U.S. News' graduate program rankings include several local, New York State universities

U.S. News & World Report, best known for its annual college rankings, released its 2024 list of ranked graduate programs in business, education, law and nursing on Wednesday, based on data submitted by more than 2,200 programs nationally.

“Deciding where to attend graduate school can be formidable, considering the wealth of schools with distinctive and quality programs,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Several local schools, as well as a number of State University of New York campuses, made the lists.

The master's program in nursing at Hofstra University's Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies ranked 38th. Adelphi University's master's program in nursing ranked 92nd and Molloy University came in at 98th. Ranked SUNY master's programs in nursing include Downstate (72), Polytechnic (100) and Binghamton (102).

"We're very proud that Adelphi University's reputation for offering high-quality degree academic and professional programs to our students is growing," said Chris Storm, Adelphi's provost and executive vice president.

U.S. News looked at 15 factors to rank the nursing programs, including an increased emphasis on program size, research and faculty resources.

Hofstra opened a new 75,000-square-foot center in 2023 focused on health care and cutting-edge research to train future nurses and engineers. The $76.8 million Science and Innovation Center includes a fully equipped operating room, intensive care suites, nursing simulation rooms, ambulatory patient rooms and science and bioengineering laboratories.

Charles G. Riordan, Hofstra provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said this year’s ranking “is a testament to the work and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, alumni in the program and of Hofstra's investment in new state-of-the art facilities.”

Teachers College at Columbia University tied with University of Wisconsin-Madison for the top spot in graduate education programs. Locally, Hofstra's graduate education program ranked 203rd and Molloy University's program in Rockville Centre was listed in a grouping between 237-255. SUNY programs in graduate education included SUNY Buffalo (54), Albany (86) and Binghamton (130).

Evaluations were based on research activity, academic excellence of entering students, faculty resources and opinions on program quality from education school deans and school hiring professionals, according to U.S. News, which also categorized specialties in education from special education to policy.

Rankings of law schools included Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law at 130th and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center at Touro University in Central Islip at 168th. SUNY Buffalo's law school was ranked at 108.

Successful placement of graduates made up about 60% of the formula used to evaluate law schools.

Several SUNY programs were ranked for graduate business degrees, including SUNY Buffalo (74), Binghamton (90) and Albany (ranked in a grouping of 115-124). Half of the scores were based on academic metrics and half on successful placement and earnings outcomes of their graduates.

The list also broke down rankings by specialty in business, such as accounting and finance. The top schools nationwide were Stanford and Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania.

U.S. News delayed release of its best engineering and medical schools, saying more data analysis is needed. The U.S. News & World Report rankings have been under increasing scrutiny as more elite institutions, such as the law schools at Harvard and Yale, have declined to participate.