Changes in survey methodology have led to a variety of changes in the latest rankings.
In its first rankings of the top graduate and professional programs for 2025, U.S. News & World Report included Case Western Reserve University's programs in business, law, nursing, science and social work. (The magazine announced yesterday that rankings for engineering and medicine would be delayed due to questions about source data.)
Following widespread criticism of the criteria used to develop these rankings, the publication again changed its methodology in many areas, resulting in impressive gains for some CWRU programs, slight declines for others, and even entirely new rankings for some programs.
According to U.S. News, the rankings now focus more on research, scholarship and student outcomes rather than reputation and selectivity/student quality.
“While we all know that rankings cannot convey the true experience and value of a Case Western Reserve education, we appreciate U.S. News' focus on quantitative data,” said President Eric W. Kahler. “That said, what truly makes Case Western Reserve a great university is the quality of our programs and people, and we want to find ways to help others recognize our impact.”
The school's overall rankings are as follows:
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing: #17 among best nursing schools for both its Master's program (down three places) and Doctorate of Nursing Practice program (up three places). Jack Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Science: Tied for 12th among best social work schools (down three places). School of Law: #89 among best law schools (down nine places). Weatherhead School of Management: #66 among best business schools (up two places).
A school-by-school breakdown, including specific programs, specializations and methodology changes, is outlined below.
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
This year's nursing rankings “have seen a decrease in emphasis on reputation and an increase in emphasis on program size, research and faculty resources,” the magazine reported. These changes have led to Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing being ranked 17th for its master's and doctoral programs in nursing.
Additionally, the publication announced rankings for two new specialties: CWRU is now No. 4 for Best Adult Primary Care Nurse Programs and No. 12 for Best Family Nurse Programs. The school's acute care nurse ranking remains No. 7 in the U.S., while its midwifery program dropped one spot to No. 22 and its nurse anesthesia program remains at No. 36.
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
U.S. News' biannual rankings of social work schools have become less focused on reputation and are based entirely on reputation, and this year the Mandel School was tied with seven other schools for 12th in the country.
Faculty of Law
Like other universities, law school rankings currently focus less on peer recognition, selectivity, and faculty resources, and instead on outcomes: job success and bar exam passage. Case Western Reserve University School of Law is currently ranked 89th in the United States, with several specialized programs in the top 50.
International Law: 13th (down 3 places) Health Law: 15th (down 4 places) Environmental Law: 36th (up 8 places) Legal Writing: 37th (up 9 places) Trial Advocacy: 42nd (up 5 places)
Weatherhead School of Management
Weatherhead School of Management's ranking is notable not only for its jump of two places overall to 66th, but also for its part-time MBA program, which rose 10 places and is now ranked 40th in the U.S. The methodology for ranking business schools emphasizes job success over the evaluations of peers or recruiters.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
This year, only one program from the College of Arts and Sciences made the rankings, with the Speech-Language-Pathology program moving up one spot to 44th, based on peer evaluation.
US News & World Report releases undergraduate rankings in the fall semester. To see the complete graduate/professional rankings, visit the US News & World Report website. Medicine and engineering rankings are published in the Daily as they are released.
