Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Many UNLV programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report

UNLV Law School Grad

Daniel W. Hamilton, dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law, is pictured during the commencement ceremony at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on Friday, May 12, 2017.

The Boyd School of Law at UNLV had 15 programs ranked in the top 100 of their fields in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual collection of top graduate and professional schools.

The law school’s strong showing helped UNLV record 27 programs across the listing, which was released earlier this week. The publication analyzes more than 2,000 graduate and specialty programs across many disciplines.

UNLV President Keith Whitfield stressed the importance of graduate programs in helping strengthen the region as it emerges from the health and economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. Of note, the online nursing master’s program ranked seventh.

“Strong graduate programs are essential to our success as an institution and to our region’s economic sustainability as they produce the highly skilled scientists, engineers, teachers, policymakers, health care professionals, artists, business leaders and entrepreneurs our state needs to be competitive," Whitfield said in a statement.

The public law school’s Lawyering Process Program ranked No. 1 for the fourth straight year, helping Boyd place 60th out of 193 accredited law schools. Additionally, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution was ranked fifth in the publication’s dispute resolution category.

The law school’s part-time juris doctor program again ranked high, in 19th place. The program offers evening courses in a four-year program to allow students with full-time employment to earn degrees. A traditional law-school program is three years.

The university said other law school programs ranked in the top 100 include: health law (32), clinical training (40), contracts/commercial law (45), tax law (60), criminal law (66), constitutional law (67), intellectual property (71), business/corporate law (73), environmental law (73), and trial law (79).

Other UNLV programs to receive a top 100 ranking include: criminal justice (29), public affairs (83), sociology (84), political science (89), and English (99). Additionally, the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering had four ranked disciplines: nuclear engineering (28), aerospace studies (62), environmental engineering (83), and civil engineering (95).

“These rankings are just one indicator of the incredible quality and depth of graduate education at UNLV,” university Provost Chris Heavey said in a statement. “Our strong graduate programs invigorate teaching and research efforts university-wide, and they respond to and anticipate regional workforce demands that move our community forward.”