A total of 19 graduate programs at Rice University rank among the nation's top 25 in their categories in the latest edition of U.S. News and World Report's "Best Graduate Schools."
The high rankings run the gamut of graduate programs offered at Rice, including the No. 1-rated industrial organizational psychology program in the nation.
The George R. Brown School of Engineering, which ranks No. 27 nationally (up from No. 29 last year), has six programs or specialties in the top 25: bioengineering (No. 9, up from No. 10), chemical engineering (No. 24, up from No. 26), computer engineering (No. 20), electrical engineering (No. 25, up from No. 27), applied mathematics (No. 14) and environmental engineering (tied for No. 16). Other Rice Engineering programs ranking in the top 30 are civil engineering (No. 26), materials engineering (tied for No. 27) and mechanical engineering (tied for No. 29).
The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, which ranks No. 27 nationally, has two programs in the top 25: entrepreneurship (No. 10) and the professional MBA program that U.S. News ranks in its part-time MBA category (No. 11, up from No. 17). Its executive MBA program ranks No. 31.
"The caliber of graduate programs at Rice keeps getting stronger and continues to draw a more robust and diverse graduate student population at the university," said Rice Provost Reginald DesRoches. "We are pleased that programs across our entire campus are being recognized and look forward to growing this area of our mission for years to come."
The U.S. News and World Report rankings are among the most closely monitored annual surveys of the nation's institutions of higher education. Each year, the publication ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area.
Rice's Department of Chemistry, which ranks No. 35 nationally, has three programs in the top 25: theoretical chemistry (No. 11), physical chemistry (No. 17) and organic chemistry (No. 22).
Rice's Department of Computer Science, which is tied for No. 28 overall, has two programs in the U.S. News rankings: computer programming language (No. 22) and computer science systems (tied for No. 26).
Rice's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences is tied for No. 24 overall nationally in the Earth Sciences category and has three programs ranked in the top 20: geochemistry (tied for No. 14), geology (tied for No. 18) and geophysics and seismology (tied for No. 12).
Rice's Department of Mathematics is tied for No. 29 overall.
Rice's Department of Physics and Astronomy is tied for No. 28 overall in the Physics category and has two programs in the top 25: atomic/molecular/optical (No. 8) and condensed matter (tied for No. 22).
U.S. News says its Best Graduate School rankings are based on expert opinions and statistical indicators measuring the quality of faculty, research and students. The publication says it compiled data from surveys of more than 2,150 programs and reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals in fall 2021 and early 2022.
For more information on Rice's rankings, click here .
Tommy Pan Fang, assistant professor of strategic management at Rice Business, has been named to Poets&Quants’ list of 50 Best Undergraduate Professors. Pan Fang was chosen from among 1,000 nominations, and at age 30, he is one of the youngest professors on the list.
“While I enjoyed all of my professors, Dr. Tommy Pan Fang stood out as the most engaging, thought-provoking, and intelligent,” says student Paul Gregory who will graduate with the class of 2026.
How Rice MBA Mercedes Moncada-García '25 overcame imposter syndrome and found her career path in energy.
