Top Graduate Programs

Rankings can only tell you so much about a school or program. Dont choose a graduate program based on how high the program that youre considering appears on a published list. Use your own criteria to judge whether or not a grad school is right for you.

Do some research. Ask questions. Talk to professors, current students and alumni. Know what you are getting into ahead of time. Grad school is a serious investment that isnt to be taken lightly. Its a decision that goes beyond national rankings.

If you want a general reference, though, grad school rankings can help you get your bearings. The following rankings have all been taken from the 2007 version of US News and World Reports Americas Best Graduate Schools (although some rankings are based on assessments completed in pervious years). Use these rankings as a guide, but dont base your final grad school decision on a rankings list.

Law The top five graduate programs in law are Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and New York University.

Medicine The top five graduate programs in medical research are Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California-San Francisco and Washington University in St. Louis. The top five graduate programs in primary care are the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Oregon Health and Science University, Michigan State University-College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Massachusetts-Worcester.

Business The top five graduate programs in business are Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania-Wharton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Sloan and Northwestern University-Kellogg.

Engineering The top five graduate programs in engineering are MIT, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.

Education The top five graduate programs in education are Harvard, Teachers college at Columbia University, UCLA, Stand ford and Vanderbilt.

Social Sciences

English The top three graduate programs in English are Harvard UC Berkeley and Yale.

Economics The top five graduate programs in economics are MIT, University of Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and UC Berkeley.

Psychology The top three graduate programs in psychology are Stanford, UC Berkeley and Michigan.

History The top three graduate programs in history are Yale, Princeton and UC Berkeley.

Political Science The top three graduate programs in political science are Harvard, Stanford and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Use these rankings as a starting point for further investigation. Know which schools are strong in the areas that you want to study. Shop around for a grad school that will suit your individual educational and professional goals. Investigate your options so that you know what to expect. Make campus visits. Ask about funding and research opportunities. Find out as much as you can before you get you enroll in any graduate program.

Chris Stout is a frequent contributor to CareersandEducation.com. Chris Stout is a feature writer that covers topics relating to MBA Programs and online colleges.