By Joe Garvey

Nineteen graduate programs or specialties and two colleges at Old Dominion University earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report in its rankings of the Best Graduate Schools for 2023, which were released on March 29.

The Darden College of Education and Professional Studies' graduate program and the public administration (which is in the public affairs category) and part-time MBA programs, both in the Strome College of Business, earned the University's highest placements in the annual survey.

The Darden College, which improved from 119th in the 2022 rankings to 89th in 2023, and the public administration program ranked among the top third in the nation. The part-time MBA program placed among the top 45% of programs assessed in the discipline.

The rankings for these programs are:

• No. 89 (tie) Best Graduate Education Schools Programs (out of 274)
• No. 81 (tie) Best Graduate Public Affairs Programs (out of 267)
• No. 120 (tie) Best Graduate Part-Time MBA Programs (out of 278)

Among other highlights of the rankings:

• The Batten College of Engineering and Technology and eight of its programs are nationally ranked for the third consecutive year.
• The psychology program ranked among the top 50% in the nation.
• In addition to the Darden College and the public administration program, the aerospace engineering, environmental engineering, industrial/manufacturing/system engineering and statistics programs ranked among the top 100 nationally in their respective disciplines.

"The scope of ODU's graduate programs that are nationally ranked is a testament to the quality of our advanced-degree curriculum," said Austin Agho, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. "It's also tangible evidence that our students are receiving outstanding educational and research opportunities across many disciplines."

Here is a complete list of the categories where ODU graduate programs earned national rankings in the latest U.S. News & World report survey:

• Biological Sciences
• Business Schools: Part-time MBA
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Earth Sciences
• Education Schools
• Engineering Schools
• Aerospace Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mathematics
• Psychology
• Public Affairs
• Physics
• Public Health
• Statistics

"Word is clearly spreading about the quality and scope of Old Dominion University's numerous graduate programs," said Robert Wojtowicz, vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. "Whether pursuing a degree full- or part-time or on-campus or online, students know they can find the right advanced degree or graduate certificate to meet their educational and professional objectives."

ODU offers 42 master's programs, 22 doctoral degrees and numerous certificates and licenses. Instruction is offered through various modes, including on-campus, video streaming, online and portable media. ODU enrolls more than 4,800 graduate students, almost half of whom are part-time.

Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area.

The Best Graduate Schools rankings in these areas are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators, which measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. The data for the rankings in all six disciplines came from statistical surveys of more than 2,150 programs and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,200 academics and professionals, conducted in fall 2021 and early 2022.

Beyond the six major disciplines ranked annually, U.S. News also periodically ranks programs in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, health and many other fields based solely on academic experts' ratings.

To see ODU's full graduate program rankings, go to the U.S. News & World Report website.

This is just the latest recognition for ODU's academic programs.

In September 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked ODU in the top tier of nearly 1,500 higher education institutions evaluated. For the third year, the University was ranked as a top performer on social mobility, which measures an institution's success in graduating underserved students and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

In December, ODU earned the Research 1 Classification, indicating "very high research activity," from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing it among the highest level of research institutions in the United States.

In January, U.S, News & World Report recognized ODU's distance-learning programs. In February, a peer-reviewed study ranked ODU as the top U.S. university in maritime management research based on a calculated "impact score." In March, the University earned a Gold ranking as a Military Friendly® School for 2022-2023 from militaryfriendly.com.

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