Leading the way is the part-time program in the Antonin Scalia Law School, which is ranked No. 4 nationally, ahead of the University of Maryland and American University; and the security studies programs in the Schar School of Policy and Government, which is ranked 10th and among institutions such as Columbia University and Harvard University.
“A lot of hard work is coming from the different colleges and departments,” said Laurence Bray, Mason’s associate provost for graduate education. “The academic units' faculty and staff members are really the ones making a difference in taking our programs to the next level. The quality and rigor we instill through our programs are directly related to the numbers.”
In addition to its part-time program, the law school’s intellectual property program is ranked No. 31, its constitutional law program is No. 38, its full-time program is No. 42, and its business/corporate program is No. 48.
The Schar School’s local government management program is ranked 19th. Its public management program is 28th, its public policy analysis program is 30th, and its overall public affairs programs are raked 49th.
Several other programs were ranked in the top 50.
The special education program in the College of Education and Human Development is ranked 19th. The systems engineering program in the Volgenau School of Engineering is ranked 39th. The part-time MBA program in the School of Business is ranked 48th, and the doctoral program in the School of Nursing is 40th.
“I’ve seen nothing but incredible support for graduate education programs at Mason,” Bray said. “And it’s going to continue to be even higher in terms of recognizing how critical graduate education is for the success of our students and the university’s overall mission.”
According to its website, U.S. News uses statistical surveys of more than 2,054 programs and from reputation surveys from more than 22,018 academic professionals.
Here is a preview list of Mason national rankings, provided by U.S. News. It will be updated if additional rankings become available:
BUSINESS:
Part-time MBA 48
EDUCATION:
Special Ed 19
Overall programs 69
ENGINEERING:
Systems 39
Computer 69
Electrical 87
Biomedical 93
Civil 93
Overall programs 102
FINE ARTS:
Overall programs 73
HEALTH SPECIALITIES:
Clinical Psychology 101
LAW:
Part-time 4
Intellectual Property 31
Constitutional 38
Full-time 42
Business/Corporate 48
Contracts/Commercial 51
Criminal 74
International 75
Tax 80
Trial Advocacy 105
Health Care 114
Environmental 136
Legal Writing 148
Clinical training 155
NURSING:
Master’s 51
Doctoral 40
PUBLIC AFFAIRS:
Homeland Security 10
Local Government Management 19
Public Management/Leadership 28
Public Policy Analysis 30
Overall 49