U.S. News & World Report ranked UMSL’s criminology and criminal justice PhD program No. 11 in the country on the strength of its quality faculty, including Professor Beth Huebner (second from right), and the individualized attention it provides its students. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Whether students’ interests lie in criminology, nursing, public affairs, business, education or social work, the University of Missouri–St. Louis has highly ranked graduate programs to help them expand their knowledge and advance their careers.

U.S. News & World Report’s ranked UMSL’s graduate programs in criminology and public affairs the best in the St. Louis region in its 2022 “Best Graduate Schools” rankings, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice was among the top three programs in Missouri.

“We’re very pleased that U.S. News & World Report has recognized the strength of our PhD program in criminology and criminal justice, Master of Public Policy Administration program and Doctor of Nursing Practice program, in particular, along with our other ranked graduate programs,” UMSL Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Marie Mora said. “This recognition demonstrates the strength of our faculty as well as UMSL’s commitment to offering a variety of high-quality graduate programs across disciplines that help people advance their learning and prepare them to meet new challenges in rapidly changing local, regional and global contexts.”

UMSL’s PhD program in criminology and criminal justice continues to be one of the top ranked programs in the country, coming in at No. 11 nationally on the new list. It is the only criminology program ranked in Missouri.

The ranking reflects the quality faculty in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the specialized attention and financial support they provide their students while helping mold them into some of the top emerging scholars in the field.

The Master of Public Policy Administration program is ranked third in Missouri and No. 123 nationally in public affairs programs.

The program provides specialized training to help students become effective leaders in the government and nonprofit sectors. Graduates go on to serve as city administrators, community development specialists, nonprofit executive directors and directors of development.

UMSL’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program ranked third in Missouri and was 106th nationally.

The UMSL DNP is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, a subsidiary of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The program prepares nurses to become advanced clinicians and builds expertise in areas of health policy, organizational leadership and management, evidence-based practice and more.

U.S. News and World Report also ranked UMSL’s part-time MBA and graduate education programs among the nation’s best. The part-time MBA program was fourth in Missouri and 145th nationally while the graduate education program came in No. 167 in the country with a top-five state ranking.

This year’s rankings did not include social work or clinical psychology, but both programs landed among the top 150 in the country when last ranked in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The Best Graduate Schools rankings are compiled by using expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators meant to assess the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. The reputation surveys were sent to more than 23,000 academics and professionals.