5 University of Hawai‘i grad programs among nation’s top 75

Sixteen graduate programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have been nationally recognized for academic and research excellence, according to the 2023–24 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings.

Seven programs were ranked in the nation’s top 100, and five placed in the top 75.

“At a time when many prospective graduate students are deciding which institution they will attend in the fall, these rankings demonstrate that UH Mānoa is home to world-class academic programs across a vast range of disciplines,” University of Hawai‘i Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno said.

The rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program excellence, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students.

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology – The Department of Earth Sciences placed No. 42 out of 166 earth sciences doctoral programs considered. Students in the PhD program gain advanced knowledge, develop professional skills and learn cutting-edge methodologies through specialized coursework and by conducting research.

Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing – The doctor of nursing practice program placed No. 49 among 169 schools considered in the newest U.S. News ranking. UH Mānoa nursing is the only Hawaiʻi DNP program ranked by U.S. News since 2018. UH Mānoa nursing also placed No. 60 out of 184 schools for best master’s nursing programs.

College of Education – The College of Education ranked No. 64 of 272 schools considered, the 18th straight year the college has been listed as one of the nation’s top 100 education programs.

College of Social Sciences – The Public Administration Program ranked No. 72, up 16 spots from the previous year, out of 269 graduate programs considered. The ranking puts the program in the top third of all master’s of public administration programs in the country.

Shidler College of Business – The Shidler College of Business rose 12 spots from last year to No. 77 out of 149 schools considered in the full-time master of business administration category. Shidler’s MBA programs are the only Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International accredited MBA programs in Hawaiʻi and among the few MBA programs in the U.S. with a true Asia-Pacific focus.

College of Engineering – Four College of Engineering graduate programs were ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News. Civil engineering ranked No. 90; electrical engineering placed No. 112; mechanical engineering ranked No. 124; and computer science, a joint program in the College of Engineering and Department of Information and Computer Sciences, ranked No. 139. The College of Engineering ranked in No. 168 among the top engineering schools in the U.S. that grant doctoral degrees.

Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health – The Office of Public Health Studies ranked No. 105 out of 206 public health schools and programs in the U.S. accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The Office of Public Health Studies offers a bachelor in arts in public health; a master in public health, with specializations in epidemiology, health policy and management, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous health and social and behavioral health sciences, and a master of science specializing in epidemiology, as well as PhD program in public health, specializing in community-based and translational research and a PhD in epidemiology. OPHS is also home to a recently launched online master of public health program to meet workforce demands.

College of Natural Sciences – Graduate programs in the College of Natural Sciences were ranked by U.S. News, including physics at No. 105, mathematics at No. 125, computer science at No. 139 and chemistry at No. 161.

Law and medical school rankings were expected to be released, however, according to U.S. News and World Report, due to an unprecedented number of inquiries from schools during the initial embargo period and verification of publicly available data, the updated 2023–24 Best Medical Schools and 2023–24 Best Law Schools rankings embargo and publication will be released at a later date.