US News ranks 15 ASU graduate programs in the top 10 nationwide, 34 in the top 20

Editor's note: The U.S. News & World Report rankings originally released April 8 did not include the engineering categories, which came out June 18, 2024. The story below has been updated to reflect the addition of engineering rankings.

This story is featured in the 2024 year in review.

Fifteen graduate programs at Arizona State University are in the top 10 nationwide, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 rankings released today.

A total of 34 programs made the top 20, and Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s Doctor of Nursing Practice leapt 30 spots to come in at No. 26, ahead of Yale, UCLA and the University of California, San Francisco.

The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions continued its strong showing in the annual rankings, with seven graduate programs in the top 10 — including its master’s degree program in homeland security at No. 2 in the country, ahead of the University of Southern California, George Washington University and Columbia University.

“It brings me great pride to see the positive results from this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s graduate program rankings,” said Nancy Gonzales, ASU executive vice president and university provost. “The rankings exemplify the quality of scholarship at ASU in a wide breadth of disciplines, which is thanks to the incredible faculty and academic leaders we have assembled at our university. And, they signal to why ASU continues to see increases in applications from students seeking admission into our graduate programs.”

ASU has ranked high in multiple U.S. News & World Report higher education rankings throughout the year, including being named the most innovative university in the country for the ninth year in a row last September. In February, the university was rated No. 4 for best online bachelor’s programs by U.S. News & World Report, with multiple individual online degree programs in the top 10.

In the latest ranking, 14 graduate programs in addition to homeland security were ranked in the top 10:

• Local government management, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 3, ahead of Syracuse University, Indiana University and USC.
• Information and technology management, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 3, ahead of Syracuse University, Indiana University and USC. 
• MBA in supply chain management, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 3, ahead of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Pennsylvania State University–University Park; and Ohio State University.
• Public management and leadership, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 5, ahead of Harvard, USC and New York University.
• Nonprofit management, in the School of Public Affairs, in a program supported by courses in that school and the School of Community Resources and Development, in Watts College: No. 5, ahead of the University of Washington, USC and the University of Georgia.
• Legal writing, in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law: No. 5, ahead of Georgetown University, the University of Michigan and Ohio State University.
• Doctor of Nursing Practice in gerontology, in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation: tied for No. 6, along with Ohio State University and the University of Illinois Chicago.
• MBA in information systems, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 6, ahead of New York University; the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; and the University of Maryland, College Park.
• MBA in international business, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 8, ahead of the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor; the University of California, Berkeley; and Duke University.
• Project management, in the W. P. Carey School of Business: No. 9.
• Elementary teacher education, in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College: No. 9, ahead of the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford and UCLA.
• Urban policy, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 9, ahead of Harvard; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Michigan.
• Environmental/environmental health engineering, in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering: No. 9, ahead of Princeton, Caltech and Johns Hopkins.
• Environmental policy and management, in the School of Public Affairs in Watts College: No. 10, ahead of Princeton, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and Carnegie Mellon University.

*The 2024 Best Clinical Psychology Programs rankings will be released at a later date.

Overall, 34 ASU graduate programs were ranked in the top 20 nationwide, including Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s No. 6 ranking above.

Eleven are in Watts College. In addition to its seven top-10 programs detailed above, the others are: public affairs (overall), No. 13; public finance, No. 16; public policy analysis, No. 17; and social work, No. 20. All but the social work specialty are from the School of Public Affairs.

“I’m incredibly proud of the broad influence our faculty, staff, students and alumni have within public affairs,” said Shannon Portillo, director of the School of Public Affairs. “With seven specialty areas ranked in the top 10 and an additional two specialty areas ranked in the top 20, ASU’s School of Public Affairs is tied for the most ranked specialty areas from a public university, showing the dedication of our school to all aspects of public policy, administration and governance.”

Ten of ASU’s top-20 graduate programs are in the W. P. Carey School of Business. Besides the four programs listed above, the others are: production and operations, No. 11; business analytics, No. 14; real estate MBA, No. 16; accounting, No. 16; executive MBA, No. 18; and management, No. 19.

Six are in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. In addition to the top 10 elementary teacher education program, the others are: curriculum and instruction, No. 12; secondary teacher education, No. 15; overall graduate education, No. 17; higher ed administration: No. 18; and special education, No. 19.

Four are in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Besides legal writing, detailed above, the others are: dispute resolution, No. 11; health care law, No. 13; and environmental law, No. 17.

Two are in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. In addition to the top 10 environmental/environmental health engineering listed above, the other is industrial/manufacturing/systems engineering, No. 19.

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: speech-language pathology, No. 21; entrepreneurship, No. 21; educational policy, tied for No. 22; civil engineering, No. 23; criminal law, No. 24; educational administration, tied for No. 25; marketing, No. 27; aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering, No. 27; part-time MBA, No. 28; electrical/electronic/communications engineering, No. 31; full-time MBA, No. 32; computer engineering, No. 33; audiology, No. 34; full-time law, No. 36; international law, No. 38; tax law, No. 40; contracts/commercial law, No. 41; mechanical engineering, No. 41; constitutional law, No. 45; doctoral computer science, No. 45; computer science, No. 45; overall graduate engineering, No. 45; business corporate law, No. 47; materials engineering, No. 47; intellectual property law, No. 48; and chemical engineering, No. 49.

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