Thinking of going to grad school in NC? See what programs ranked highest
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke and UNC lead many top NC grad programs across multiple fields.
- UNC is No. 1 in pharmacy and ranks No. 2 in audiology and public health.
- NC State’s veterinarian graduate program ranks highly.
Are you thinking of going to grad school in North Carolina, but not sure which school is the strongest in your field? A new list provides one view of how they stack up.
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2026 list of the best American graduate schools, and North Carolina schools — particularly Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill — took home some high rankings.
In fact, North Carolina schools placed in the top 50 graduate programs for every category U.S. News evaluated, except for one: fine arts.
See which school is the best fit for your desired career.
Best business & law degrees
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business ranked 14th among the best business graduate programs in the nation. UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School tied for 21st best with Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, which represents a rise of seven places in the ranking for UNC.
North Carolina A&T State University tied for 72nd best business school in the country with Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
For law, U.S. News recommends Duke University, which is tied for seventh-best law school with New York University in Manhattan. UNC comes in at 18th best, in a tie with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Wake Forest University is home to the 30th best law school, according to U.S. News. Campbell University’s Wiggins School of Law in Raleigh ranks 131st best, and Elon is at 144th.
If you’re interested in public affairs, U.S. News ranks UNC’s graduate program at 20th best, and Duke’s at 25th.
Best education & engineering degrees
For a graduate degree in education, NC State University ranks the highest among North Carolina schools at 26th best in the country. NC State is tied at 26th with the Ohio State University, University of Delaware, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Missouri and University of South Carolina.
UNC ranks 32nd best for education graduate degrees, in a tie with University of Iowa, and a drop of five places in the ranking.
UNC Charlotte comes in at 84th best, and UNC Greensboro at 95th.
For a graduate degree in engineering, Duke ranks highest among North Carolina schools at 22nd, in a tie with Harvard University and University of Washington. Next up is NC State, at 28th best in the country. UNC-Chapel Hill comes in at 71st.
Best health degrees
U.S. News ranks medical schools focused on research into four tiers “based on their research productivity, faculty and admissions data.” North Carolina has no Tier 1 schools. In fact, UNC dropped from a Tier 1 to a Tier 2 graduate program this year. East Carolina University is a Tier 3.
For a master’s degree in nursing, North Carolina’s top-rated program is at Duke. The school is tied for third with Ohio State. UNC’s nursing program is tied with the University of Washington for 12th best in the country. UNC Greensboro is home to the 60th best program, and UNC Charlotte the 69th.
UNC’s pharmacy graduate program is the best in the nation, according to U.S. News.
UNC is also home to the second-best audiology, health care management., and public health graduate programs in the country. For clinical psychology, UNC is tied for third. For occupational therapy, UNC is tied for fifth best. The school ranks 11th for speech-language pathology, and seventh for rehabilitation counseling.
If you’re looking to become a midwife in North Carolina, U.S. News recommends East Carolina University for graduate school. It comes in at 14th best in the country, tied with NYU.
Duke’s nurse anesthesiology graduate program ranks ninth best in the country. Its physical therapy graduate program is tied for sixth-best with Northwestern University in Illinois.
If you hope to become a vet, U.S. News recommends NC State, which it ranks as the fourth-best veterinary graduate program in the country.
Best science & math degrees
Duke’s biological science graduate program ranked the best in NC at 21st, with UNC close behind at 26th. NC State came in at 90th.
For biostatistics, UNC’s graduate program is the fourth-best in the nation. Duke’s is 13th, according to U.S. News
If you want to pursue chemistry in North Carolina, UNC’s program is tied for 17th best with the University of Pennsylvania and University of Texas at Austin. Duke’s chemistry graduate program came in at 29th, and NC State’s at 57th.
Duke and UNC’s earth sciences graduate programs tied for 40th best in the nation. NC State’s ranks 73rd.
Duke’s statistics program is the sixth-best in the nation, according to U.S. News. Its physics graduate program tied for 22nd best in the nation, and its mathematics program ranked 16th.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Thinking of going to grad school in NC? See what programs ranked highest."
