Coming in at No. 31, the 11-semester, full-time  provides students with a strong foundation in the science and clinical practice of audiology, progressing from core coursework to advanced clinical specialties. Faculty emphasize evidence-based training through hands-on clinical experiences, interdisciplinary collaboration and research opportunities.

“We are so proud of our innovative curriculum that prepares students like no other program does. It’s rewarding to see those innovations being recognized and emulated by others,” said Shae Morgan, an associate professor and program director of the audiology program. “Our students get clinical and academic preparation at the top of the profession, and we’re thrilled to see that reflected in our increasing rank.”

Community engagement is a central part of the program’s training. Students lead initiatives such as an annual ‘Hear Camp’ for children with hearing loss, conduct community hearing screenings and participate regularly in events like MedFest Special Olympics and Walk4Hearing to promote healthy hearing in the Louisville community. Students also take part in regional and international service trips, including outreach in eastern Kentucky and collaborative clinical work with University of Kentucky students to Belize to perform hearing, speech and language evaluations.

Several other UofL graduate and professional programs also ranked among the nation’s top 50. These include  at No. 29,  at No. 39 and at No. 43. Additionally, two programs saw notable rises in this year’s rankings. The programs increased 22 spots to No. 124, while the  in the College of Business rose 23 places to No. 114.

All graduate school rankings are published in the 2026 edition of U.S. News & World Report. Graduate education at UofL provides over 130 graduate programs to approximately 5,800 graduate students. More information is available on the 

This year, two programs cracked the top 20 nationally. UofL’s online bachelor’s in business and bachelor’s in psychology rank came in at #17 and #11, respectively.

Along with business and psychology, the university’s fully online programs were acknowledged among some of the top education opportunities for online students in 2024 across the following categories:

• Best Online Bachelor’s
• Online Graduate Criminal Justice
• Online Graduate łÉÈËֱȄ
• Online Graduate Engineering
• Online Graduate Technology

UofL also is ranked among the Best Online Programs for Veterans across many of the same categories.

“Online learning, especially in a post-pandemic society, remains an extremely important area of growth and development for the university,” said Kelvin Thompson, vice provost for online strategy and teaching innovation. “Today’s students often navigate the complexities of careers, families and myriad priorities while pursuing their education. We continually strive to offer programs that maintain the esteemed quality associated with UofL while evolving to meet the complex needs of contemporary learners. Recognition from sources such as U.S. News & World Report encourages dialogue about how we at UofL can keep moving forward in meeting the diverse needs of our students.”

In pursuit of extending education opportunities to the Greater Louisville-area and beyond, UofL launched seven new online programs in 2024 including four new public health graduate certificates, an engineering graduate certificate in Six Sigma and a master’s in business analytics. The university currently offers over 70 programs completely online.

Online programs are targeted toward the non-traditional students, including adult learners, working professionals, military and degree completer students – as well as anyone looking to earn a college credential through flexible, high-quality online education.

Learn more about UofL’s

The rankings reflect UofL’s commitment to provide accessibility to and affordability of a college degree and narrowing the opportunity gap between majority and minority students. UofL has shown consistent improvement in its six-year graduation rate, from 52% in 2014 to a 62% rate in 2022.

UofL also has increased the six-year graduation rate among Pell grant recipients, up 6% from 2020, and has made significant improvement in its student/faculty ratio, which dropped from 14.0 to 1 in 2020 to 12.7 to 1 in 2022.

In addition, UofL has increased the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to underrepresented students by 15.2% since 2020-21 and posted a significant increase in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to low-income students.

“We believe the most recent data demonstrate the role the university plays in moving all students forward,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “It underscores our dedication to student success and our commitment to educational equity and inclusivity. We will continue to build on the progress by expanding engaged learning opportunities to ensure that all UofL students are well prepared for the careers, workplaces and complex challenges of tomorrow.”

UofL’s fully online programs were acknowledged among some of the top education programs for online students in 2021 across the following categories: 

• Online bachelor’s
• Online bachelor’s psychology
• Online graduate criminal justice
• Online graduate education
• Online graduate engineering 

UofL’s online bachelor’s ranking rose nearly 40 spots between the 2020 and 2021 reports. UofL also is ranked as a Best Online Program for Veterans across all the same categories.

“Online learning is an extremely important area of growth for the University of Louisville,” said Gale Rhodes, vice provost and executive director of the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning. “We continually strive to offer programs that deliver flexible education at the standard of quality UofL is known for while also meeting the needs of learners today, who often are juggling careers, families and other priorities while pursuing an education. This recognition by U.S. News & World Report is a testament to our commitment to bring market-driven online education opportunities to students.”

In pursuit of extending education opportunities to the Greater Louisville area and beyond, UofL launched 14 new online programs in 2020 including a managerial analytics certificate, a healthcare administration master’s, interdisciplinary early childhood education programs, engineering programs in areas like artificial intelligence in medicine and materials and energy sciences, as well as a business administration bachelor’s degree.

Online programs are targeted toward the non-traditional students, including adult learners, working professionals, military and degree completer students – as well as anyone looking to earn a college credential through flexible, high-quality online education.

UofL’s 2020 ranking was No. 192.

UofL’s jump was the third highest among its 17 benchmark institutions, behind University of Illinois-Chicago’s 20-spot increase and University of New Mexico’s 31-spot increase. Those benchmark institutions are identified by the Council on Postsecondary łÉÈËֱȄ.Ìę

UofL’s scores increased in a number of categories, including:

• Actual 6-year graduation rate: 59%. This is up from 57% last year and more than 10% from 10 years ago.
• Percentage of classes with less than 20 students: 42%. This is nearly double what it was 10 years ago.
• Percentage of freshmen students who were in the top 10% of their high school class: 27%. This is up from 11% in 2017.

Also of note, the average alumni giving rate has increased for the first time in two years and now stands at 10%.

The U.S. News and World Report’s ranking system is based on two pillars. Schools are categorized according to their mission (as determined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) and 17 indicators of academic excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects the judgment of U.S. News and World Report about how much a measure matters.Ìę  

The “Expert Opinion” score accounts for 20% of the overall ranking and gives significant weight to those in a position to judge a school’s undergraduate academic excellence (e.g. presidents, provost and deans of admissions). UofL’s rank in this category jumped by 9 points this year, following graduate rate performance and alumni giving as the third-highest category mover for the institution.

The progress in many of these metrics coincide with the work being done as part of UofL’s broader, three-year Strategic Plan, which officially kicked off in the fall of 2019. The biggest driver behind this plan is how to make UofL a great place to learn, work and invest while fostering diversity, equity and inclusion.

The 36^th edition of Best Colleges evaluated more than 1,400 colleges and universities. More information about this year’s results is .