Two UNC graduate schools placed in the top three of their respective categories and 30 programs placed within the top 10 of United States public schools in the latest rankings compiled by the U.S. News & World Report.

The media company updated its “Best Graduate Schools” database for 2025 this week, which evaluates all types of graduate programs. For UNC, the Gillings School of Global Public Health was tied for second out of 219 public health programs in the country — sharing the spot with Harvard University, Emory University and the University of Michigan while trailing only Johns Hopkins University. That ranking means the Gillings School maintains its title as the top public school of public health, continuing a streak of high ratings by the U.S. News magazine began ranking public health schools in 1987. Additionally, UNC’s School of Information and Library Science ranked third overall in its category, with its health librarianship specialty being tops in the country.

“We are always proud to have our graduate and professional programs recognized for the exceptional, world-class education they provide,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said in a university release about the 2025 lists. “These rankings by U.S. News & World Report only confirm what we already know: Carolina’s graduate and professional programs — and the dedicated students they represent — are key to our success as a leading public research university.”

Other highlights for UNC professional schools is its School of Medicine improving to Tier 1 status in both its primary care and research specialties in the 2025 ratings, marking seven specialty programs ranked in the top 10. The School of Law also rose this year, reaching 18th in the country out of 195 law schools and sixth among public ones included by the U.S. News & World Report. It marks the UNC’s school’s the highest ranking by the media company.

Additional high rankings for Carolina’s specialty programs include its audiology program being tied for first among public schools and tied for second overall; the UNC history program ranking fourth among public schools for doctoral programs; its speech language pathology master’s program tied for fifth overall and third among public institutions; the UNC School of Nursing ranking sixth in master’s programs among public schools; its political science department ranking fifth for public doctoral programs; and its physical therapy specialty ranking sixth for public master’s programs.

The full U.S. News & World Report list of 2025 graduate program rankings for UNC can be found on the magazine’s website. Carolina’s 2024 highlights and rankings can be found here.

 

Featured photo via UNC-Chapel Hill.

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