Graduate College

The Graduate College
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5242 USA
(269) 387-8212

Five WMU graduate programs rank in top 100 in the nation

This image is a photo of a sculpture titled The Tree of Growth that stands in the trun around section of the drive near Sangren Hall. The sculpture has a large circular base of concrete with a 45 degree angle cut across the top where the Western Michigan University seal is displayed in raised bronze relief. The center element, the tree of knowlege breaks free from the confines of the traditional seal and springs upwards seventeen feet into the air to symbolize the primary mission of the university.

The 2020 edition of the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the top graduate programs in the country shows Western Michigan University with a number of highly ranked programs. The rankings, released September 8, 2019, show five programs from the College of Health and Human Services are among the top 100 in their disciplines. WMU’s Rehabilitation Counseling is at number 37, the Speech Language Pathology program ranks at number 46, while the Audiology program ranks similarly at number 48. Other WMU programs in the top 100 are Occupational Therapy at number 58 and Social Work at number 77.

 Also noteworthy is that WMU ranked number 78 as a Top Performer on Social Mobility, which is an indicator that WMU enrolls and graduates a large proportion of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. Since these students typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 a year, WMU is making a difference in students’ ability to obtain an education that elevates their socio-economic standing.

Online programs also were ranked, as more students are interested in distance education programs.  U. S. News & World Report assessed 1,545 online degree program for the 2019 edition, and WMU ranked 97 for Best Online Graduate Nursing Program and 100 for Best Online Graduate Education Programs.

Other significant graduate program rankings for WMU include: 

  • Physician Assistant - No. 108. 
  • Earth Sciences - No. 114. 
  • English - No. 116. 
  • History - No. 125.  
  • Part-time MBA - No. 127. 
  • Best Education Schools - No. 127. 
  • Best Fine Arts Programs - No. 131. 
  • Clinical Psychology - No. 135.  
  • Best Public Affairs Programs - No. 139. 
  • Computer Science - No. 181.

 “The rankings are further evidence of the high quality of our graduate programs, especially when you consider that this report examined over 800 institutions” says Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, interim dean of the WMU Graduate College. “Our College of Health and Human Services, in particular, has programs that have been considered among the nation’s best for a number of years.” Every year, Western Michigan University is one of more than 800 institutions with graduate schools surveyed by U.S. News & World Report.