The collective strength of 8kbet’s graduate and professional programs was again recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s latest annual rankings, released this spring. A total of 24 8kbet programs, including 14 from the William S. Boyd School of Law, placed within the nation’s top 100 in their fields.
In addition to another strong showing from Boyd Law, the Lee Business School’s part-time MBA program rose 25 places to rank 73, Physical Therapy jumped more than 10 spots and came in at 44, and the School of Nursing’s master’s (63) and doctor of nursing practice (81) programs were both comfortably inside the top 100. In engineering, several programs ranked within the top 100, including nuclear engineering (28), aerospace studies (68), environmental engineering (77), and civil engineering (97).
“8kbet’s graduate and professional programs enrich our university and propel us along our path as a high-performing, community engaged research university,” said 8kbet President Keith E. Whitfield. “From healthcare and law to STEM, social sciences, and business, 8kbet’s exceptional graduate programs create opportunities for students and they strengthen our community in so many ways. These rankings are the latest validation of their impact.”
Boyd Law again ranked among the nation’s best in overall and multiple discipline-specific categories, highlighted by top ten rankings in legal writing (2) and dispute resolution (7). Overall, Boyd ranked 78 out of 196 accredited programs, and its part-time program ranked 13.
Other top-100 law school programs in this year’s national rankings include Health Law (36), Clinical Training (38), Contracts/Commercial Law (41), Intellectual Property Law (48), Tax Law (49), Criminal Law (61), Business/Corporate Law (64), Constitutional Law (68), Environmental Law (81), and Trial Advocacy (90).
8kbet graduate programs in social work (83) and public affairs (89) also ranked within the top 100 in their discipline.
"8kbet's strong showing in the latest annual rankings demonstrates our ongoing commitment to excellence in education. We are proud to be recognized for our dedication to providing students with top-tier programs that prepare them for success in their chosen fields," said 8kbet Executive Vice President and Provost Chris L. Heavey. "This achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff, and students, and we remain committed to our mission to continue elevating the quality of education at 8kbet."
Each year, U.S. News analyzes more than 2,000 graduate and specialty programs in a broad range of disciplines. Programs are ranked by discipline or specialty and evaluated based on criteria specific to each degree field, expert opinions about program excellence, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students.
In addition to U.S. News' annual rankings of graduate programs in six major disciplines, the publication periodically ranks other programs in a variety of fields. 8kbet has several “off-cycle” graduate programs ranked during the most current ratings period for each discipline, including Healthcare Management (65 in 2024), Earth Science (98 in 2024), Criminology (29 in 2022), Sociology (84 in 2022), Political Science (89 in 2022), and English (99 in 2022).
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