March 11, 2014

University of Colorado boasts top-ranked graduate programs

U.S. News & World Report’s annual ratings spotlight excellence across CU system

A sampling of CU’s 2015 rankings (full lists available via U.S. News):

University of Colorado Boulder

  • No. 1: CU-Boulder’s atomic/molecular/optical physics program holds the top spot nationally.
  • Top 10: Other CU-Boulder programs ranking in the top 10 are aerospace engineering (ninth) and environmental law (ninth).
  • Another 28 CU-Boulder schools and programs hold places on the national rankings within their fields: education policy (13), chemical engineering (14), civil engineering (15), physics (18), clinical psychology (18), environmental engineering (21), earth sciences (23), chemistry (24), speech-language pathology (25), audiology (27), School of Education (29), psychology (30), biological sciences (30), College of Engineering and Applied Science (34), electrical engineering (34), mechanical engineering (34), Leeds School of Business (39 for part-time MBA schools), computer engineering (39), computer science (40), Law School (43), political science (45), sociology (46), mathematics (46), online graduate engineering program (49), English (50), history (50), economics (53) and fine arts (53) and the Leeds School of Business (80).  Not all disciplines are ranked by the publication.

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine

  • The school ranks 13th nationally for primary care, with the specialties of family medicine (fifth), pediatrics (sixth) and rural medicine (ninth) also ranking high.
  • The School of Medicine ranks 40th overall for research.

University of Colorado Denver

  • The School of Public Affairs, with programs at CU Denver and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is listed at 29 nationally.
  • The Department of Integrative Biology (Biological Sciences Ph.D. program) is 75.
  • The School of Education and Human Development is ranked at 98. The online program is listed at 29.
  • The Business School’s part-time MBA program is ranked at 101.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

  • UCCS shares the School of Public Affairs (29) honor with CU Denver.

The 2015 Best Graduate Schools includes essential, detailed statistical information on more than 1,250 programs nationwide, with rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines (business, law, education, engineering, and medicine), as well as part-time MBA and part-time law school programs. The “Best Graduate Schools 2015” guidebook will be available at usnews.com/store in late March and on newsstands April 8, 2014.

Rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program quality, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. These data come from surveys of more than 13,000 academics and professionals. The publication aims to provide a tool to students and parents who are comparing college programs at accredited public and private universities in the United States.

About the CU System

The University of Colorado is a premier public research university with four campuses: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. More than 58,000 students are pursuing academic degrees at CU. Academic prestige is marked by the university’s five Nobel laureates, nine MacArthur “genius” Fellows, 18 alumni astronauts and 19 Rhodes Scholars. For more information about the entire CU system, and to access campus resources, go to www.cu.edu.