RHODE ISLAND — Five colleges in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, the following institutions made the rankings:
This year’s rankings emphasize the results that education can bring. There were very limited changes in this year’s rankings 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)
Best Medical Schools: Primary Care (Tier 1)
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.
Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.