Graduate Programs Rise Among Nation’s Elite in U.S. News Rankings

Graduate programs at The University of Texas at Dallas made significant strides, led by the Naveen Jindal School of Management's rise into the top 25 business schools in the country for the first time, in the 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings released April 7 by U.S. News & World Report.

The Jindal School, which ranked No. 9 among public universities and No. 23 overall in the nation, moved up eight positions this year, the largest gain among the top 30 schools for full-time MBA programs.

The Doctor of Audiology program in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) also climbed, tying for second in the nation. It is tied for No. 1 among public universities.

"Our peers, graduates, and industry leaders recognize UT Dallas for preparing graduate students to excel and make meaningful contributions across a wide range of fields," said Dr. Juan González, dean of graduate education, vice provost for global engagement and the Francis S. Johnson Chair for Graduate Education. "These rankings send a strong message to future Comets around the world that our graduate programs combine academic excellence, professional preparation and real-world impact."

Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences

In addition to the audiology program's rise from No. 5 last year, the speech-language pathology program in BBS jumped five spots into a tie for 13th overall and tied for No. 10 among public universities.

"We have developed two of the nation's most rigorous and comprehensive graduate programs in speech, language, and hearing sciences," said Dr. Adam J. Woods, dean of BBS and the Aage and Margareta Møller Distinguished Professor in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. "Their commitment to research, clinical training and community impact distinguishes UT Dallas and maintains BBS' leadership in health sciences education and clinical practice. These achievements also honor our students, who invest in their futures here and help advance the field while transforming lives across North Texas and beyond."

UT Dallas students have diverse service-based learning opportunities, multiple interprofessional education opportunities, and ongoing exposure to evidence-based patient care during practicum experiences with BBS faculty and researchers at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders and more than 200 additional clinical partner sites across North Texas.

Dr. Colleen Le Prell, the Emilie and Phil Schepps Distinguished Professor of Hearing Science and department head of speech, language, and hearing (SLH), said the programs provide a highly supportive learning environment.

"Students who choose UT Dallas to prepare for careers in audiology and speech-language pathology benefit from tremendous mentoring programs, innovative simulation technologies, a comprehensive curriculum that undergoes continuous review as part of these changing fields, and opportunities to participate in high-impact research across SLH department laboratories," she said. "The faculty members leading these audiology and speech-language pathology programs have an outstanding commitment to providing positive student experiences and enabling professional success."

Business

The Jindal School's MBA concentrations also placed well in U.S. News' specialty rankings, including reaching No. 11 in information systems, No. 12 in production/operations and No. 20 in supply chain management. The production/operations and supply chain management concentrations are No. 1 in Texas in their respective rankings.

"This recognition reflects the continued growth of our reputation and the strength of our program," said Lisa Shatz, senior assistant dean and director of the Jindal School's MBA programs. "Our recruiter assessment score of 4.3 is the highest among public-university MBA programs in the U.S. and ranks No. 7 overall. Corporate recruiters are recognizing the value of our academic quality and the talent of our graduates."

Dr. Mark Thouin, clinical professor of information systems and associate dean for graduate programs, said the Jindal School's goals are focused on impact.

"This milestone is proof that we are delivering results based on a clear strategy: attract high-caliber students, invest in exceptional faculty and focus on a forward-thinking curriculum, one that includes a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence," he said. "The result is a program that is increasingly competitive on a national stage."

Engineering, Public Affairs

The bioengineering program in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science jumped 14 spots to tie for No. 64 in the nation.

"UT Dallas' bioengineering graduate program reflects momentum, merit and meaningful impact," said Dr. Shalini Prasad, professor and department head of bioengineering and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science. "With the collective excellence of our students and the ingenuity of our faculty - powered by interdisciplinary research, industry partnerships across North Texas, and a culture that prizes mentorship and translation - our program is accelerating solutions from bench to bedside and into the hands of communities."

Elsewhere in the Jonsson School, the computer engineering program moved up three spots to No. 50 nationwide and remains No. 3 among public universities in the state behind UT Austin and Texas A&M University.

In the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, programs in both nonprofit management, No. 22 overall and No. 2 in the state, and public affairs, No. 55 in the U.S. and No. 3 in Texas, made modest gains in the rankings.

U.S. News & World Report ranks professional school programs annually based on expert opinions, statistical indicators and students' postgraduate outcomes. The data come from surveys sent to graduate program administrators and from reputation surveys sent to academicians and professionals.

Media Contact: Stephen Fontenot, UT Dallas, 972-883-4405, [email protected]; Jimmie Markham, Naveen Jindal School of Management, 972-883-5079, [email protected], or the Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].