BU MET Online Programs Advance in U.S. News Rankings, Place in Top 10 For Eighth Year

Over eight years of U.S. News & World Report rankings, BU’s Metropolitan College (MET) has continued to place highly among the nation’s best online graduate programs. This year, despite unprecedented disruptions in 2020, each program has improved in its standing. MET’s online Master of Science in Criminal Justice advanced one spot to #2 (out of 79 schools). The 2021 rankings of Best Online Master’s Degree Programs also saw MET’s seven online master’s degree programs in management move up, from #10 to the #6 position. The rankings for the online MS programs in Applied Data Analytics, Computer Information Systems, and Software Development improved as well, from #10 to #8 (out of  81 schools—a 30 percent increase in competitors). 

Press Release

Rankings for Boston University’s Metropolitan College Online Graduate Programs Advance among Nation’s Best, per U.S. News & World Report

January 2021—In results that have remained remarkably consistent throughout the past eight years, U.S. News & World Report has once again placed Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) among the top ten schools offering the nation’s Best Online Master’s Degree Programs. This year, rankings have improved for each BU MET online program.

Showing strongly among 79 schools, Metropolitan College saw its Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) program edge up from third place to the #2 spot (in a tie with Sam Houston State University and just behind University of California–Irvine). BU MET’s seven management master’s degree programs (Applied Business Analytics, Enterprise Risk Management, Financial Management, Global Marketing Management, Insurance Management, Project Management, and Supply Chain Management) advanced from tenth place to #6, in a tie with Georgetown University, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and University of Texas–Dallas. That list included 184 schools.

BU MET’s MS in Applied Data Analytics (MSADA), MS in Computer Information Systems (MSCIS), and MS in Software Development (MSSD) moved up from tenth place to #8 (out of 81, a 30 percent increase in competition), following the University of Arizona and tied with Pennsylvania State University–World Campus and Stevens Institute of Technology. Columbia University took the #1 spot.

U.S. News & World Report also releases rankings for veterans, with the MSCJ landing at #4 and the management degrees, and MSADA, MSCIS, and MSSD coming in at #9.

The Best Online Master’s Degree Programs rankings look at US schools and take into account a variety of factors that closely align with BU MET initiatives to enhance student and faculty success. These include focusing on student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, peer reputation, and admissions selectivity.

“Considering the incredible disruption to learning in 2020, I am especially proud that we are entering 2021 with improved online rankings for every category,” says Metropolitan College Dean Tanya Zlateva. “Once again, we find ourselves within the top 10 nationwide, representing the pinnacle of professional graduate online education. The consistency of our rankings—across almost a decade—accentuates our unwavering commitment to providing the highest-quality curricula, instructional design, student support, and academic resources.”

Since 2001, Boston University has pioneered a trusted model of digital learning unparalleled in American higher education. The University’s distinguished faculty and office of Distance Education work in close partnership to design state-of-the-art online programs, bringing groundbreaking research, academic innovation, and first-rate professors to students around the globe. As a result, Boston University has been recognized with an array of honors and awards for its online programming, most recently with the Online Learning Consortium Effective Practices Award and two Blackboard Exemplary Course Awards, the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Teaching & Learning, and the US Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning.

The Master of Science in Criminal Justice, offered through MET’s Department of Applied Social Sciences, has the distinction of being Boston University’s first online degree program, introduced in 2002. The MSCJ offers concentrations in Crime Analysis, Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity, and Strategic Management.

MET’s Department of Computer Science—established in 1979 as the first such department at Boston University—introduced the online version of its master’s in Computer Information Systems in 2004 and has continued to add relevant degree concentrations. Currently there are concentrations in Computer Networks, Data Analytics, Database Management & Business Intelligence, Health Informatics, IT Project Management, Security, and Web Application Development. The Heath Informatics and IT Project Management curricula are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) and the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs (GAC). The MS in Applied Data Analytics and MS in Software Development entered the rankings for the first time in 2020, while a new MS in Health Informatics degree program has been introduced in 2021.

The Department of Administrative Sciences offered its first online program in 2005, and now boasts seven online master’s degrees in management. The online master’s in Project Management includes accreditation from the PMI® GAC. BU remains an accredited member of AACSB International―The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

About Boston University’s Metropolitan College
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. Home to more than 34,000 students, BU comprises 17 schools and colleges and the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, along with a number of multidisciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission.

As one of those colleges, Metropolitan College offers over 80 part-time undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs in a flexible learning environment that supports the academic, professional, and intellectual needs of working adults. For half a century, the Metropolitan College mission has been to broaden the reach of BU—ensuring that the resources of a leading research university are accessible to the community and the world via part-time or full-time study during the evening or through innovative online and blended programs. For more information, visit bu.edu/met.

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