Graduate programs earn kudos from U.S. News & World Report

Published

Interested in earning a graduate degree? Enrolling at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette would be a good idea, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The publication’s 2021 Best Graduate Schools national rankings recognized six degree programs.

U.S. News & World Report researched more than 2,000 graduate programs to compile the list. Each year, it ranks top schools in six major disciplines: business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing.

Dr. Mary Farmer-Kaiser, dean of the Graduate School, noted that UL Lafayette was recognized in each major category on the list for which the University offers a graduate program. There are no graduate or undergraduate programs in law or medicine at the University.

“The rankings are a reflection of a high standard for excellence set by dedicated faculty members and the high caliber of students our programs attract,” Farmer-Kaiser said.

The College of Engineering was tied for number 152 and the College of Education was tied for number 196. The B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration was also recognized, although the publication assigned no numerical ranking. U.S. News & World Report often cites noteworthy academic colleges, departments or programs without assigning a number.

Programs offered by the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Allied Health Professions, and Ray P. Authement College of Sciences were singled out.

The College of Engineering’s master’s degree in computer engineering was tied with a number of other schools at number 152. Its programs in industrial engineering and systems engineering were also tied at number 152. Those programs include a master’s degree in systems technology and a Ph.D. in systems engineering.

UL Lafayette’s MBA program was tied at number 194 in the “part-time MBA” category, although the curriculum is the same whether students are enrolled part-time, full-time, on campus or online.

The College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions doctor of nursing practice program was tied for number 133; its master’s degree in nursing program was tied for number 175.

In addition to the six major disciplines ranked annually, U.S. News & World Report also periodically ranks programs in health, humanities, the sciences and social sciences.

This year, U.S. News & World Report also published rankings for graduate programs in public affairs, audiology, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, pharmacy, clinical psychology, occupational therapy and nursing midwifery and for master's programs in fine arts.

As part of the additional rankings, UL Lafayette’s master’s program in speech language pathology tied for number 82. Its computer science graduate programs – which include a master’s degree and a doctoral degree – tied for number 133. Biological sciences programs tied for number 175. The Department of English was also recognized.

U.S. News & World Report compiles the rankings to help prospective college students make decisions about where to enroll and what degrees they want to pursue.

They are based on factors such as faculty credentials and training, student engagement, student service, technology and peer reputation, and university-reported data from the 2019-2020 academic year.

Learn more about the University's graduate programs here.

Photo caption: Graduate programs at UL Lafayette have been recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Graduate Schools national rankings. At the Center for Advanced Computer Studies, the research arm of the School of Computing and Informatics, master’s and doctoral students work on a range of projects, including virtual reality technology. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette