US News ranks 14 ASU graduate programs in top 10 nationwide, 33 in the top 20

Editor’s note: This story is featured in the 2023 year in review.

Arizona State University has 14 graduate degree programs in the top 10 nationwide — including one that is No. 1 for the second year in a row — according to the 2023–24 rankings just released by U.S. News & World Report.

ASU’s master’s degree program in homeland security was ranked No. 1 in the country, ahead of George Washington University, Columbia University and University of Southern California, among others. The program, which tied for the top spot last year, is one of seven top-10 rankings for the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, which ranked No. 10 overall for public affairs graduate programs.

“These latest rankings are a reflection of the expertise of our faculty and their commitment to our students,” Executive Vice President and University Provost Nancy Gonzales said.

“Information in all fields of study is constantly evolving, and our professors, instructors and academic mentors invest their time and talents to bring leading-edge knowledge into their teaching and research. Our faculty ensures our programs are relevant and forward-looking, and I am grateful that their efforts are being recognized through these rankings.”

U.S. News & World Report provides several higher education rankings throughout the year, and last fall it rated ASU as the most innovative university in the country for the eighth year in a row. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report named three ASU Online programs No. 1 in the nation — bachelor’s in business, master in education administration and supervision, and master in education/instructional media design.

In addition to homeland security and the overall public affairs programs, 12 other graduate degree programs were ranked in the top 10 in the latest ranking (with last year’s ranking in parentheses):

• Information and technology management, in the School of Public Affairs in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions: No. 2 (4), tied with Syracuse University and ahead of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University at Albany–SUNY. 
• MBA in supply chain management, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 3 (3), ahead of Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Texas–Austin.
• Local government management, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 3 (4), ahead of Syracuse University, Indiana University–Bloomington and the University of Southern California.
• Nonprofit management, in the School of Community Resources and Development in Watts College: No. 4 (4), ahead of the University of Washington, American University and the University of Southern California.
• Public management and leadership, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 5 (4), ahead of Harvard University, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley.
• MBA in project management, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 5 (2), ahead of Purdue University–West Lafayette, Georgetown University and the University of Texas at Dallas.
• Geochemistry, in the School of Earth and Space Exploration in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: No. 6 (3), tied with Columbia, Princeton and the University of Arizona and ahead of the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Harvard University and the University of Texas–Austin.
• Urban policy, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 7 (6), tied with UCLA and ahead of Indiana University–Bloomington, Syracuse University and Harvard.
• Geology, in the School of Earth and Space Exploration in The College: No. 8 (5), tied with the Colorado School of Mines and ahead of the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Columbia University and Harvard.
• Elementary teacher education, in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College: No. 8 (12), tied with Stanford University and ahead of UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania.
• MBA in information systems, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 9 (11), tied with the University of Pennsylvania and ahead of University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of California, Berkeley.
• MBA in production operations, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 10 (16), ahead of Pennsylvania State University–University Park, Harvard and Cornell University.

*The 2023–24 Best Law Schools rankings will be released at a later date.

Notably, Watts College was ranked in the top 20 for all 10 public affairs categories in the latest release. In addition to seven top-10 programs detailed above, Watts College's other programs in the top 20 are: environmental policy, No. 11 (8); public finance, tied for No. 12 (12); and public policy analysis, No. 20 (19). 

“These most recent rankings place ASU as a top 10 school for public policy and administration, ahead of Columbia and Duke,” Watts College Dean Cynthia Lietz said. “The faculty of the Watts College have demonstrated that ASU’s commitment to access and excellence can be achieved. This accomplishment is a point of pride for ASU and our college.”

Overall, 33 ASU programs were ranked in the top 20 nationwide, including the programs detailed above.

Ten are in the W. P. Carey School of Business. Besides the four top 10 programs listed above, the others are: MBA in management, tied for No. 16 (16); MBA in international business, tied for No. 16 (20); MBA in entrepreneurship, No. 16 (23); MBA in business analytics, tied for No. 16 (13); executive MBA, tied for No. 17 (13); and MBA in accounting: tied for No. 19 (14).

Eight are in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. In addition to the top 10 elementary teacher education program and the No. 18 overall ranking, the others are: curriculum and instruction, tied for No. 12 (11); educational administration, tied for No. 13 (15); special education, No. 14 (12); education policy, tied for No. 15 (25); education psychology, tied for No. 17 (17); and secondary teacher education, tied for No. 17 (17). 

In addition to the top 10 rankings for geochemistry and geology, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' overall graduate earth sciences program was ranked No. 14, tied with UCLA and Yale University, among others, and ahead of the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering counted two programs in the top 20: environmental engineering, tied for No. 17 (16); and industrial engineering No. 19 (18). 

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program excellence and statistical indicators about the schools’ faculty, research and students.

ASU individual graduate degree programs that were in the top 50 of the magazine’s rankings include: higher education administration, tied for No. 22; marketing, tied for No. 23; civil engineering, tied for No. 25; aerospace engineering, tied for No. 25; applied math, tied for No. 26; overall business (part-time MBA), tied for No. 33; overall business (full-time MBA), tied for No. 35; computer engineering, tied for No. 36; electrical engineering, tied for No. 36; material engineering, tied for No. 37; mechanical engineering, tied for No. 38; computer science, tied for No. 46; chemical engineering, tied for No. 47; physics, tied for No. 50.

See the full rankings at usnews.com/best-graduate-schools.

More on the individual colleges

• Watts College is home to 7 of ASU's 14 top-10 US News graduate rankings
• 10 ASU MBA specialties rank in U.S. News' top 25
• The College earns high marks in US News graduate program rankings

Top photo of ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus by Deanna Dent/ASU