Three of NC State University’s graduate programs have earned impressive marks in the latest national college rankings from U.S. News & World Report, with one of them rising up to take the top spot in its field in North Carolina.

The College of Engineering came in at No. 28 in 2026, maintaining a long streak of consecutive appearances in the nation’s top 30 graduate engineering programs. In addition, NC State’s graduate computer science program broke into the top 50 this year by climbing five spots to No. 46. 

But the year’s highest ranking among NC State graduate programs goes to the College of Education, which rose one spot to No. 26 in the nation — making it North Carolina’s No. 1 graduate program in education.

U.S. News calculates its rankings based on a combination of statistical measures that indicate educational quality, such as student scores on admissions tests, and peer assessments of a university’s academic reputation. Not every graduate program receives a ranking every year; in 2026 U.S. News is not issuing rankings for graduate programs in biological sciences, biostatistics, chemistry, earth sciences, mathematics, physics, statistics, clinical psychology, veterinary medicine and fine arts.

This post was originally published in NC State News.