The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing master’s program earned the No. 1 spot in the nation in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s (USNWR) “America’s Best Graduate Schools” guide, overtaking the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (Md.). USNWR also ranked the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program, which is a joint program between the Emory University School of Medicine, Laney Graduate School and the Georgia Institute of Technology, No. 1 nationally. Emory’s biomedical engineering program tied with Johns Hopkins.
Both the nursing masters program and the biomedical engineering Ph.D. program have ranked No. 2 in their respective categories for the past two years before coming out on top.
In the nursing master’s programs, Emory ranked No. 3 for nursing administration/management. Both the nurse practitioner, adult/gerontology, acute care and nurse practitioner, adult/gerontology, primary care programs maintained their No. 4 rankings, while the family nurse practitioner program fell from No. 5 to No. 6.
“We are always honored to be recognized among the top nursing programs,” nursing school Dean Linda McCauley wrote in an April 25 press release. “This recognition is a testament to our diverse and excellent faculty, staff and students, along with our alumni and partners, who shape the future of nursing and impact our world’s health and well-being. I am incredibly proud of our entire school community.”
Additionally, the nursing school’s doctor of nursing practice program ranked No. 6, maintaining last year’s position. Within the program, Emory secured the No. 1 spot for nurse administration management, up from No. 5 last year. Both family practice and adult gerontology/acute care ranked No. 5, while adult gerontology/primary care ranked No. 6.
The U.S. News & World Report ranked the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing No. 1 in the nation. (Natalie Sandlow/Staff Photographer)
The Rollins School of Public Health earned the No. 4 ranking for the third consecutive year.
Goizueta Business School’s full-time master of business administration (MBA) program jumped from last year’s No. 21 ranking to No. 17. Additionally, Goizueta’s executive MBA program ranked No. 14, while the part-time program ranked No. 19. Goizueta Dean Gareth James wrote in an April 25 press release that he “couldn’t be prouder” of the business school’s graduates and community.
“Through your support, we continue to develop principled and impactful leaders and entrepreneurs, foster innovation for a data and technology driven world, and grow a global presence fueled by local synergies,” James wrote. “I’m energized about the future of our school and students.”
Laney’s biostatistics Ph.D. program earned the No. 7 spot, while the chemistry Ph.D. program ranked No. 34 in a four-way tie with University of Florida, University of Utah and Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
The Emory School of Medicine’s ranking among research-oriented medical schools dropped to No. 23 after holding the No. 22 spot for the past two years. This is the first time the medical school has dropped in ranking in the research category since the 2018-19 academic year, when Emory went from No. 23 to No. 24. This year, the medical school also dropped from No. 42 to No. 64 for primary care medical schools in a three-way tie with the University of South Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth University. This is the lowest Emory has ranked among primary care medical schools in the past decade, with the second-lowest spot being No. 48 in the 2013-14 academic year.
The Emory School of Law continued its downward trend, earning the USNWR’s No. 35 spot this year in a five-way tie with George Washington University (D.C.), University of Alabama, University of California Irvine and University of Iowa. This is the lowest the law school has ranked in the past decade, consistently ranking in the low 20s before moving from No. 24 in the 2019-20 academic year to No. 29 in the 2020-21 academic year. Last year, the law school ranked at No. 30.
In a deviation from previous years, the medical and law school rankings were announced several weeks after the remainder of the 2024 graduate school guide due to an “unprecedented number of inquiries” from medical and law schools to update data submitted after the collection period.
This also comes after several medical and law schools have departed from the USNWR’s annual guide this past academic year, including Ivy League institutions such as Harvard University’s (Mass.) and Columbia University’s (N.Y.) medical and law schools. Several of Emory’s peer institutions have also selected to not participate in the USNWR rankings for both medical and law schools, including the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (Ill.), Duke University School of Medicine (N.C.), Georgetown University Law Center (D.C.) and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (Ill.)
Emory, however, has not pulled out from any of USNWR’s rankings.
The graduate school rankings come after Emory fell to No. 22 on USNWR’s “Best Colleges” list in September 2022, which is the University’s lowest ranking since 1994.
Update (5/12/23 at 3:42 p.m.): This article was updated to include medical and law school rankings.
Madi Olivier is from Highland Village, Texas, and is majoring in psychology and minoring in rhetoric, writing and information design. Outside of the Wheel, she is involved in psychology research and works for the Trevor Project. In her free time, you can find her trying not to fall while bouldering and watching Criminal Minds with her cat.
