Drew Wilson
The University of Florida features prominently in U.S. News & World Report’s new Best Graduate Schools rankings.
A dozen UF colleges and 61 graduate programs placed in the top-25 among public universities on the list, which was released Tuesday.
“The excellence of UF’s graduate programs continues to be recognized among the top universities in the country, which is a testament to the impact of our faculty in teaching and research,” UF provost Joe Glover said. “The continued rise in rankings not only recognizes the value UF offers to students across such a broad array of graduate and professional programs, it also highlights how their education will ready them for long-term success in their careers.”
The report shines a positive light on the flagship university from every angle.
Every college at UF touts at least one top-25 grad program, while every graduate program at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering placed in the top-20 among public universities, including the computer science program which ranked No. 12. Also, the College of Liberal Arts’ criminology and history programs ranked No. 14 and 24, respectively.
Thirteen programs were ranked in the top 10 among public universities, including:
— No. 1: Tax law, Levin College of Law
— No. 3: Doctoral program in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a collaboration of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
— No. 3: Special Education, College of Education
— No. 5: Student Counseling, College of Education
— No. 6: Full-time Law Program, Levin College of Law
— No. 8: MBA in Marketing, Warrington College of Business
— No. 8: MBA in Real Estate, Warrington College of Business
— No. 8: Environmental Law, Levin College of Law
— No. 9: Full-time MBA program, Warrington College of Business
— No. 9: Executive MBA, Warrington College of Business
— No. 9: Doctoral program in Materials Science & Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
— No. 10: Business and Corporate Law, Levin College of Law
— No. 10: Elementary Teacher Education, College of Education
Separately, in the national rankings that include both private and public institutions, several programs from the UF College of Medicine, UF College of Education, and the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences earned recognition. Highlights include:
— Two graduate programs in the College of Education, curriculum and instruction and elementary teacher education, rose eight or more places in the national rankings to No. 16 and No. 13, respectively. Additionally, the college reclaimed its position as No. 1 earlier this year in the U.S. News’ rankings of America’s Best Online Graduate Education Programs.
— The agricultural and biological engineering graduate program is ranked No. 3 nationally — up from No. 8 last year. The department of agricultural and biological engineering is part of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
— The UF College of Medicine ranked No. 36 among all medical schools, up from No. 40 last year.
Further, because some colleges are not re-ranked annually, nationally the College of Pharmacy maintains its place as the No. 5 program and the College of Veterinary Medicine maintains its place as No. 9.
The rise in rankings parallels the university’s increase in research spending, which rose to a record $942.2 million in 2020, despite a two-month pause in the research due to the pandemic. Last year, based on fiscal year 2019 data, UF ranked 16th among public universities in research expenditures.
In September 2020, the undergraduate program at UF rose to No. 6 among the nation’s top public universities, according to U.S. News.
