St. Thomas graduate and professional programs in business, education, law and social work are included in the Best Graduate Schools rankings published today (March 12) by U.S. News & World Report.
The Opus College of Business ranks No. 110 out of the 494 schools that hold accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business. The school ranked No. 104 a year ago, the first year that Opus was eligible because of its December 2010 accreditation, and last fall Opus’ undergraduate program ranked No. 117 among 388 AACSB-accredited programs.
“While we would like to move upward each year, we are very pleased that our rankings in only our second year of AACSB accreditation continue to place us well inside the top 25 percent of all AACSB-accredited business schools,” said Dr. Christopher Puto, dean of the college. “We see this as demonstrable proof that our mission-driven approach to business education resonates in the business community.”
The School of Law ranks No. 124, an improvement from its highest ranking of No. 135 two years ago. The School of Law was ranked for the first time in 2007, when it appeared in the third tier.
The School of Social Work, a joint program sponsored by St. Thomas and St. Catherine University, continues to be ranked No. 52, as it was a year ago. U.S. News does not conduct a new social work survey every year; in a ranking three years ago, the St. Thomas-St. Catherine program placed No. 53.
The School of Education, part of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, is not ranked numerically by U.S. News but alphabetically among schools in the second tier.
The St. Thomas School of Engineering is not listed in the national graduate rankings because it does not offer doctoral programs. Last fall, U.S. News ranked St. Thomas No. 69 among 193 engineering schools that offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but not doctorates, and are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
