Fifty-five University of Iowa colleges and programs were recognized among the best in their field in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings. Eleven of these programs received a top-10 ranking in this year’s report. 

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional school programs in a variety of disciplines, including business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing. 

Iowa has a total of 24 colleges and programs among the top 25 in the nation, according to their most recent ranking. 

Below are all U.S. News graduate school rankings for UI colleges and programs. 

1. Nurse anesthesia (College of Nursing)

1. Physician assistant (Carver College of Medicine)*

2. Audiology (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

2. Physical therapy (Carver College of Medicine)

3. Pediatric primary care, Doctor of Nursing Practice nurse practitioner (College of Nursing)

3. Speech-language pathology (CLAS)

5. Rehabilitation counseling (College of Education)

6. Administration DNP (College of Nursing)

7. Printmaking (CLAS)*

8. Gerontology, acute care DNP (College of Nursing)

8. Gerontology, primary care DNP (College of Nursing)

9. Family nurse practitioner DNP (College of Nursing)

9. Nurse practitioner: psychiatric/mental health, across the lifespan DNP (College of Nursing)

13. Health care management (College of Public Health)

15. Community and behavioral health/social behavior (College of Public Health)

16. Biostatistics (College of Public Health)

18. College of Public Health

18. Environmental health sciences (College of Public Health)*

18. Higher education administration (College of Education)

20. College of Pharmacy

20. Contracts/commercial law (College of Law)

22. Business, part-time MBA (Tippie College of Business)

23. Epidemiology (College of Public Health)

24. Clinical psychology (CLAS)

26. English (CLAS)*

28. Library and information studies (Graduate College)*

30. Environmental and environmental health engineering (College of Engineering)

32. College of Education

32. College of Law

33. Statistics (CLAS)

34. Fine arts (CLAS)

35. Criminal law (College of Law)

35. Doctor of nursing practice (College of Nursing)

39. Environmental law (College of Law)

39. Psychology (CLAS)*

40. Sociology (CLAS)*

41. Business/corporate law (College of Law)

41. Industrial, manufacturing, and systems engineering (College of Engineering)

41. International law (College of Law)

41. Political science (CLAS)*

44. Tax law (College of Law)

47. Constitutional law (College of Law)

47. Intellectual property law (College of Law)

48. Civil engineering (College of Engineering)

55. Health care law (College of Law)

55. Nursing, master’s degree (College of Nursing)

56. Biomedical engineering (College of Engineering)

56. Economics (Tippie College of Business)*

56. History (CLAS)*

60. Social work (CLAS)*

62. Physics (CLAS)

64. Mechanical engineering (College of Engineering)

67. Chemical engineering (College of Engineering)

67. Chemistry (CLAS)

67. Mathematics (CLAS)

69. Computer engineering (College of Engineering)

69. Computer science (CLAS)

72. Biological sciences (CLAS)

73. Earth science (CLAS) 

80. Electrical and electronic communications engineering (College of Engineering)

80. Public affairs (Graduate College)

83. College of Engineering

84. Legal writing (College of Law)

85. Dispute resolution program (College of Law)

102. Clinical training law (College of Law)

105. Trial advocacy law (College of Law)

U.S. News places medical schools in one of four tiers for the Primary Care and Research categories. Each school’s tier was derived from an overall score, calculated across several factors. The first two tiers in each category comprise approximately 50 medical schools, according to U.S. News. 

Iowa’s rankings:

• Primary Care: Tier 3
• Research: Tier 2

In addition to ranking colleges and programs, U.S. News also published rankings that consider graduate outcomes, including where doctors or lawyers practice after graduation. 

Iowa’s rankings:

• 28. Most graduates practicing in rural areas (Carver College of Medicine)
• 30. Most graduates in federal clerkships (College of Law)
• 46. Most graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas (Carver College of Medicine)
• 124. Most graduates practicing in primary care (Carver College of Medicine)

Rankings with an asterisk (*) were not evaluated this year but represent the college or program’s most recent ranking.