Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

The College of Sciences at Georgia Tech continues to make progress in the graduate school rankings published by U.S. News and World Report.

Released on March 29, the 2023 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings highlights all six College of Sciences schools as best overall science programs for graduate studies:

• Biology – No. 37    

• Chemistry – No. 21

• Earth Sciences – No. 28

• Mathematics – No. 21

• Physics – No. 28

• Psychology – No. 39

Biological Sciences rose 17 places (from No. 54) in a nine-way tie with Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Dartmouth College, Indiana University-Bloomington, Ohio State University, University of Utah, and UT Health MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Chemistry and Biochemistry shifted from No. 20 in a four-way tie with Johns Hopkins University, University of California (UC)-San Diego, and Texas A&M University-College Station.

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences rose by 10 (from No. 38) in a tie with Ohio State University, University of Southern California, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Mathematics advanced by five, up from No. 26 in a tie with Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, UC-San Diego, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Physics maintains its No. 28 ranking in a tie with Brown University, Duke University, and Rice University.

Psychology rose six spots to No. 39 in a tie with Arizona State University, Michigan State University, Stony Brook University, University of Florida, University of Iowa, and University of Pittsburgh.

U.S. News previously ranked graduate science programs in their 2019 Best Graduate Schools Edition (published in March 2018) with the exception of Psychology, which is categorized under U.S. News “Social Sciences and Humanities” programs and was last ranked in the 2017 Edition.

Among speciality graduate programs, Analytical Chemistry and Condensed Matter (Physics) both rank in the top 20, while previously unranked Applied Math climbed into the top 16 to No. 11.

Mathematical Analysis and Topology tied for No. 18 and No. 15, respectively, and Tech remains top five in the nation for Discrete Math and Combinatorics. Uniquely organized across the Colleges of Sciences, Computing, and Engineering, the Institute’s Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization program previously held a rank of No. 2.

• Analytical Chemistry – No. 17

• Applied Math – No. 11

• Condensed Matter – No. 18

• Discrete Math and Combinatorics – No. 5

• Mathematical Analysis – No. 18

• Topology – No. 15

“I was very happy to see that several of our schools in the College of Sciences moved up in the rankings, in some cases quite significantly,” shares Matthew Baker, professor in the School of Mathematics and associate dean for Faculty Development in the College.

Fellow colleges on campus are also on the rise in the latest U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” set, with Engineering remaining in the top ten in its overall disciplines, and Business, Computing, and Public Affairs also ranking among top programs in the nation. The full roster of current Georgia Institute of Technology rankings can be found here, along with U.S. News’ methodology for graduate rankings here.

Rachel Kuske on the SoM:

"This clear upward trajectory in the rankings, with even sharper growth in recent years, reflects the School’s consistent recruitment of outstanding faculty at all ranks and across all areas. Whether recent additions or long-time School members, the faculty have shown exceptional dedication to growth in quality, quantity, and diversity in its graduate training, able to leverage support from Georgia Tech as well as external resources to expand graduate and postdoctoral programs in both core and cross-disciplinary fields."

-Rachel Kuske, Professor and former SoM Chair

Haomin Zhou on Applied Math:

"Being at a leading technological university, the Applied Math program benefits tremendously in a supportive environment. Its growth is reflected in many aspects of research, education, and community building. The recruitment of exceptional faculty, postdoc, and students has been vital. Our junior faculty members have received national recognition including NSF Career Awards in the past few years. The ever-growing number of joint projects within math and across campus helps create a collaborative atmosphere which further enhances the interdisciplinary nature of the program. The richness in class selection and diverse career prospective play key roles for the success of students. Postdocs and PhD students in Applied Math have been hired in excellent positions both in academic and industrial settings.  In addition, and perhaps more importantly, collegiality such as teaching-coordination, Friday lunch with everyone, working seminar, and year-end-gathering makes the program more personal, inclusive, and attractive."

-Haomin Zhou

John Entire on Topology:

"It is exciting to see Georgia Tech’s Topology program being recognized as one of the top programs in the country. It is a testament to the hard work and creativity of our faculty, postdocs, and students. For some time we have been able to increase our visibility due to the high quality of research being done and the many conferences and workshops we run, but thanks to the support of the National Science Foundation Research Training Grant we recently received, we have been able to increase these activities and bring in many more excellent postdoctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate students."

-John Etnyre

Xingxing Yu on Discrete Math and Combinatorics:

"I was very pleased to learn that our discrete math and combinatorics program was again ranked in the top 5 in the US. This reflects the strength and breadth of our program. We have many faculty members affiliated with the ACO program, whose expertise covers broad areas of discrete mathematics.  With support from the School's leadership and new hires in the core areas of ACO program, I am optimistic that our discrete mathematic and combinatorics program will remain a top ranked program in the future."

-Xingxing Yu