Grad School Hub Ranking Methodology

To narrow down the best graduate degrees available, Grad School Hub utilizes a ranking a system dependent on five key categories: Projected Annual Salary, Alumni Feedback, Graduate Expenses, Degree Selectivity, and Continued Enrollment.

Each ranking category is worth a different amount concerning a degree’s final score. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

Projected Annual Salary: 25%

The Projected Annual Salary is worth a quarter of any degree’s ranking because a professional’s income plays a large part in what somebody decides to specialize in after an undergraduate degree. PayScale reports the average mid-career estimates.

Alumni Feedback: 20%

The Alumni Feedback is worth twenty percent but broken up into sections. Sixty percent of Alumni Reviews consist of average student reviews on websites such as Rate My Professors and Students Review. The other forty percent of Alumni Feedback consists of data from PayScale, where online users can report whether they believe their college degree allowed them to make the world a better place.

Graduate Expenses: 25%

Graduate Expenses are worth a quarter of any degree’s ranking and consist solely off of how expensive the degree is overall. Information collected includes graduate-level tuition and fees; financial aid availability, student loans, and state residency; and the average cost of student living during enrollment.

All information about Graduate Expenses is reported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) College Navigator. An institution’s failure to report this general information negatively affects their overall ranking score.

Degree Selectivity: 10%

Ten percent of any degree’s ranking is dependent on Degree Selectivity, which is how competitive an institution’s degree admittance process is. The NCES College Navigator reports institutional acceptance rates. The more competitive an institution’s acceptance rates are, the more positively this category affects a degree’s rank.

Continued Enrollment: 20%

Continued Enrollment is worth twenty percent of any degree’s ranking score, and is dependent on how many admitted students remain enrolled in the degree program after their first academic year. The NCES College Navigator reports data on Continued Enrollment.

Additional Data Resources:

Government Data Sources

• American FactFinder
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook
• NCES: College Navigator
• NCES: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
• U.S. Department of Education: College Scorecard

Academic Data Sources

• Center on Education and the Workforce

National Employment & Salary Data

• Glassdoor Jobs
• LinkedIn Workforce Report 
• The Payscale Index