Rankings

U.S. News rankings

Many of our graduate programs are highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Following are the most recent rankings available of top-30 graduate programs in the College of Arts & Sciences. (Visit U.S. News for a complete list of rankings, including undergraduate, global and other category rankings, and read about rankings of other schools at UNC-Chapel Hill.

• Biology
  • Overall, tied for 25th
  • Cell biology, tied for 18th
  • Ecology, tied for 12th (This ranking is shared with the College’s Ecology, Environment and Energy Program.)
• Chemistry
  • Overall, tied for 16th
  • Analytical, 2nd
  • Inorganic, 12th
  • Organic, 18th
  • Physical, 21st
• Computer Science
  • Overall, tied for 24th
• Economics
  • Overall, tied for 30th
• English
  • Overall, tied for 20th
  • American Literature after 1865, 13th (tie)
• History
  • Overall, tied for 11th
  • African American History – 10th (tie)
  • European History – 12th (tie)
  • Latin American History – 10th (tie)
  • Modern U.S. History – 7th (tie)
  • S. Colonial History – 8th (tie)
  • Women’s History – 9th (tie)
• Mathematics
  • Overall, tied for 30th
  • Applied Math, 12th
• Political Science
  • Overall, tied for 12th
  • American Politics – 11th (tie)
  • Comparative Politics – 15th
  • International Politics – 24th (tie)
  • Political Methodology – 18th (tie)
• Psychology
  • Overall, tied for 12th
  • Clinical psychology, 2nd
• Public Affairs
  • Overall, tied for 19th*
    As part of the public affairs category, U.S. News ranked Carolina programs and specialty areas based in the School of Government and the College of Arts & Sciences’ department of public policy. The following apply to the College’s offerings:
    • • Environmental Policy and Management, tied for 14th
      • Public Policy Analysis, 29th

• Sociology
  • Overall, 7th
  • Sociology of Population – 6th
  • Social Stratification – 12th
• Statistics
  • Overall, tied for 11th

Other rankings

Some of our departments and programs have been highly ranked by other organizations. Here are some recent rankings.

• City and Regional Planning – 5^th, Planetzen
• Exercise and Sport Science
  • PhD in Human Movement Science – 2^nd, National Academy of Kinesiology
  • Master’s in Sport Administration – No. 8 in North America; No. 9 globally (Sept. 2022), SportBusiness.
• Philosophy –14^th, Philosophical Gourmet
• Statistics — 9th; biological sciences — 15th; biomedical engineering — 16th; sociology — 17th; and computer science and engineering — 20th in the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) released by the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.