US News released its latest rankings for grad schools. Here are Penn State’s highs, lows

Josh Moyer
·5 min read
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Penn State experienced mixed results in U.S. News & World Report’s recently released 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings, with moderate drops in existing disciplines but with the addition of two top-20 programs in newly ranked disciplines.

The land-grant university’s top-ranked program came from one of those new disciplines, in Rehabilitation Counseling, where it tied for No. 6 nationally. Another new discipline, Healthcare Management, saw Penn State tie for No. 19.

It wasn’t all good news for the newly ranked programs, however, as Penn State tied for No. 96 nationally in Physician Assistant. That doubled as the university’s worst ranking from U.S. News and tied it with Lock Haven University in that specific category. (PSU was also unranked in Veterinary Medicine.)

When it came to programs that were ranked last year, Penn State mostly lost ground — with seven of 10 graduate programs falling at least one spot. PSU also did not compare favorably to its Big Ten peers, finishing outside of the conference’s top 5 in all but four of US News’ ranked programs.

“Ultimately, a single rating or number cannot tell the full story of Penn State and its broad impact on Pennsylvania and the world,” read a written response from the university. “Penn State’s 24-campus model is unmatched in higher education, offering Pennsylvanians unparalleled access to an elite, public research university, no matter where they are across the state.”

Of the 13 disciplines where PSU received a ranking, it boasted four top-25 finishes and nine top-40 placements.

A quick overview of this year’s rankings compared to last year’s:

  • Rehabilitation Counseling (Health Masters Program): tied-6 (Last year: N/A)

  • Earth Sciences (Doctoral): t-7 (Last year: t-6)

  • Healthcare Management (Health Masters Program): t-19 (Last year: N/A)

  • Physics (Doctoral): t-21 (Last year: t-23)

  • Engineering: t-32 (Last year: 32)

  • Chemistry (Doctoral): t-34 (Last year: t-30)

  • Computer Science (Doctoral): t-35 (Last year: t-34)

  • Business (Full-Time MBA): t-37 (Last year: t-33)

  • Mathematics (Doctoral): t-37 (Last year: t-32)

  • Education: t-49 (Last year: t-41)

  • Public Health: t-55 (Last year: t-70)

  • Public Affairs: t-72 (Last year: t-70)

  • Physician Assistant (Health Masters Program): t-96 (Last year: N/A)

U.S. News further broke down certain programs like engineering into a series of specialty areas, such as aerospace engineering and nuclear engineering. Penn State boasted a dozen top-10 finishes among those specialty areas, which were based mostly on peer assessment surveys from department heads.

PSU’s best rankings in those areas included Higher Education Administration (third nationally; Education), Environmental Sciences (tied for third; Earth Sciences) and Geochemistry (tied for fourth; Earth Sciences).

In a written response provided to the CDT, the university said it remains proud to offer more than 300 graduate degree programs to more than 14,000 students universitywide. And it also addressed the moderate drops in seven programs, only one of which fell more than five spots (Education).

“It’s important to note that in the case of any ranking, shifts in factors such as methodology or the number of institutions included can create fluctuations in rankings from year to year, even if the offerings remained the same,” the response read. “Additionally, each rankings organization uses measures it deems important, but may not provide a full, accurate representation of any university, including Penn State, especially as it relates to the university’s unique model and core values.”

U.S. News, which bills itself as “the global authority in rankings and consumer advice,” acknowledged it changed its overall methodology compared to past years by placing greater emphasis on outcomes compared to reputations.

The outlet’s ranking methodologies varied by overall program but primarily involved collecting statistical and reputation data, then using transparent formulas to weigh different measures of success. Elements taken into account included — but were not limited to — research activity, peer assessment scores, faculty resources, acceptance rates, placement success and program size.

Penn State’s rankings by U.S. News can be seen below. For full rankings or more information, visit usnews.com/best-graduate-schools.

Where Penn State ranks

Penn State’s full rankings are below and ordered from best overall program ranking to worst. Please note that only the specialty areas where PSU is ranked have been included.

Rehabilitation Counseling (Health Masters Program) — tied-6th (4th in Big Ten)

Earth Sciences (Doctoral) —t-7th (1st in Big Ten)

Specialties: Geochemistry — t-4th; Geology — t-10th; Geophysics — t-9th; Environmental Sciences — t-3rd

Healthcare Management (Health Master’s) — t-19th (tied-5th in Big Ten)

Physics (Doctoral) — t-21st (t-4th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Condensed Matter — 11th; Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity — 9th

Engineering — t-32nd (8th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Aerospace — t-15th; Agriculture — 11th; Biomedical — t-38th; Chemical — t-27th; Civil — t-19th; Computer — t-26th; Electrical — t-28th; Environment — t-21st; Industrial — t-10th; Material — 11th; Mechanical — t-17th; Nuclear — 10th; Petroleum — 6th

Chemistry (Doctoral) — t-34th (8th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Analytical — t-16th; Inorganic — t-22nd

Computer Science (Doctoral) — t-35th (t-8th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Artificial Intelligence — t-25th; Systems — 20th

Business (Full-Time MBA) — t-37th (6th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Accounting — t-22nd; Business Analytics — t-21st; Management — t-20th; Information Systems — t-17th; Executive MBA — t-27th; Production/Operations — 11th; Supply Chain Management — t-6th

Mathematics (Doctoral) — t-37th (t-10th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Applied Math — t-26th

Education — t-49th (t-11th in Big Ten)

Specialties: Curriculum & Instruction — t-19th; Educational Administration — t-10th; Education Policy — t-15th; Education Psychology — t-15th; Higher Education Administration — 3rd; Student Counseling — t-6th; Special Education — 13th; Secondary Teacher Education — t-15th

Public Health — t-55th (t-11th in Big Ten)

Public Affairs — t-72 (9th in Big Ten)

Physician Assistant (Health Masters Program) — t-96 (6th in Big Ten)

Unranked programs: Nursing (DNP), Nursing (Masters), Veterinary Medicine