DU Graduate Programs Ranked Among Top in Nation

Four graduate schools at the University of Denver are ranked among the top 100 in the country. U.S. News & World Report today released its 2020 Best Graduate School Rankings. The Sturm College of Law, Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), Daniels College of Business and Morgridge College of Education made the top 100 list.

The full-time law program at the Sturm College of Law is No. 67, while the ranking for the part-time law program is No. 12, up two spots from a year ago.

Sturm is the only law school in the nation with three experiential learning programs ranked among the top 10 programs: clinical training (No. 7), trial advocacy (No. 7) and legal writing (No. 8).

“We are gratified by this external recognition of our achievement and look forward to building upon them even more expansively in the years to come,” says Sturm College of Law Dean Bruce Smith.

Other specialty areas of environmental law, international law, tax law, intellectual property and dispute resolution all ranked within the top 100.

Meanwhile, GSSW has maintained its ranking as the 17th best master of social work program in the country. U.S. News & World Report now generates yearly rankings for best social work programs. Previously, this ranking was published only once every four years.

“Social work rankings continue to fluctuate greatly each year. The Graduate School of Social Work is honored to remain ranked 17th in the country,” says GSSW Dean Amanda Moore McBride. “This consistency speaks to the continued high-quality teaching and research by our faculty, the school’s community impact and our alumni who advance social justice around the world.”

The Morgridge College of Education's Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) program is ranked No. 27 in the category of best Educational Administration and Supervision programs.

"This is big for us," says Morgridge Dean Karen Riley. "We've worked hard to create a program where the leadership skills are transferrable in and out of the classroom. We are seeing transformative leaders who graduate and keep in contact with their class cohorts for support, collaboration and continued education. It is a unique program and it's an honor to be recognized."

The Daniels College of Business ranking for full-time MBA programs rose by one spot, from No. 92 to No. 91. The part-time MBA program dropped outside of the top 100 after being ranked No. 87 last year.

“As a result of Daniels’ rigorous coursework and challenge-driven experiences, we’ve come closer than most to harnessing the market space at the intersection of intellectual rigor and market relevance. This is the sweet spot for business schools,” says Daniels Dean Brent Chrite. “In our curriculum, the center of gravity is a market-centered student experience. We’re very pleased to have this recognized in today’s competitive and disrupted management education marketplace.”

The U.S. News & World Report 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. Rankings data come from statistical surveys of more than 2,054 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 22,018 academics and professionals. The most recent surveys were conducted in fall 2018 and early 2019.

View the complete rankings by U.S. News & World Report.