Five University of Colorado at Boulder graduate specialty programs were ranked in the top 10 nationally in U.S. News & World Report's 2011 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools scheduled for release April 15.
The CU-Boulder physics department landed two specialty rankings in the top five in the new rankings. The atomic/molecular/optical physics program was tied for No. 1 in the nation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the quantum physics program tied for No. 5 with the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The environmental sciences program was ranked in a tie for No. 5 in the nation. The CU Law School's environmental law specialty program was ranked in a tie for No. 6 in the nation, and the physical chemistry program ranked No. 8.
"The rankings of these graduate programs of excellence at the University of Colorado at Boulder demonstrate the quality of our faculty and the value the university adds to research and teaching on a truly global scale," said Interim Provost Stein Sture. "We are gratified by the rankings, and challenged by them to achieve even greater things for Colorado, the nation and the world."
Other CU-Boulder specialty programs ranked in the top 50 in 2010 are aerospace engineering (tied for 12th), biochemistry (tied for 15th), chemical engineering (19th), civil engineering (tied for 22nd), environmental engineering (tied for 23rd), business entrepreneurship (tied for 26th), electrical engineering (tied for 35th) and mechanical engineering (tied for 35th).
Other CU-Boulder doctoral programs ranked in the nation's top 50 in 2010 were physics (tied for 19th), earth sciences (tied for 23rd), chemistry (tied for 26th), biological sciences (tied for 30th), computer science (tied for 39th) and mathematics (tied for 46th).
The part-time MBA program at the Leeds School of Business was tied for 35th in the nation.
Professional school programs in education, engineering, law, business and medicine were among the programs ranked this year.
CU-Boulder's Law School was tied for 38th, the College of Engineering and Applied Science was tied for 39th, the School of Education was tied for 41st and the Leeds School of Business was tied for 71st.
Also included in the latest U.S. News & World Report 2011 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools were several other CU-Boulder specialty programs and degree programs that were previously ranked. These included ceramics (tied for 14th in 2008), the master's degree program in speech-language pathology (tied for 25th in 2008), psychology (tied for 29th in 2009), clinical psychology (tied for 33rd in 2008), (political science tied for 39th in 2009), English (tied for 46th in 2009), economics (tied for 50th in 2009), history (tied for 52nd in 2009), sociology (tied for 57th in 2009) and the master's degree program in fine arts (tied for 58th in 2008).