In its 2022 America’s Best Graduate Schools ranking, U.S. News and World Report recognized five of Michigan State University’s graduate programs as first in the nation, with several others appearing in the top 20.
“These rankings again validate Michigan State’s reputation for excellence and competitiveness among our higher education peers,” MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., said. “I want to congratulate our faculty and academic leadership on MSU’s many rising program rankings, including an additional top-ranked College of Education program.”
For the 27th consecutive year, MSU’s College of Education ranked No. 1 for elementary and secondary education, reinforcing its long track record of excellence in these areas.
The College of Education also ranked No. 1 in curriculum and instruction, and for the first time in the college’s history, educational administration. Rehabilitation counseling, a field most recently ranked two years ago, is also ranked No. 1, bringing the college’s total number of top programs to five.
“Those completing Michigan State University’s graduate programs in education will play important roles in addressing the global challenges that have become even more salient in the past year, including inequality, discrimination, environmental change and political polarization,” said Robert Floden, dean of the College of Education.
“Our top-ranked educational administration program has faculty who are leaders in graduate program design, as well as in research. Across the College of Education, our graduate programs help students learn to develop and study interventions that will improve lives, make evidence of discrimination visible and work toward more productive civic engagement.”
The Eli Broad College of Business’ supply chain management graduate program maintained its ranking for the fifth consecutive year, claiming the lead spot over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The undergraduate supply chain program also ranks No. 1, reinforcing the Broad College’s reputation in this particular discipline.
“The COVID pandemic laid bare the tremendous importance of balancing supply chain risks against a singular focus on realizing the most cost-efficient supply chains,” said Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean Sanjay Gupta. “Moreover, the pandemic highlighted the disproportionate effects of breakdowns in supply chains on minoritized communities and other vulnerable segments of our population.
“Our Broad College supply chain faculty have long been at the forefront in researching these trade-offs and emphasizing the need to building resiliency and redundancy in supply chains. Such thought leadership has real-world implications, and I am truly proud of my colleagues for providing that perspective, especially in this time of need.”
Eleven other MSU graduate programs appear in the 2022 edition of the ranking’s top 20 in their respective disciplines:
• No. 3 – African History
• No. 4 – Higher education
• No. 5 – Educational psychology
• No. 7 – Production/Operations
• No. 8 – Education policy
• No. 9 – Criminal justice
• No. 11 – Econometrics
• No. 12 – Special education
• No. 12 – Biosystems/Agricultural engineering
• No. 17 – African-American history
• No. 20 – International business (tie)
U.S. News & World Report does not rank all graduate programs annually. The programs not appearing on the 2022 list and maintaining their top 20 positions are:
• No. 1 – Industrial/organizational psychology
• No. 1 – Nuclear physics
• No. 1 – Rehabilitation counseling
• No. 17 – Veterinary medicine
“Graduate education plays a vital role in producing the world’s next generation of innovators, experts, academicians and leaders,” said MSU Provost Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. “MSU is especially proud of the current No. 1 rankings and the improved rankings of many academic programs across the university.”
Individual disciplinary program rankings are based strictly on peer assessments of deans and program directors.