Head of the Class

These University of Texas programs named No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report

University of Texas is home to a host of top-notch graduate programs.

The University of Texas at Austin/Facebook

The University of Texas at Austin just hooked top honors for five of its graduate programs.

The 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report's prestigious "Best Graduate Schools," released March 29, ranks a total of 55 UT Austin programs and specialties among the top 10 in the nation, with five honored as No. 1 in their respective areas.

"Designed for prospective students looking to further their education beyond college," the annual rankings "evaluate programs in a variety of disciplines, including business, education, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, and science," notes a release.

UT Austin calls the rankings the gold standard of graduate and professional rankings.

The data collection process includes surveying more than 2,100 programs and more than 23,000 academics and professionals. This year, the publication updated rankings in the following areas: business, economics, education, engineering, law, nursing, psychology, public affairs, the sciences, and social work. The most recent rankings in other educational areas were republished for 2023.

The No. 1-ranking University of Texas at Austin graduate programs for 2023 are:

Accounting, the McCombs School of Business
Petroleum engineering, the Cockrell School of Engineering
Geology, the Jackson School of Geosciences
Latin American history, the College of Liberal Arts
Sociology of population, the College of Liberal Arts

A UT Austin release notes that the school is one of only four public universities with 50 or more specialties ranked in the top 10 of the new report. It comes in fourth, behind University of California, Berkeley; University of Michigan; and University of California, Los Angeles.

"With strength in so many disciplines, UT Austin is without a doubt one of the best places in the world to pursue graduate studies," says University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell. "Few institutions can match our combination of excellence and breadth, and we are especially strong in some of the fastest-growing fields that draw from multiple disciplines, where scholars are tackling society’s biggest challenges, expanding the frontiers of knowledge, and making an impact."

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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