Rankings Methodology

We rank the best traditional and online master’s degree programs to provide prospective students with a place to begin their journey to the school and program that meets their specific interests and needs. We believe rankings are one useful tool among many for evaluating the merits of a school of degree program, but should not be relied upon exclusively or take the place of personal judgment or consultation with educational experts.

We rank schools and degree programs on a number of widely accepted measures of market reputation, academic quality, student satisfaction, and value, as well as our own editorial judgement. Information considered includes rankings and awards from reputable national and international publications, student-to-professor ratio, admissions acceptance rate, retention and graduation rates, tuition cost, financial aid availability, and accreditation. The factors considered and the weight given to them varies by ranking, depending on the subject and public availability of program data.

Data and information for our rankings are derived from the National Center for Education Statistic’s IPEDS database, official college and university websites, and other college ranking sites like U.S. News & World Report.