Graduate school rankings are what Best Master’s Programs is all about; it’s right there in the name. Now, more than any other time in American history, master’s degrees have become critical to professional success. Gone are the days of starting out in the mail room and working your way up to the executive suite; since the bachelor’s degree has become the standard for more entry-level positions, a master’s degree has become a necessity for distinguishing yourself on the job market.

General Master’s Program Rankings

Best Master’s Programs is the name, and our general rankings of graduate schools and master’s programs are where everything starts. These might be mixing apples and oranges – big public research universities with small liberal arts colleges, private business schools with Christian institutions – but the one thing they all have in common is that they have earned a reputation for quality that puts them head and shoulders over their competition.

25 Most Affordable Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 15 One-Year Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 25 Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 25 Universities for Online Master’s Programs

In just about every field, a master’s degree is becoming the standard for higher-level management positions. According to Career Builder data, 32% of companies today have increased their education requirements in recent years. More than a quarter of those increases are jobs that used to require a bachelor’s degree, but now require a master’s. That’s how competitive the job market is in the most in-demand fields.

While we primarily think about working adults who are already in their careers going back to school to advance their careers (and increase their pay) with a master’s degree, it’s not just returning, nontraditional students who benefit. In fact, around 40% of unemployed Americans are Millennials. Without work experience or an advanced degree, young people in their mid-20s to early-30s are finding themselves shut out of the professional workforce.

Specialized Master’s Rankings

BMP’s specialized rankings go into more depth and detail, seeking out programs in specific, in-demand careers and disciplines like business, education, and healthcare. This is where you’ll find the best graduate schools of psychology, and the best online master’s programs in education; where we single out the best business master’s degrees and the best computer science master’s.

40 Best Online Master’s in Counseling Programs
50 Best Online Master’s in Engineering Programs
Top 25 Online Masters in Project Management Programs
Top 10 Online Master’s in Finance Programs
Top 25 Online Master’s in Healthcare Administration Programs
Top 10 Online Master’s in Public Administration Programs
Top 25 Online Master’s in Marketing Programs
Top 25 Online Master’s in Education Programs
Top 25 Online Master’s in Nursing Programs

A Note on Types of Master’s Degrees

The standard baseline of master’s degrees are the Master of Arts and Master of Science; those are the most general graduate degrees, and their primary difference is whether they emphasize the humanities and liberal arts, or the sciences and mathematics, in their general education. Requirements.

However, with the development of professional schools, and a proliferation of specializations, there are more names and initials than anyone could keep up with. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is one of the biggest, but the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is becoming extremely in-demand. The Master of Public Health (MPH), the Master of Fine Arts (MFA), the Master of Health Administration (MHA) – the list of specialized master’s degrees goes on and one. Best Master’s Programs is ranking them all, one by one, with our distinct, authoritative style.

Methodology: How We Make Rankings

There’s no one exact method to how Best Master’s Programs ranks programs, since different kinds of rankings require different approaches. For instance, for a ranking focused on affordability, tuition cost will be the most important factor; for a ranking focused on overall quality, we may use a wide range of criteria, including data on reputation, graduation rate, alumni salary.

BMP has some general requirements. All programs we rank, no matter what discipline or what criteria, have to come from regionally accredited colleges and universities. That is a crucial baseline for determining the reputability and legitimacy of a school. Unaccredited institutions do not make it onto a BMP ranking.

Our general rankings (like the Top 25 Online Master’s Programs) are usually ranked according to a value-based set of criteria. Most often, that will look like some variation on the same 3 or 4 data points:

  • Cost (the tuition rate, usually for in-state students)
  • Reputation (based on established rankings like College Consensus or U.S. News University Ranking, or on student reviews like Niche)
  • Return on Investment (usually based on alumni salary data, or job placement rate)

For rankings of specialized programs, BMP often prioritized schools with special program accreditation (such as the AACSB for business, or the ANCC for nursing). Programs may get extra points for having program accreditation, or a ranking may consider only programs that have special accreditation. With these rankings, other criteria may be tailored particularly to the field, such as their rate of internship placement, or how many credits can be earned entirely online.

All Best Master’s Programs Rankings:

25 Most Affordable Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 15 One-Year Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 25 Online Master’s Programs 2019
Top 25 Universities for Online Master’s Programs
40 Best Online Master’s in Counseling Programs
50 Best Online Master’s in Engineering Programs
Top 25 Online Masters in Project Management Programs
Top 10 Online Master’s in Finance Programs
Top 10 Online Master’s in Healthcare Administration Programs
Top 10 Online Master’s in Public Administration Programs
Top 25 Online Master’s in Marketing Programs