Seven graduate programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are in the nation’s top 50 and an additional 14 programs are in the top 100, according to the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings, released on April 8. The John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) also placed in the nation’s top tier (tier 1) for best medical schools for primary care.
The highest ranked programs were in the William S. Richardson School of Law, ranking No. 16 for best part-time law programs, No. 36 for best environmental law programs and No. 45 for best international law programs. The Library and Information Science Program in the College of Social Sciences ranked No. 36. JABSOM ranked No. 41 for most graduates practicing in primary care and No. 47 for most graduates practicing in rural areas, and the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene ranked No. 43 for best nursing schools, doctor of nursing practice.
Rankings were based on different criteria, including research activity (publications and citations), placement success (employment and earnings), quality assessment (peer and recruiter assessments), student selectivity (GPA and test scores) and faculty resources (doctoral degrees awarded and student to faculty ratio).
“These latest rankings from U.S. News and World Report reflect UH Mānoa’s unwavering dedication to academic excellence and impactful research,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. “They speak to the strength of our graduate programs and the hard work of our faculty, students and staff. Hawaiʻi residents can take pride in knowing that their flagship university continues to shape the next generation of leaders, educators and innovators for our state and beyond.”
Note: not all programs are ranked every year. See these UH News stories on previous years’ rankings: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
Jump to program rankings:
William S. Richardson School of Law | John A. Burns School of Medicine | School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene | College of Education | College of Engineering | Shidler College of Business | College of Social Sciences | Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health | College of Arts, Languages & Letters | College of Natural Sciences
William S. Richardson School of Law
The William S. Richardson School of Law was ranked in 15 categories by U.S. News and World Report. In addition to its ranking of No. 16 for best part-time law programs, No. 36 for best environmental law programs and No. 45 for best international law programs, the UH Mānoa law school placed No. 99 out of nearly 200 of the best law schools in the nation.
Other law school rankings include:
- Legal writing: No. 51
- Dispute resolution: No. 72
- Criminal law: No. 82
- Tax law: No. 95
- Constitutional law: No. 98
- Contracts/commercial law: No. 98
- Business/corporate law: No. 108
- Intellectual property law: No. 123
- Clinical training: No. 125
- Health care law: No. 128
- Trial advocacy: No. 178
John A. Burns School of Medicine
JABSOM was one of 16 schools that placed in the nation’s top tier (tier 1) for best medical schools for primary care. JABSOM also placed in tier 2 for best medical schools for research.
In addition, JABSOM ranked No. 41 for most graduates practicing in primary care, No. 47 for most graduates practicing in rural areas and No. 166 for most graduates practicing in medically underserved areas. JABSOM also placed No. 155 for speech language pathology. Read more at the JABSOM website.
School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene
The School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene’s doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program was ranked No. 43 among 158 of the top schools in U.S. News and World Report’s best nursing schools ranking. UH Mānoa’s nursing school is the only Hawaiʻi DNP program ranked by U.S. News and World Report since 2018.
College of Education
The College of Education ranked No. 65 of 258 schools ranked, the 20th straight year the college has been listed as one of the nation’s top 100 education programs. Nationally accredited since 2000, the College of Education continues to be recognized for its award-winning programs and people.
College of Engineering
Four College of Engineering graduate programs were ranked among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News. Electrical engineering placed No. 90; civil engineering ranked No. 91; and mechanical engineering placed No. 124. The College of Engineering ranked No. 163 among the top engineering schools in the U.S. that grant doctoral degrees.
Shidler College of Business
The Shidler College of Business rose 29 spots to No. 137 out of 241 ranked schools for its part-time master of business administration (MBA) program. Shidler’s MBA programs are the only MBA programs in Hawaiʻi accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and among the few MBA programs in the U.S. with a true Asia-Pacific focus.
College of Social Sciences
In addition to the Library and Information Science Program ranking No. 36, the College of Social Sciences had the following programs placed in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings: clinical psychology at No. 78, public administration at No. 82, sociology at No. 104, political science at No. 107, economics at No. 113 and psychology at No. 124.
Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health
The Department of Public Health Sciences ranked No. 99 out of 219 public health schools and programs in the U.S. accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The Department of Public Health Sciences offers a bachelor in arts in public health; a master in public health, with specializations in epidemiology, health policy and management, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous health and social and behavioral health sciences, and a master of science specializing in epidemiology, as well as PhD program in public health, specializing in community-based and translational research and a PhD in epidemiology. The Department of Public Health Sciences is also home to a recently launched online master of public health program to meet workforce demands.
College of Arts, Languages & Letters
In the College of Arts, Languages & Letters, the Department of English placed No. 97 and the Department of History ranked No. 104.
College of Natural Sciences
In the College of Natural Sciences, the Department of Information and Computer Sciences ranked No. 110.
Other rankings
UH Mānoa also received these notable rankings:
- 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject, March 12, 2025
- UH Mānoa earns highest national research designation, February 20, 2025
- 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, January 23, 2025
