Austin's top public university has done it again. U.S. News and World Report has named The University of Texas at Austin among the best graduate schools in the state, with some departments landing among the top 10 and 20 in the country.

U.S. News publishes its annual national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings, which look at several programs including business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, and many others. For the 2024 report, the publication decided to withhold its rankings for engineering and medical schools. It also changed the methodology for ranking business schools by adding a new "salary indicator" based on a graduate's profession.

U.S. News also added new rankings for doctoral and master's programs in several medical fields for the first time in four years, or even more in some cases. New specialty program rankings include audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, nurse midwifery, speech-language pathology, nurse anesthesia, and social work.

"Depending on the job or field, earning a graduate degree may lead to higher earnings, career advancement and specialized skill development," wrote Sarah Wood, a U.S. News Education reporter. "But with several types of degrees and hundreds of graduate schools, it can be difficult to narrow down the options."

UT Austin maintained its status as the top graduate university in Texas, earning the No. 1 spot in all statewide rankings, including Best Education Schools (as in, schools for aspiring educators), Best Law Schools, Best Business Schools, and Best Nursing Schools.

Because some category rankings have not been released, UT Austin’s Dell Medical School is unranked in the “Best Medical Schools: Research” and “Primary Care” categories.

Among the new category rankings in 2024, UT's pharmacy program ranked No. 6 nationally, while the social work program came in at No. 8 overall. The graduate audiology program ranked No. 12 in the nation, and the speech-language pathology program ranked No. 14.

The No. 1 UT Austin graduate programs are:

• Accounting, the McCombs School of Business (ranked in 2024)
• Petroleum Engineering, Cockerell School of Engineering (last ranked in 2023)
• Latin American History, the College of Liberal Arts (last ranked in 2021)
• Sociology of Population, the College of Liberal Arts (last ranked in 2021)

“These rankings are striking and reflect our ability to continue to attract exceptional faculty and students," said President Jay Hartzell in a release. "Our excellence is evident in our set of more than 40 schools, programs and specialties ranked in the top-10 in this partial release alone, including several that are the best in the country, if not the world."

Hartzell continued, "Our talent is what puts UT at the leading edge of discovery in AI and robotics, life sciences, population research, and many other disciplines that are at the forefront of solving many of the world’s most pressing problems and bettering society."

One notable difference from the 2023 report was the university's College of Education moved up eight spots from its former No. 16 spot into No. 8 in the national rankings in 2024. The McCombs School of Business also moved up four spots into No. 16 in the nation.

Here’s how UT Austin compares nationally in U.S. News’ overall rankings:

• No. 7 – Best Engineering Schools, last ranked in 2023
• No. 8 – Best Education Schools, up from No. 16 in 2023
• No. 16 – Best Law Schools, up from No. 17 in 2023
• No. 16 – Best Business Schools, up from No. 20 in 2023
• No. 14 – Best Nursing Schools: Master’s, up from No. 20 in 2023
• No. 26 – Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice, down from No. 23 in 2023

The full list of best graduate schools can be found on usnews.com.