College and University Blog
U.S. News Best Graduate Schools 2012
The U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings for 2012 were released online March 15, 2011. Highlights of the rankings will be available in the 22nd annual print edition of the popular guide for potential graduate students on April 5, 2011 while the most comprehensive version of Best Graduate Schools 2012 will be available online only through the new U.S. News Graduate School Compass.
One year of complete web access is $19.95 while one year of web access with the accompanying Best Graduate Schools guidebook will be $24.95. U.S. News claims that the 2012 edition is its most extensive consumer guide to-date with new web design, enhanced navigation and premium research and comparison tools.
U.S. News Best Graduate Schools 2012 Rankings Changes
According to a U.S. News Media Group press release issued on March 15, 2011, changes were made to the 2012 Best Graduate Schools ranking methodology and presentation from previous years.
The calculation for employment rates used in the law school rankings was modified, and in response to interest from readers and law schools in knowing where more law schools rank, the list of numerically ranked law schools was extended from the top 100 to the top three-quarters of all law schools. Law schools falling in the lowest 25% are listed alphabetically as “Rank Not Published.”
In the ranking of research-focused medical schools, the weighting of National Institutes of Health grants awarded and of grants per faculty member was equalized so that each now accounts for 15% of the overall score.
Top Graduate Programs in U.S.
A useful tool to help prospective grad students be mindful of significant changes being made at graduate programs nationwide, U.S. News Best Graduate Schools 2012 ranks the nation’s top programs in business, law, medicine, engineering, education and numerous other specialties. The top 10 programs of each main discipline are listed below.
Best Business Schools, 2012
1. Stanford University—Stanford, CA
2. Harvard University—Boston, MA
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)— Cambridge, MA (tie)
3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)—Philadelphia, PA (tie)
5. Northwestern University (Kellogg)—Evanston, IL (tie)
5. University of Chicago (Booth)—Chicago, IL (tie)
7. Dartmouth College (Tuck)—Hanover, NH (tie)
7. University of California—Berkeley (Haas)—Berkeley, CA (tie)
9. Columbia University—New York, NY
10. New York University (Stern)—New York, NY
Best Law Schools, 2012
1. Yale University—New Haven, CT
2. Harvard University—Cambridge, MA
3. Stanford University—Stanford, CA
4. Columbia University—New York, NY
5. University of Chicago—Chicago, IL
6. New York University—New York, NY
7. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor—Ann Arbor, MI (tie)
7. University of Pennsylvania—Philadelphia, PA (tie)
9. University of California—Berkeley—Berkeley, CA (tie)
9. University of Virginia—Charlottesville, VA (tie)
Best Medical Schools: Research, 2012
1. Harvard University—Boston, MA
2. University of Pennsylvania—Philadelphia, PA
3. John Hopkins University—Baltimore, MD
4. Washington University in St. Louis—St. Louis, MO
5. Duke University—Durham, NC (tie)
5. Stanford University—Stanford, CA (tie)
5. University of California—San Francisco—San Francisco, CA (tie)
5. Yale University—New Haven, CT (tie)
9. University of Washington—Seattle, WA
10. Columbia University—New York, NY (tie)
10. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor—Ann Arbor, MI (tie)
Best Engineering Schools, 2012
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology—Cambridge, MA
2. Stanford University—Stanford, CA
3. University of California—Berkeley—Berkeley, CA
4. Georgia Institute of Technology—Atlanta, GA
5. University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign—Urbana, IL
6. Carnegie Mellon University—Pittsburgh, PA
7. California Institute of Technology—Pasadena, CA
8. University of Texas—Austin (Cockrell)—Austin, TX
9. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor—Ann Arbor, MI
10. Cornell University—Ithaca, NY
Best Education Schools, 2012
1. Vanderbilt University (Peabody)—Nashville, TN
2. Harvard University—Cambridge, MA (tie)
2. University of Texas—Austin—Austin, TX (tie)
4. Stanford University—Stanford, CA (tie)
4. Teachers College, Columbia University—New York, NY (tie)
6. University of California—Los Angeles—Los Angeles, CA
7. Northwestern University—Evanston, IL
8. University of Oregon—Eugene, OR
9. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor—Ann Arbor, MI (tie)
9. University of Washington—Seattle, WA (tie)
9. University of Wisconsin—Madison—Madison, WI (tie)
To find out more about these top-ranked graduate schools or any other college or university in the U.S., visit the StateUniversity.com College Rankings Top 2000 Ranked Universities for Highest Overall School Score, or use our StateUniversity.com School Comparison Tool.
Melissa Rhone+
Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.