U.S. News & World Report: UC San Diego Graduate and Professional Schools are Nation’s Best

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U.S. News & World Report today released its 2020 guidebook that ranks the nation’s top graduate programs and professional schools, giving high marks to UC San Diego’s innovative programs. The U.S. News guidebook annually lists professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law and medicine.

This year’s publication named UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering 11th overall in the U.S., up one spot from last year; and 6th in the nation among public engineering schools. The Jacobs School’s bioengineering graduate program ranks 5th in the nation.

Always highly recognized in the rankings, the UC San Diego School of Medicine is 21st in the U.S. among research-intensive programs, up one spot compared to last year, and is 6th among public medical schools.

The Rady School of Management part-time MBA program soared 21 spots from 56th last year to 35th on this year’s list. Among public universities, it is 22nd best.

“Graduate programs at UC San Diego help transform our diverse global society through education, innovation and public service,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “We offer students an education that enriches and inspires them. Through myriad campus resources and unbeatable research opportunities, our masters and PhD candidates are supported on their upward trajectory to becoming tomorrow’s leaders.”

Research and innovation with a real-world impact

Each day, teams of engineers and computer scientists at the Jacobs School leverage engineering for the global good. A wearable ultrasound patch that monitors blood pressure deep inside the body, cheaper high-performance solar panels, maps of the human brain with single-cell resolution, and better ways to design hardware and software together are just a few examples.

Just this past year, physician-scientists in the School of Medicine have developed sensors that can detect and measure the growth rate of single cancer cells, created a biometric tool to fingerprint newborns and discovered that a single gene mutation may have helped humans to become optimal long-distance runners. In addition, the school announced a novel clinical trial to test whether a cannabis compound can ease severe symptoms of autism. It also launched the nation’s first center focused on developing therapies using bacteriophages – a virus that attacks only bacteria, combating the growing health crisis of antibiotic resistance.

Innovators and entrepreneurs at the Rady School strive to transform our world for the better. Startups launched at the school have revolutionized mobility for the visually impaired, pioneered genetic therapies for pediatric patients, discovered novel therapies for devastating diseases and created technology for previously unmet medical needs. Since the school’s founding 15 years ago, 182 operational startups have been launched, contributing billions to the local, national and global economy.

Campus demonstrates broad strengths across disciplines

Beyond the five disciplines ranked annually, the publication also periodically ranks programs in other areas. Data from previous U.S. News surveys indicates UC San Diego graduate programs demonstrate broad strengths in the sciences and social sciences as well the arts and humanities.

Highly ranked doctoral programs in the sciences include earth sciences (15th); biological sciences (16th); computer science (16th); physics (17th); mathematics (19th); and chemistry (20th).

U.S. News rankings of programs in the social sciences include political science (9th); economics (12th); psychology (13th); and sociology (36th).

In addition, highly rated programs in the humanities include fine arts (13th); English (42nd); and history (41st).

For more information about graduate education, go to UC San Diego's Graduate Division website.

For more information on the rankings, go to the U.S. News and World Report website.