Facts and Figures

The University of Delaware has been ranked among the 2026 Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News & World Report. 

This year’s rankings reflect UD’s continued national recognition across a wide range of graduate programs with two programs featured prominently. Physical Therapy retained the No. 1 spot (out of 278) and Chemical Engineering rose to No. 7 (out of 136).

Overall, 14 of UD’s ranked graduate programs and schools placed in the top 50. Nearly one-third of UD’s previously ranked programs and schools improved their position over the past year. 

UD programs ranked among the top 50 specialty rankings include:

• Physical Therapy, 1

• Chemical Engineering, 7

• Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 8

• Nonprofit Management, 12

• Criminology, 18

• Public Management and Leadership, 20

• Public Finance and Budgeting, 31

• Speech-Language Pathology, 33

• Information Systems, 41*

• Materials Engineering, 47

• Clinical Psychology, 49

UD programs in the top 100 include: 

• Chemistry, 51 
• Mechanical Engineering, 51
• Biomedical Engineering, 52
• Business Analytics, 54*
• Civil Engineering, 57 
• Electrical Engineering, 57 
• Physics, 62 
• Psychology, 62
• Earth Sciences, 64
• Computer Engineering, 69 
• Computer Science, 69
• English, 72
• Finance, 72*
• International Business, 74*
• History, 75
• Sociology, 76
• Accounting, 84*
• Mathematics, 84
• Statistics, 85*
• Political Science, 87
• Economics, 97

U.S. News & World Report selects several factors, known as ranking indicators, to assess each program in the categories outlined above. A program's score for each indicator is calculated using data that the program reported to U.S. News in a statistical survey and from data collected in a separate peer assessment survey. Programs marked with an asterisk indicate newly ranked programs for UD. 

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Six University of Delaware online graduate degree programs are ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in its 2026 U.S. News Best Online Programs, released Jan. 27, 2026. 

Both UD’s online master’s in education and online MBA ranked among the top 10% of their respective programs, at No. 25 and 26, respectively. Announced on Jan. 6, the online MBA program recently rose nine spots to No. 32 in the Poets&Quants 2026 Online MBA rankings.

UD’s online master’s in nursing program ranked No. 35 out of 209 programs, rising 99 places over the past year. 

New for UD, the online master’s in educational/instructional media design program was recognized by peers at No. 11 in this education specialty ranking. 

UD’s online master’s in computer information technology program and online master’s in engineering ranked No. 64 in their respective areas. 

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The 2025 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools has ranked the University of Delaware's engineering program at #38 nationally, a jump of four spots. Additionally, UD’s consistently top-ranked chemical engineering graduate program remained in the top 10 nationally at #7.

“This momentum in the rankings reflects the outstanding work of our dedicated faculty, staff and students, as well as the strategic investments that the University has made to strengthen our intellectual capital, expand our academic programs, enhance our research capacity and provide unique opportunities to learn and grow,” said UD President Dennis Assanis. “UD’s top-notch engineering program is educating the workforce of the future and driving the growth of the Delaware region’s economy while also solving critical problems around the world."

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The 2025 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools has ranked the University of Delaware's engineering program at #38 nationally, a jump of four spots. Additionally, UD’s consistently top-ranked chemical engineering graduate program remained in the top 10 nationally at #7.

“This momentum in the rankings reflects the outstanding work of our dedicated faculty, staff and students, as well as the strategic investments that the University has made to strengthen our intellectual capital, expand our academic programs, enhance our research capacity and provide unique opportunities to learn and grow,” said UD President Dennis Assanis. “UD’s top-notch engineering program is educating the workforce of the future and driving the growth of the Delaware region’s economy while also solving critical problems around the world."

The complete list of rankings for engineering graduate programs reflects an upward trajectory in six areas:

• Chemical engineering, 7
• Engineering schools, 38 (up from 42)
• Materials engineering, 40 (up from 42)
• Biomedical engineering, 50
• Mechanical engineering, 50
• Civil engineering, 51 (up from 55)
• Electrical and computer engineering, 53 (up from 66)
• Computer engineering, 55 (up from 57)
• Computer science, 70 (up from 77)

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