Boston College's graduate school programs had strong showings in all areas in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report "Best Grad School" rankings, released March 16.
The Boston College School of Social Work held its position as the 10th ranked school nationwide, the highest ranking of any of BC's graduate schools and programs.
Boston College Law School rose four points in the rankings to 30th overall, while the Connell School of Nursing rose one place to 33rd.
The Lynch School of Education held on to its previous ranking of 23rd, the highest ranking of any Jesuit or Catholic school of education.
The Carroll School of Management, which remained ranked among the top 50 M.B.A. programs nationwide, had two programs recognized as top specialty programs, with Finance ranked 12th and Accounting ranked 16th, a notable accomplishment in the highly competitive field of graduate business schools.
Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said the rankings affirm the positive perception of Boston College's graduate programs.
"I am pleased to see this recognition of the excellence of a range of graduate programs across the University, and I applaud the faculty and deans in the schools for all their efforts on behalf of our programs and our students," said Quigley. "Graduate and professional education at Boston College enables us to advance our mission in important ways, most notably by training young women and men for leadership in the professions."
Dean Alberto Godenzi praised his faculty and staff in helping the School of Social Work to retain its top 10 status.
"In 2004, the School of Social Work—ranked 24th at the time—set the goal of becoming a top 10 program," said Godenzi. When we reached number 10 in 2012, we knew it would be a considerable challenge to sustain this prestigious position, as a number of social work programs from top-ranked universities were close behind us. Rankings can influence the quality of students and faculty we are able to recruit and students' internships and job placements, and they provide excitement among alumni and donors.
"For these reasons in particular, I am happy that we were able to solidify our place as a top 10 school in two successive rankings. My thanks go to the BC leadership and the entire School of Social Work community. Faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends have all been a wonderful part of this remarkable and transformative journey."
Law School Dean Vince Rougeau also praised his faculty for their ongoing dedication to teaching and scholarly research at BC Law.
"Our improvement in the rankings is the result of a lot of hard work by all members of the BC Law community," said Rougeau. "We do not focus our resources to drive rankings. We are focused on a long-term sustainable plan that expends resources in areas that are essential to our strategic goals, which is why we are and will remain one of the nation's premier law schools."
"While we are pleased to have improved in the graduate school rankings, we have expectations for further improvement in the coming years," said Connell School Dean Susan Gennaro. "We look forward to meeting our high expectations for the Connell School."
—News & Public Affairs