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“Public higher education has traditionally represented a path to advancement for both states and their citizens. To be successful, institutions must maintain both cost affordability and academic quality while preparing graduates for the workforce and to be productive members of their communities.” – University System of Georgia (USG)

Georgia college enrollment for 2024 was up, per Gov. Brian Kemp. It is estimated that 2024 technical college enrollments increased by 9% while state colleges and universities rose 6% versus 2023 (https://www.gpb.org/news/2024/09/13/georgias-governor-says-program-ease-college-admission-boosting-enrollment ). However, it is not only important that college admissions grow. With growth, program quality must be maintained or improved.

The University System of Georgia (USG) has established a “College 2025” Committee with a very ambitious and noble charge  (https://www.usg.edu/college2025/charge_to_the_committe). It is designed to -“shape the future direction” of the USG. The Committee’s goal is to “build a strong talent pipeline for the state’s economy”; by “providing the skills and knowledge necessary for… high-demand careers”.

So, how far along are we in providing our state’s residents with top notch higher educational opportunities so that our economy can thrive? A report has just been released which ranks US public and private colleges and universities graduate school programs  (https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools). And Georgia has several universities which rank highly in various graduate school specialty areas.

Georgia Tech is well known for the excellence of its graduate program’s Engineering School, which ranked 4th nationally, including first for industrial engineering, and second for aerospace engineering. These are admirable accomplishments(https://www.11alive.com/article/news/education/best-georgia-schools-for-medicine-nursing-law/85-f2258a41-fedd-46bf-a91f-e34f7d5d6167 ).

Emory University, a private university, was particularly strong in healthcare, ranking in the top tier of universities for medical research. And Emory is number 1 in the entire nation for their Woodruff Nursing School’s Nursing Master’s Program, even surpassing Johns Hopkins. Emory’s Business School also ranked highly- 17th. Its law school did not fare as well, although it still did was the best in the state, ranking 38th nationally.

With 55,000 full and part-time students Georgia State University is the state’s largest university, graduating more black students than any HBCU. Its Andrew Young School is rated highly, ranking 3rd in Urban Policy, 5th in Public Finance/Budgeting, number 6 in Nonprofit Management, and 9th in Local Government Management. Georgia State University’s Graduate School of Business’ Information Systems program is rated 11th, while the “part-time” night program is rated 35th. It was 45th in education and 79th for law.

UGA did very well regarding law and business, ranking 22nd for the UGA Law School and 29th for the Terry College of Business. It did relatively well for education, being number 40, but not nearly as high for engineering, rated 111th. The UGA Med School in Augusta ranked in Tier 3 for research and down at 65thfor the Master’s degree in nursing.

Rankings for other Georgia college and university graduate programs can be found at this link- (https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools).

In summary, there are a number of Georgia college and university graduate programs that excel in specific areas. In others do not fare as well. Georgia residents should be aware of these differences before applying for graduate school.