With more than 100 graduate and professional degree programs — including the No. 1 ranked School of Veterinary Medicine and top-25 programs and specialties in nursing, earth science and engineering — the University of California, Davis continues to be recognized as a national leader in graduate education by U.S. News and World Report.  

The media company released updated rankings on April 24 for nearly 20 disciplines and dozens of specialties in its 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools. 

“Graduate education plays a tremendous role in the research and teaching mission at UC Davis, as well as in our broader statewide, national and international communities,” said Jean-Pierre Delplanque, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies. “While we consistently recognize and appreciate the groundbreaking work of our faculty, graduate students and staff, rankings like these publicly affirm their efforts and further validate their contributions.”

UC Davis Graduate Studies serves a community of almost 7,000 graduate students, 1,000 postdoctoral scholars, and more than 100 graduate degree programs through a variety of functions. 

More than half of the UC Davis graduate programs are organized as interdisciplinary graduate groups, giving students the freedom to explore their interests across disciplines, engage in various areas of research or learn from a variety of faculty. This distinct graduate group structure also strengthens the scope and scale of UC Davis’ overall graduate education and research portfolio, and it remains a big reason why the university remains a leading institution for graduate education in the country.

 

Veterinary Medicine

This year marks the third consecutive time the School of Veterinary Medicine, which includes the Preventative Veterinary Medicine Graduate Group within Graduate Studies, was named No. 1 in the nation. Internationally, the School of Veterinary Medicine also stands on top. In March, the QS World University Rankings by Subject ranked it first in the nation and second in the world in veterinary medicine.

 

Business

The Graduate School of Management’s Full-Time MBA continues to be ranked among the premier programs in the nation in a tie with three other schools at 55th among 149 programs eligible for ranking. U.S. News surveyed the 496 institutions with master’s-level business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. UC Davis Part-Time MBA programs that are offered in Sacramento and the Bay Area, tied for 35th among the 299 ranked.

 

Earth Sciences

In earth sciences overall, UC Davis’ Earth and Planetary Sciences graduate program tied with five other universities for 14th, and in the specialty of geology tied for the 16th spot.

 

Education

The School of Education, which has four programs within Graduate Studies, tied with two other institutions for the 40th spot among the 272 schools that qualified for ranking. The school's programs include a master’s degree program, a master’s/credential program, a Ph.D.-granting graduate group and the CANDEL educational leadership program (Ed.D.).

 

Engineering

UC Davis College of Engineering, which has seven graduate degree programs/groups, tied with two other schools for 34th out of 202 universities nationwide with doctoral engineering programs. The college was recognized for excellence in 10 engineering specialties, including third in agriculture and a three-way tie for ninth in civil engineering.

 

Health Sciences

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, which has six graduate groups in Graduate Studies, tied for the 23rd spot for its master’s degree in nursing programs — making it the third consecutive year the school has secured a spot in the top 25. The Physician Assistant Studies Graduate Group moved to 40th in a tie with five other programs — up from No. 74 when the programs were last ranked in 2019.

 

Sciences

In other rankings:

• Mathematics, in a four-way tie for 30th and, in the specialty of discrete mathematics and combinatorics, tied for 13th.
• Physics ranked in a nine-way tie for 38th.
• Chemistry ranked in a four-way tie for 38th.
• Computer science (Graduate Group) ranked in a five-way tie for 41st.

 

UC Davis News & Media Relations contributed to this article.