William & Mary’s graduate programs are among the best in the nation, according to new rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
Released today, the rankings highlight the university’s excellence in areas ranging from business to the sciences. Among the university’s top-ranked graduate programs are:
- Counselor education: 13th
- Constitutional law: 17th
- Criminal law: 20th
William & Mary offers more than 40 graduate degree and certificate programs, and graduate students engage in a wide variety of research activities.
In recognition of its high research activity as a doctoral university, the Carnegie Classification system designated William & Mary as an R1 research institution last year. It’s the highest level of classification available to universities that grant doctorates, and the designation allows for expanded publication and grant opportunities. According to an August 2025 report from Washington Monthly, the university has the highest percentage of undergraduate alumni who go on to earn Ph.D.s of any public institution in the nation.
The U.S. News graduate school rankings follow other recent reports that affirm William & Mary’s status as a nationally preeminent university, including lists from Forbes naming the university as a leader for launching careers and as one of “The New Ivies.” William & Mary’s commitment to supporting military and veteran students was also recently celebrated in a number of reports.
“These rankings affirm the strength and continued distinction across William & Mary’s graduate programs,” said Provost Peggy Agouris. “At the center of this recognition is a core principle: strong graduate programs lead to meaningful career outcomes. Our commitment to academic excellence prepares graduates for long-term professional success and leadership while empowering them to make lasting contributions in their fields and communities.”
Law
William & Mary Law School ranked 34th in the latest U.S. News report. A number of its programs also ranked highly, in addition to its constitutional law (17th) and criminal law (20th) programs:
- 29th: Business and corporate law
- 26th: Contracts and commercial law
- 31st: Intellectual property law
- 32nd: Environmental law
- 34th: International law
- 44th: Legal writing
- 50th: Trial advocacy
The law school improved among almost every major metric for the rankings this year, including academic reputation, student selectivity and employment outcomes metrics. The school also saw a significant increase in bar passage performance, thanks to proactive measures taken by the school to strengthen preparation with expanded access and individualized support.
“This year’s rankings – which are based on prior years’ information – highlight meaningful gains across William & Mary Law School, from improvements in academic reputation to stronger student outcomes, clear indicators of the quality of our faculty, students and programs,” said A. Benjamin Spencer, dean of the law school.
Business
In the U.S. News rankings, W&M’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business is 53rd in the nation, up eight spots from last year. In addition, the school is ranked 51st among executive MBA programs and 50th among information systems.
Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report released rankings of the best online programs. In that report, William & Mary’s graduate business program was 25th in the nation and its MBA program was 50th.
In a recent report from Bloomberg, the business school is counted among “The MBA programs that deliver the most for less,” which looks at the return on investment vs. the cost of MBA programs. The analysis puts William & Mary’s program above that of such highly-ranked universities as Stanford and Harvard.
Other recent rankings that have highlighted the business school include:
- Seventh: TechGuide, best master’s in business analytics
- 36th: Poets & Quants, full-time MBA rankings
- 59th: Financial Times, global top 100 full-time MBA rankings
Education
Earlier this year, Forbes gave the William & Mary School of Education top placement in its ranking of online master’s in counseling programs, naming it No. 1 in the nation.
The school’s online programs also did well in a number of other rankings. According to U.S. News, the school ranked 15th for best online master’s in curriculum and instruction programs. In addition, the school’s online school counseling program was hailed by CounselingPsychology.org, which ranked it second in the nation, and its Ed.D. program has been recognized among the Best Online Doctor of Education Programs for 2026 by the Princeton Review.
Overall, U.S. News ranked the school of education 54th in the nation in addition to ranking its counselor education program 13th.
Computing, Data Sciences & Physics
The latest U.S. News rankings also highlighted programs in W&M’s School of Computing Data Sciences & Physics, which launched in 2025. The school brought together existing programs in computer science, data science, applied science and physics.
William & Mary ranked 69th for computer science, up two spots from last year. In addition, its graduate physics program ranked 73rd, up five places from the last time U.S. News ranked graduate physics programs in 2023.
The school was also recently recognized by TechGuide, ranking 24th among the best bachelor’s in data science programs.
College of Arts & Sciences
In the U.S. News rankings, William & Mary’s graduate public policy program is 92nd in the nation. In addition, its biological sciences program ranked 115th.
In addition, CollegeFactual recently recognized College of Arts & Science’s chemistry programs. The site lists William & Mary at 41st for best chemistry schools and 50th for best chemistry bachelor’s degree programs.
The College’s undergraduate film studies program was also recently lauded by Videomaker, counting it among the top 10 best such programs in the country.
Additional accolades
In addition to those listed above, William & Mary has been lauded by a number of other recent rankings, including several celebrating the university’s support for military and veteran students.
Last month, MilitaryFriendly.com named the W&M’s school of business the top military-friendly graduate school in the nation and awarded the university overall a gold-level designation as a military-friendly school.
Additionally, U.S. News ranked the school of education 30th among the best online master’s programs in education for veterans. In the same report, W&M’s school of business ranked 26th for the best online master’s in business programs for veterans and 66th for online MBA programs for veterans.
The university’s commitment to service was also acknowledged in new rankings from the Peace Corps featuring the top volunteer-producing colleges and universities. William & Mary is ranked third among medium-sized schools. Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, 748 alumni have served in the Peace Corps, with 29 serving in 21 countries in the last fiscal year alone.
Even the university’s campus recently found itself in the spotlight. William & Mary landed at number eight on Travel & Leisure’s list of the 15 most beautiful college campuses in the United States. The university was the top-ranked Virginia institution on the list.
“After all, choosing a college isn’t only about academics or cost,” the magazine said in an online article. “It’s also about finding the place you’ll call home for the next few years.”
Erin Jay, Senior Associate Director of University News