University

Graduate Programs Among the Nation’s Best

Best Grad Schools US News Ranking

USF OFFERS SOME OF THE BEST graduate programs in America, according to U.S. News and World Report’s (U.S. News) 2021 rankings. Eighteen programs are ranked in the top 100, with notable increases across several individual programs. Rises in the rankings underscore USF’s continued upward trajectory as a top global research university.

Of particular significance:

  • The USF Morsani College of Medicine moved into the top 50 for the first time, at No. 47.
  • Audiology ranks the highest of any USF graduate program receiving a new ranking this year, at No. 18.
  • The chemical engineering graduate program showed the most improvement from last year’s rankings, moving up 19 spots to No. 66. USF’s civil and environmental/environmental health programs both showed double digit increases over the previous year.
  • The physical therapy program rose 30 spots from the last time U.S. News ranked physical therapy programs in 2017, now at No. 49.
  • In Education: Overall ranking, USF’s program improved 12 spots and now sits inside the top 75 for the first time.

Full list of USF’s top 50 programs:

  • Audiology – 18
  • Engineering: Environmental/Environmental Health – 35
  • Medical: Research – 47
  • Nursing: Master’s – 47
  • Nursing: Doctor of Nursing Practice – 48
  • Physical Therapy – 49
  • Engineering: Industrial/Manufacturing Systems – 49

Full list of USF’s top 100 programs:

  • Speech-Language Pathology – 55
  • Clinical Psychology – 56
  • Engineering: Civil – 64
  • Engineering: Chemical – 66
  • Pharmacy – 68
  • Education: Overall – 73
  • Fine Arts – 73
  • Engineering: Computer Engineering – 86
  • Engineering: Overall – 92
  • Business: Part-time MBA – 97
  • Engineering: Electrical/Electronic/Communications – 97

U.S. News does not provide new rankings for all graduate programs each year, but several USF programs maintain a top 25 position:

  • Industrial and Organizational Psychology – 2
  • Public Health – 16
  • Criminology – 22

These rankings come on the heels of U.S. News ranking USF No. 44 among public institutions on its list of best national universities in September 2019. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the nation has risen faster in U.S. News’ national university rankings than USF.

According to U.S. News, its methodology uses data from expert opinions and statistical indicators when measuring a program’s ranking, examining qualities students and faculty bring to the educational experience and graduates’ achievements linked to their degrees, such as job placement and research impact.