FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Several graduate programs at the University of Arkansas rated well in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools with the rehabilitation counseling program in the College of Education and Health Professions moving up three places to rank No. 13 on the list.

The program appears regularly in the publication’s top 20 and was at No. 16 when the magazine last ranked rehabilitation counseling programs in 2011.

U.S. News does not issue new rankings every year for all graduate programs. For example, none of the programs in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences were evaluated as part of this year’s report, although they have been ranked in previous years.

The master’s degree program offered by the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing at the U of A moved up more than 90 places – to No. 75 from No. 166 in 2011, the last year that U.S. News ranked graduate nursing programs. The program is ranked No. 50 among public institutions that offer nursing master’s degrees. The master’s degree is offered online through the Global Campus with a clinical component.

The U of A’s engineering, business and law schools also are ranked highly in their respective categories of U.S. News. Rankings are determined by such measures as quality assessment determined by surveying officials at higher education institutions, student selectivity, faculty resources, research activity and placement success.

“We consider strong, dynamic, high-quality graduate programs to be necessary to our mission as a land-grant institution serving our state,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “We are proud to offer one of the leading rehabilitation counseling programs in the nation. Brent Thomas Williams, faculty coordinator of this program, is the principal investigator of a $32.4 million federal grant that is providing paid work experiences to Arkansas teenagers with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income. The Arkansas PROMISE program is one example of how our university serves the state’s people while contributing valuable research through a program that could become a model for the nation.”

“The University of Arkansas continues to do well in the rankings as compared to other public institutions, and we appreciate the hard work of our faculty and staff moving us toward our goal of becoming a top 50 public research institution,” said Provost Sharon Gaber.

Kim Needy, dean of the Graduate School and International Education, praised both students and faculty members.

“The fact that our graduate programs continue to move up in the rankings is a testament to the caliber of graduate students enrolled at the University of Arkansas and the outstanding faculty members who instruct and mentor them,” Needy said.

College of Education and Health Professions

In addition to the rehabilitation counseling and nursing programs on the list, the college also saw a rise of two places among public institutions in the ranking of its graduate education programs, which moved from No. 70 last year to No. 68 among public institutions. Last year’s over-all ranking of 86 represented an increase of 46 places from the previous year.

“We are proud to see our rankings in rehabilitation counseling and nursing move up because these two fields are vitally important to everyone’s health and quality of life,” said Tom Smith, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “Overall, our graduate programs are trending upward, and we will keep striving to make progress in areas that benefit our students and the stakeholders in our college -- such as employers of our graduates and everyone who depends on health and educational services provided by them.”

The college offers 13 graduate programs online. These programs are listed on the University of Arkansas ONLINE website.

College of Engineering

The electrical engineering graduate program showed the greatest increase in the college, rising almost 20 places, from No. 102 to No. 83 for all universities, with an even larger increase among public institutions, from No. 85 to No. 52.

Industrial engineering also rose among public institutions, from No. 26 to No. 24, and mechanical engineering moved from No. 85 to No. 76 among public institutions. Chemical engineering was ranked No. 94 overall, an improvement of six places, and No. 58 among public institutions. Computer engineering gained two places overall, ranking No. 95 and No. 59 among public institutions. The biological engineering program was ranked No. 19, No. 18 among public institutions. 

The College of Engineering was ranked No. 107 overall, and No. 69 among public institutions.

“I am very pleased with the performance of these programs,” said John English, dean of engineering. “Over the past couple of years, we have been identifying and focusing on our strengths as a college, and the U.S. News and World Report rankings are just one of the ways we can quantify our success in this area. We’ve recently hired several outstanding faculty members, and the whole college has enthusiastically embraced the idea of continuous improvement and of publicizing our successes. We look forward to these efforts having even more of a positive effect on the rankings.”

Sam M. Walton College of Business

U.S. News ranked the Walton College M.B.A. program tied for No. 33 among public business schools and tied for No. 63 among all public and private graduate business schools.

“The 2016 rankings show that our full-time M.B.A. continues to be a nationally ranked, competitive program that is winning recognition for its top-notch students, world-class faculty, production of leaders at major corporations and building of careers for our graduates,” said Eli Jones, dean of the Walton College and Sam M. Walton Leadership Chair.

Walton’s rigorous graduate program starts with a solid foundation in the core business disciplines of economics, accounting, finance, quantitative analysis, management, marketing and supply chain management.

School of Law

The University of Arkansas School of Law is ranked in the top tier of law schools for the seventh consecutive year. It is now No. 41 among public law schools. The School of Law also is ranked first nationally in National Jurist's list of the best values in legal education. 

Global Campus

The Global Campus supports the university’s academic colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online programs and courses. It provides instructional design services, technology services and assistance with strategic academic program development and marketing. Find out more at the University of Arkansas ONLINE website.