Top Ranked KU Graduate Programs

U.S. News & World Report

KU graduate programs, nationally ranked

The University of Kansas has 55 graduate programs ranked in the top 50 among public universities — including eight in the top 10 — in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings. KU is tied for No. 1 nationally in special education and No. 1 among publics in paleontology.

Source: KU Office of Public Affairs, 2026 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools

55programs in the top 50 among public universities
8programs in the top 10 among publics
2×programs ranked No. 1: special education & paleontology

Explore the ranked programs

Filter by area of study or search by name to find KU's nationally ranked graduate programs.

 
 

Showing all 55 ranked programs

  • Paleontology — No. 1 among publics
  • Special Education — Tied No. 1 overall
  • Local Government Management — No. 3
  • Education — No. 8
  • Physical Therapy — No. 8
  • Public Management and Leadership — No. 8
  • Environmental Law — No. 9
  • Speech Language Pathology — No. 10
  • Petroleum Engineering — No. 11
  • Public Affairs — No. 11
  • Occupational Therapy — No. 13
  • Public Finance and Budgeting — No. 13
  • Urban Policy — No. 13
  • Audiology — No. 14
  • Dispute Resolution (Law) — No. 18
  • Legal Writing — No. 19
  • Clinical Child Psychology — No. 21
  • Full-Time Law — No. 21
  • Trial Advocacy (Law) — No. 21
  • Social Work — No. 22
  • Management (Business) — No. 24
  • Nursing-Midwifery — No. 24
  • Pharmacy — No. 24
  • Full-Time MBA — No. 25
  • Nursing-Anesthesia — No. 25
  • Biostatistics — No. 26
  • Entrepreneurship — No. 26
  • Clinical Psychology — No. 29
  • Healthcare Management — No. 29
  • Contracts-Commercial Law — No. 30
  • History — No. 30
  • Psychology — No. 32
  • Criminal Law — No. 33
  • Business-Corporate Law — No. 36
  • International Law — No. 36
  • Aerospace Engineering — No. 37
  • Constitutional Law — No. 37
  • Biology — No. 39
  • Sociology — No. 39
  • Chemistry — No. 40
  • Finance — No. 40
  • Political Science — No. 41
  • English — No. 42
  • Environmental Engineering — No. 44
  • Intellectual Property Law — No. 44
  • Mathematics — No. 44
  • Bioengineering — No. 45
  • Economics — No. 47
  • Business Analytics — No. 48
  • Tax Law — No. 48
  • Health Care Law — No. 49
  • Chemical Engineering — No. 50
  • Earth Sciences — No. 50
  • Fine Arts — No. 50
  • Mechanical Engineering — No. 50
Medicine: U.S. News switched to a tier system for medical schools in 2024 and no longer publishes numeric medical-school ranks. KU is Tier 1 for Medical School–Primary Care — one of only 16 institutions in Tier 1 — and Tier 2 for Medical School–Research.

Rankings are one signal of program strength — most graduate students weigh career outcomes, cost, and format flexibility even more heavily. Each KU program page lists deadlines, costs, and career information, so you can compare on the factors that matter most: browse programs and start your application.