UNC-Chapel Hill earns top national rankings for graduate education

Numerous UNC-Chapel Hill graduate programs received high rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” list, with 20 placing among the top 10 in the nation in their respective categories.

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is once again the No. 1 pharmacy school in the country. This is the fourth consecutive top ranking for the school. The first time Eshelman was ranked No. 1 was in 2016.

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health was recognized as the top public school of public health in the U.S. and tied for No. 2 overall. The 2026 rankings mark the eighth consecutive time Gillings has earned this status. Since U.S. News & World Report first began ranking public health schools in 1987, the school consistently has been ranked among the top three.

Out of 195 law schools, UNC School of Law is tied for 18th. This also marks the third consecutive time the law school has reached the top 20. The school is ranked sixth among public law schools.

The School of Medicine maintained a Tier 1 status in Primary Care this year with six specialty programs ranked in the top 10.

“As a public university, our responsibility is to serve our state and our community through education, research and service,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “The continued strength of our graduate programs demonstrates how we are preparing the next generation of leaders while driving innovation that benefits North Carolina and the world.”

These programs also ranked in the top 5:

• Environmental Health: ranked No. 1 master’s program in the nation.
• Audiology: tied for No. 2 among institutions overall.
• Healthcare Management: ranked No. 2 master’s program out of 102 institutions.
• Local Government Management: ranked No. 2 master’s program in the nation.
• Clinical Psychology: tied for No. 3 in the nation out of 244 institutions.
• Biostatistics: tied for No. 4 best master’s program in the nation.

Additional UNC-Chapel Hill rankings for 2026 follow.

Please note: Not all graduate programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report every year. For a complete list of rankings for UNC-Chapel Hill, visit the U.S. News & World Report website. Additionally, School of Social Work rankings have been delayed until February 2027. For an insight into the methodology used to determine rankings, please visit the U.S. News & World Report methodology website.

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

• No. 1 overall

Gillings School of Global Public Health

• Public Health programs, No. 1 public, tied for No. 2 overall

Specialty Areas

• Environmental Health, No. 1
• Health Policy and Management, tied for No. 2
• Social and Behavioral, No. 3
• Biostatistics, No. 4
• Epidemiology, No. 4

UNC School of Medicine

Overall

• Primary Care, Tier 1
• Research, Tier 2

Specialty

• Audiology, tied for No. 2
• Healthcare Management, No. 2
• Occupational Therapy, tied for No. 5
• Rehabilitation Counseling, tied for No. 7
• Physical Therapy, tied for No. 10
• Speech Language Pathology, tied for No. 11
• Most Graduates Practicing, Primary Care, No. 69
• Most Graduates Practicing, Medically Underserved Areas, No. 77
• Most Graduates Practicing, Rural Areas, No. 103

School of Nursing

Overall

• Nursing Schools, Master’s Programs, tied for No. 12
• Nursing Schools, DNP Programs, tied for No. 16

Specialty Areas

• Nursing DNP, Nurse Practitioner: Psychiatric/Mental Health Across the Lifespan, tied for No. 9
• Nursing Master’s, Nurse Practitioner: Family, No. 9
• Nursing DNP, Nurse Practitioner: Family, tied for No. 15

UNC School of Law

• Overall, tied for No. 18

Specialty Areas

• Legal Writing, tied for No. 16
• Criminal Law, No. 17
• Contracts/Commercial Law, tied for No. 18
• Tax Law, tied for No. 23
• Most Grads in Federal Clerkships, tied for No. 23
• Constitutional Law, tied for No. 24
• Health Care Law, tied for No. 29
• Business/Corporate Law, tied for No. 29
• Most Grads at Big Law Firms, tied for No. 32
• International Law, tied for No. 41
• Environmental Law, tied for No. 45
• Intellectual Property Law, tied for No. 47
• Dispute Resolution, tied for No. 59
• Clinical Training, tied for No. 66
• Trial Advocacy, tied for No. 121

School of Government

• Public Affairs, tied for No. 20

Specialty Areas

• Local Government Management, No. 2
• Public Management and Leadership, No. 9
• Public Finance and Budget, No. 15

Note: As part of the public affairs category, U.S. News ranked Carolina programs and specialty areas based in the School of Government and the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of public policy.

UNC School of Education

• Overall, tied for No. 32

Specialty Areas

• Education Psychology, No. 13
• Secondary Teacher Education, tied for No. 13
• Education Policy, tied for No. 14
• Special Education, tied for No. 14
• Elementary Teacher Education, tied for No. 15
• Educational Administration, No. 17
• Curriculum and Instruction, tied for No. 17

UNC College of Arts and Sciences

• Clinical Psychology, tied for No. 3
• Biostatistics, tied for No. 4
• Statistics, tied for No. 16
• Chemistry, tied for No. 17
• Biological Sciences, tied for No. 26
• Computer Science, tied for No. 27
• Mathematics, tied for No. 31
• Physics, tied for No. 34
• Earth Sciences, tied for No. 40
• Fine Arts, tied for No. 54

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

• Overall, Best Business Schools, tied for No. 21

Specialty Areas

• Real Estate MBA, tied for No. 8
• Executive MBA, tied for No. 9
• Production-Operations MBA, tied for No. 12
• Supply Chain Management MBA, tied for No. 15
• Finance MBA, tied for No. 15
• Management MBA, tied for No. 15
• Accounting, tied for No. 16
• Entrepreneurship MBA, tied for No. 17
• Marketing MBA, tied for No. 17
• International MBA, tied for No. 19
• Business Analytics MBA, tied for No. 21
• Artificial Intelligence, No. 26

Engineering

• Overall, tied for No. 71

Specialty Areas

• Environmental, tied for No. 22
• Materials, tied for No. 58

Note: Engineering rankings are spread across several schools. Environmental engineering is in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Biomedical engineering is in the School of Medicine. Material engineering is shared among the chemistry and applied physical sciences departments in the College of Arts and Sciences.