UNI’s Education and Part-time MBA graduate programs were named two of the top graduate programs in the country, according to a new U.S. News & World Report ranking.

Both programs ranked among the top 200 in the country – out of thousands of similar programs at other universities – on the publication’s Best Graduate School for 2022 list.

“Graduate students are valuable members of our university community, and our experienced faculty provide personalized attention to help every student pursue their passions and be successful throughout their lives,” said UNI President Mark A. Nook. “We appreciate the recognition of our faculty’s commitment to academic excellence and the unique role UNI plays in preparing graduate students for dynamic, in-demand careers in Iowa and across the United States.”

UNI’s graduate programs in education boost strong employment rates — 100% of graduates from the School Psychology Program find employment and 100% of students graduating with a Master's degree in special education find teaching positions within one year. 

“Our master's in education programs are successful because of our graduate faculty who build strong relationships with students,” said Jennifer Waldron, dean of the Graduate College. “Through mentoring, students are guided to gain a deeper understanding of pre-kindergarten through college education, and directly apply it to their current or future career in the educational system. Many of our graduates serve the state of Iowa and contribute to the public good. UNI continues to be the go-to institution for educators and administrators to expand their learning and professional advancement.” 

Meanwhile, the Part-time MBA program saw its peer evaluator score increase.

“We were gratified to see our reputation score go up, which indicates recognition from other business college deans,” said Dale Cyphert, head of the Department of Market and Entrepreneurship.

For business programs, U.S. News used starting salaries and MBA students' ability to find jobs upon graduation or three month after to help determine rankings. All rankings were based in part on assessments from college deans and senior faculty, as well as hiring professionals in those fields.

The Best Graduate Schools rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. The data for the rankings in all six disciplines in the 2022 listings came from statistical surveys of more than 2,125 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals, conducted in fall 2020 and early 2021.