TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University’s graduate and professional programs continue to rank among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 edition of “Best Graduate Schools.”
Twenty graduate programs and specialties at FSU are ranked in the top 25 among public universities, according to the publication’s annual rankings released March 29. Programs in education, business, law and engineering all climbed in this year’s rankings. In addition, disciplines that are periodically ranked by U.S. News, such as biological sciences, chemistry, and statistics, made significant improvements.
“These rankings affirm FSU’s commitment to providing students with a high-quality graduate education,” said Jim Clark, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “As more students are turning to Florida State University for a graduate education, we’re pleased that U.S. News recognizes the value of the programs we offer.”
As FSU continues to rise in the rankings, graduate student enrollment is also increasing. Since Fall 2017, graduate enrollment at FSU has grown by 83 percent, far surpassing the goal of 3 percent in annual growth. FSU received more than 14,000 graduate applications in both Fall 2020 and 2021, and applications for Fall 2022 are up 21 percent so far compared to Fall 2021.
Mark Riley, dean of The Graduate School, said prospective students recognize that these are exciting times at FSU.
“The record-breaking trajectory of applications and enrollments illuminates how students are looking at our programs and liking what they see,” Riley said. “They know we are all about student success and helping them to shine brighter in every endeavor. These stellar rankings reflect FSU’s sustained collective coherence on quality moving us forward to an even brighter tomorrow.”
The College of Education set new records in the latest rankings, moving up two spots to No. 26 overall and one spot among public institutions to No. 17 this year. Several of the college’s individual programs also garnered high rankings among public universities, including special education (No. 9), higher education (No. 13), education administration (No. 18) and curriculum and instruction (No. 23).
“Our faculty, staff and students continue to make great strides and positive contributions to their fields,” said Damon Andrew, dean of the College of Education. “I’m thrilled to see this hard work reflected in these latest record-breaking rankings and look forward to continuing this upward momentum.”
The College of Business’ MBA specialty in real estate once again ranked in the top 10 among public schools at No. 9 and in the top 20 nationwide at No. 16.
“Maintaining a No. 9 ranking for three years straight is an amazing feat and reflects ongoing peer recognition of a program built through the strong collaboration of a prolific research faculty, top-notch students and supportive alumni and industry partners,” said Michael Hartline, dean of the FSU College of Business. “We remain exceedingly proud of our Real Estate Program and look forward to building on this achievement for years to come.”
The part-time MBA program ranked No. 28 among public part-time, campus-based MBA programs, marking a sizable jump for FSU from its previous No. 46 spot.
“It is this kind of significant improvement that indicates we are continuing upward on our path to preeminence,” Hartline said.
FSU’s College of Medicine also rose two spots to No. 11 nationwide and No. 7 among public medical schools in the publication’s ranking of direct patient care programs in professional shortage areas.
“As the first new medical school of the 21st century, the college takes great pride in our mission of serving our communities, particularly for rural and underrepresented patients,” said College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty. “We committed to developing successful pipelines to recruit students from underrepresented and rural communities since before the medical school was formally established. It is gratifying that this effort of more than 20 years is reflected in these rankings – that we are producing graduates committed to service.”
The College of Law rose one spot to No. 47 in the nation and maintained its No. 24 status among public universities.
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering ranked No. 60 among public institutions and moved up three spots overall.
“We are delighted by our continued rise in the graduate engineering rankings,” said Farrukh Alvi, interim dean for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “Our college is being recognized nationally for the quality of our programs, research and graduate students from both Florida A&M and Florida State universities.”
Other programs of note:
• The public management and leadership specialty checked in at No. 10 among public programs, while the local government management specialty placed No. 12 among public universities.• Statistics, which rose 14 spots overall, ranks No. 21 among public universities.
• FSU’s chemistry program jumped 18 spots in the overall rankings and moved up to No. 27 among public universities.
• Social work ranked No. 27 among public universities.
• Biological science climbed 32 spots among national universities, while earth sciences rose 37 places.
Each year, U.S. News ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area. The Best Graduate Schools rankings in these areas are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.
Beyond the six major disciplines ranked annually, U.S. News also periodically ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, health, and many other fields based solely on academic experts' ratings.
- Kelsey Klopfenstein, University Communications