Education

USC has twice as many ranked graduate programs as Clemson, per US News & World Report

U.S News and World Report has released its 2022 rankings for best graduate programs in the country.

The state’s two largest schools, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University, found more spots on the list of best programs than the rest of the schools combined. Both Clemson and USC ranked relatively high in their specialized field.

USC held the No. 1 ranking for best international business school in the nation, a distinction it has had for over two decades, according to USC’s website.

Clemson University had four graduate engineering programs in the top 50, according to the rankings. USC had several ranked engineering programs — including a No. 25 ranking in nuclear engineering — but largely fell behind Clemson in that field.

Thanks largely to USC’s law school, USC’s graduate programs were ranked in twice as many categories as Clemson, according to the rankings.

USC moved up in several categories compared to last year. For example, USC’s English program increased by 12 places, from No. 85 to No. 73.

In other areas, USC was about the same. USC placed one rank higher in engineering, one rank lower in criminology, two places lower in part-time MBA and its law school retained the same ranking of No. 96.

Bob Jones University, S.C. State University, The Citadel, College of Charleston, USC Upstate, Francis Marion, Charleston School of Law, Medical University of South Carolina and Anderson University also had at least one graduate program ranked among the country’s best, according to the rankings.

The rankings are based on statistics such as admissions test scores, graduates’ starting salaries, employment rates and “reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals,” according to the report’s methodology page.

The rankings also found that, of all colleges studied, USC sends the highest percent of graduates to practicing direct patient care in areas where there is a health care shortage. MUSC ranked No. 9 in this category.

Business - full-time MBA

  • No. 55 (tie) USC

  • No. 74 (tie) Clemson

  • 110-143 (tie) College of Charleston

Business - part-time MBA

  • No. 25 USC
  • No. 85 Clemson
  • No. 133 The Citadel

Business - international

  • No. 1 USC

Criminology

  • No. 23 (tie) USC

Economics

  • No. 69 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 87 (tie) USC

Education

  • No. 76 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 76 (tie) USC
  • 211-271 (tie) Bob Jones University
  • 211-271 (tie) S.C. State University

Education - curriculum and instruction

  • No. 28 Clemson

Engineering

  • No. 71 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 101 (tie) USC

Engineering - biomedical

  • No. 45 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 89 (tie) USC

Engineering - chemical

  • No. 60 (tie) Clemson

Engineering - civil

  • No. 54 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 84 (tie) USC

Engineering - computer

  • No. 62 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 97 (tie) USC

Engineering - electrical

  • No. 66 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 99 (tie) USC

Engineering - environment

  • No. 38 (tie) Clemson

Engineering - industrial

  • No. 29 (tie) Clemson

Engineering - material

  • No. 50 (tie) Clemson

Engineering - mechanical

  • No. 49 (tie) Clemson
  • No. 83 (tie) University of South Carolina

Engineering - nuclear

  • No. 25 (tie) USC

English

  • No. 73 (tie) USC

History

  • No. 81 (tie) USC

Law - full time

  • No. 96 (tie) USC
  • No. 147-193 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - business/corporate law

  • No. 180 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - clinical training

  • No. 50 (tie) USC

Law - constitutional

  • No. 110 (tie) USC
  • No. 176 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - contracts/commercial

  • No. 87 (tie) USC
  • No. 176 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - criminal

  • No. 72 (tie) USC
  • No. 181 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law- environmental

  • No. 44 (tie) USC
  • No. 168 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - health care

  • No. 71 (tie) USC

Law - intellectual property

  • No. 121 (tie) USC
  • No. 175 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - international

  • No. 104 (tie) USC
  • No. 168 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - legal writing

  • No. 100 (tie) USC
  • No. 172 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - tax

  • No. 53 (tie) USC
  • No. 170 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Law - trial advocacy

  • No. 30 (tie) USC
  • No. 162 (tie) Charleston School of Law

Library and information sciences

  • No. 17 (tie) USC

Library and information sciences - services for children and youth

  • No. 9 (tie) USC

Library and information sciences - school library media

  • No. 7 USC

Medicine - research

  • No. 90 USC

Medicine - primary care

  • No. 76 (tie) USC

Nursing - Master’s program

  • No. 146 (tie) USC Upstate

Nursing - DNP

  • No. 126-163 (tie) Anderson University

  • No. 126-163 (tie) Francis Marion University

Political Science

  • No. 63 (tie) USC

Public Affairs

  • No. 95 (tie) College of Charleston
  • No. 95 (tie) USC

Public Health

  • No. 41 (tie) USC

This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

LD
Lucas Daprile
The State
Lucas Daprile has been covering the University of South Carolina and higher education since March 2018. Before working for The State, he graduated from Ohio University and worked as an investigative reporter at TCPalm in Stuart, FL. Lucas received several awards from the S.C. Press Association, including for education beat reporting, series of articles and enterprise reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription
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