Baylor Programs Ranked in 2018 U.S. News Grad School Survey

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275
Follow Lori on Twitter at @LoriBaylorU
Follow Baylor Media Communications on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

WACO, Texas (March 14, 2017) – Baylor University graduate programs in law, business, nursing and health disciplines, education, engineering, the sciences and social sciences and humanities were among those nationally ranked in the 2018 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings, released today.

The latest rankings are published online at www.usnews.com and in the U.S. News’ “Best Graduate Schools 2018” guidebook.

The rankings in these six areas are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. The data come from statistical surveys sent to administrators at more than 1,970 graduate programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 16,500 academics and professionals in the disciplines. The surveys were conducted during the fall of 2016 and in early 2017. In each field, we also present rankings of programs in various specialty areas based on reputation data alone.

Baylor Law School

Baylor Law School moved up four places to No. 51 in the magazine’s “Top Schools” listing for 2018. In the law specialties rankings, Baylor’s trial advocacy program also moved up to No. 3 in the nation.

The rankings of 197 law schools fully accredited by the American Bar Association were based on a weighted average of 12 measures of quality, including assessments by peers and by lawyers and judges, student selectivity, placement success and faculty resources. Specialty rankings were based solely on nominations by legal educators at peer institutions.

Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business

Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business was ranked with three other universities at No. 65 among the top-rated master’s programs in business.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News surveyed all 471 MBA programs in business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, with 377 responding. The rankings were calculated on a weighted average of nine measures of quality, including peer and recruiter assessments, placement success and student selectivity.

Among specialty rankings, Baylor’s online MBA program, which began in May 2014, was ranked No. 72, based on factors such as student engagement, admissions selectivity, reputation for excellence among peer institutions, faculty credentials and training and student services and technology.

In addition, the MBA in health care administration, a specialization in Baylor’s MBA program in the Hankamer School of Business, was last ranked in 2015 by U.S. News at No. 17 in the nation.

Baylor Louise Herrington School of Nursing

The master of science degree in nursing (MSN) program at Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) in Dallas moved up two places to No. 56 in the 2018 U.S. News graduate rankings, while the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program was ranked No. 47.

In addition, LHSON’s nursing-midwifery program was ranked No. 10 nationally under the health disciplines category, which was last ranked in 2016.

For the Best Nursing Schools rankings, U.S. News surveyed the 532 nursing schools with master’s or doctoral programs accredited in late summer 2016 by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. Based on responses, both the master’s and DNP rankings are based on a weighted average of 14 measures of quality, including peer assessment, master’s and DNP program student selectivity and master’s and DNP program size, faculty resources and research activity.

“We are honored to be ranked in U.S. News & World Report and listed among other distinguished graduate programs,” said Shelley F. Conroy, Ed.D., M.S., R.N., C.N.E., dean of the LHSON. “Our programs are designed to prepare graduates to lead and transform today’s complex healthcare environments. We are very proud of our DNP Program in three advanced practice fields: Nurse Midwifery, Family Nurse Practitioner and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. We see a great potential for advanced practice nurses who are uniquely prepared in accordance with the Baylor mission and vision for the future to serve as key leaders in population health locally and around the world.”

Among online programs, Baylor’s online master’s degree program in nursing leadership and innovation, now in its second year, made the highest jump of all rankings from No. 79 last year to No. 39 in the U.S. News online program rankings. The rankings were based on factors such as faculty credentials and training, student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation and student services and technology.

“Through this competitively robust program our students will transform today’s complex healthcare environments through the application of cutting-edge and innovative problem-solving methods applied in their own work settings,” Conroy said.

Baylor’s School of Education

Baylor’s School of Education is rated No. 89 in the 2018 U.S. News graduate program rankings.

For the U.S. News rankings of graduate education programs, 379 schools granting doctoral degrees were surveyed in fall 2016 and early 2017. The rankings were based on a weighted average of 10 measures of quality, including peer and superintendent assessments, student selectivity, faculty resources and research activity.

Baylor School of Engineering and Computer Science

In the U.S. News graduate rankings of engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees, Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science and its graduate engineering program was ranked No. 123.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News surveyed 214 engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees in fall 2016 and early 2017. Rankings for the 198 schools that provided the data were calculated based on a weighted average of 10 measures of quality, including peer and recruiter assessments, student selectivity, faculty resources and research activity.

In the engineering specialty rankings, Baylor’s graduate electrical engineering program was ranked at No. 124, while the graduate program in mechanical engineering also was included in the latest rankings but without a numerical rank. Engineering specialty rankings are based solely on peer assessments by department heads in each specialty area. The peer assessment surveys for the specialty area rankings were conducted in fall 2016.

Baylor Health Disciplines

For the 2018 graduate rankings, U.S. News included a number of Baylor graduate health disciplines that were not newly ranked this year. The rankings were determined by peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools in each discipline. Included in the health discipline rankings are these Baylor graduate programs:

• the graduate programs in the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, at No. 53 (last ranked in 2016)
• Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences at No. 62 (last ranked in 2016)
• Speech-language pathology in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences at No. 69 (last ranked in 2016)
• the U.S. Army-Baylor master’s degree program in health care management at No. 7 (last ranked in 2015)
• the U.S. Army-Baylor doctor of physical therapy degree at No. 8 (last ranked in 2016)

U.S. Army-Baylor health programs are operated at the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The business school MBA in health care administration program is a part of the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership, the foundation for health care-related initiatives in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business.

Baylor Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities

U.S. News newly ranked the Social Sciences and the Humanities, which were last surveyed in 2013. Ranked Baylor graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences include:

• Psychology, up three places to No. 98
• English, up five places to No. 116
• Political Science, included in the latest rankings but without a numerical rank
• Sociology, ranked at No. 87

U.S. News did not update its graduate rankings on the Sciences, which were last ranked in 2014. Ranked Baylor science graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences include:

• Biological Sciences, No. 84
• Chemistry, No. 96
• Earth Sciences (Geosciences), No. 106
• Mathematics, No. 134
• Physics, No. 123
• Statistics, No. 75

U.S. News first published a reputation-only graduate school ranking in 1987. The annual “America’s Best Graduate Schools” report began in 1990.

For more information about Best Graduate Schools, visit www.usnews.com. To learn more about the methodology and data research, visit www.usnews.com/gradmeth.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.