to the release. Four specialty areas within the college that improved in rank from last year included public management and leadership, nonprofit management, public policy analysis and social policy.
The College of Public Health came in at No. 22 overall, making it the top-ranked program in Ohio, according to the release. The college’s epidemiology specialty ranked No.19, alongside its Master of Health Administration program’s eighth place ranking.
The State of Ohio’s only veterinary medicine college, Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was ranked No. 3 of 33 U.S. veterinary schools — an increase from fourth place in the 2019 rankings — accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education, according to the release.
