The University of Florida's graduate programs in law, business, education and engineering were the best available in the Sunshine State, according to nationwide graduate school rankings released Tuesday, April 8, by U.S. News and World Report.
No college or university in Florida cracked the top five nationwide among graduate programs in law, business, engineering or education, where UF's graduate program came in tied for sixth and Florida State University's program came in tied for 18th. Those education rankings represented a 10-place jump for UF but a four-place drop for FSU.
The University of South Florida had the state's only Tier 1 medical school, the same ranking U.S. News gave to the medical schools at Emory University and Johns Hopkins University. UF and the University of Miami have Tier 2 programs, the rankings showed.
'Expert opinion' included in U.S. News school rankings
U.S. News said its annual rankings were compiled through the use of "expert opinion about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, students and post-graduate outcomes for them."
Some colleges and universities are eager to tout their annual U.S. News ranking in various programs and view them as both a recruiting tool and a guage of their standing. Parents and students use the rankings as well, though some critics view them as artificial measures that have little practical value other than generating attention for U.S. News.
For its part, the online magazine stands by its rankings.
"We are equipping future graduate students with the information and tools theyneed to make informed decisions in today’s competitive academic landscape,” said LaMont Jones, senior editor of education at U.S. News. "Our comprehensive graduate school rankings provide students with essential data to make one of the most consequential decisions of their lives. U.S. News remains committed to delivering transparent and data-driven assessments that empower students to find their perfect academic match."
Ivy League schools and others with a long-established reputation for excellence dominated the 2025 rankings, as they do in most years.
Yale University, for example, had the second-ranked law school, the 10th-ranked graduate business program and a Tier 1 medical school ranking. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had the top-ranked graduate engineering program, and its graduate business program was ranked fifth.
Among Palm Beach County schools, Florida Atlantic University's graduate education program was ranked 90th. Its graduate engineering program was ranked 145th. FAU's medical school was Tier 3, and its graduate nursing program was ranked 57th.
How Florida, other graduate programs fared
Here is a snapshot of the rankings and how Florida schools fared:
Law
1 (tie). Stanford and Yale
3. University of Chicago
4. Duke University
5. Harvard University
38 (tie). FSU and UF
84. Florida International University
92. University of Miami
99. Stetson University
153. Ave Maria School of Law
Business
1. University of Pennsylvania
2. (tie). Northwestern University and Stanford University
4. University of Chicago
5. MIT
38. UF
50. University of Miami
105( tie). FSU and USF
Education
1. University of Wisconsin-Madison
2 (tie). Teachers College-Columbia University, University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University
5. University of California-Los Angeles
6. UF
18. FSU
40. UCF
49. USF
90. FAU
100. FIU
127. Florida A&M University
132. University of Miami
138. University of North Florida
205. Nova Southeastern University
228. Florida Southern College
Engineering
1. MIT
2. Stanford
3. University of California-Berkeley
4. Georgia Tech
5 (tie). California Institute of Technology and Purdue University
43. UF
74. UCF
89 (tie). FSU and USF
94. FIU
111. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
125. University of Miami
145. FAU
168. Florida Institute of Technology
Medical-Research (Florida schools only)
Tier 1: USF
Tier 2: UF, UM
Tier 3: FAU, FIU, FSU, Nova Southeastern Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, UCF
Tier 4: Nova Southeastern Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Nursing
1. Emory University
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. Ohio State University
4. Vanderbilt University
5. Duke University
23. USF
27. UM
52. FIU
57. FAU
80. Jacksonville University
84. Nova Southeastern
128 (tie). Florida Southern College and the University of Tampa.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support our work; subscribe today.