Facts and Rankings

At Duquesne, we have the breadth and depth to make the most of your goals, as evidenced by just some of our achievements below. 

U.S. News & World Report

2026

• Duquesne ranked #169 among National Universities and #115 among Best Value Schools. 
• The School of Nursing at Duquesne earned a No. 36 spot for its Master of Science in Nursing and a No. 78 spot for its Doctor of Nursing Practice.
• Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University moved up seven spots to No. 85 overall, marking its highest ranking yet and its fourth consecutive year in the Top 100. 
  • Additionally, the law school advanced six spots to No. 38 in the Best Part‑Time Law Programs category.
  • In a new, separate category recognizing law schools with the most graduates entering public interest law, Duquesne ranked No. 39 and tied with other nationally prominent institutions including Columbia and the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, among others.
• The Palumbo‑Donahue School of Business ranked No. 98 overall, moving up nine spots to break into the Top 100 Best Business Schools. The ranking reflects the strength of its AACSB‑accredited graduate programs and focus on career outcomes, with Duquesne ranked among just 134 of more than 300 accredited business schools nationwide.
• The John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences earned recognition for two of its graduate programs.
  • The Occupational Therapy program ranked No. 31 overall, placing them among the top programs in the country. The recognition reflects a strong reputation among peer institutions and a curriculum grounded in clinical experience, professional collaboration and community engagement.
  • The Physical Therapy program ranked No. 72, climbing seven spots from last year. The improvement reflects ongoing investment in experiential learning and evidence‑based practice that prepares graduates for a wide range of clinical settings.
• The Doctor of Pharmacy program of the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy ranked No. 54 overall, reflecting an educational experience centered on student success and career readiness. Through close faculty mentorship, collaborative learning and strong academic preparation, Duquesne pharmacy students achieved a 91.7% NAPLEX pass rate, above the state and national averages.

2025

• Duquesne's Schools of Nursing, Law and Health Sciences earned the following Best Graduate School Rankings:
  • School of Nursing climbed 12 spots to #34 for Best Nursing Schools and climbed five spots to #80 in the Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice category.
  • Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University advanced two positions to #92 in the Best Law Schools category.
  • John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences tied for #30 in Occupational Therapy, #58 for Physician Assistant, #74 for Speech-Language Pathology and #79 for Physical Therapy.
• Duquesne's Master's in Nursing Education program is ranked #1 in the nation for Best Online Programs. In addition, the School of Nursing ranked #37 overall for its online Master's in Nursing programs with its specialized programs earning exceptional recognition, including:
  
  • Master’s in Nursing Administration, #7
  • Master’s in Family Nurse Practitioner, #8
  • Master’s in Nursing for Veterans, #11
• Additional Best Online Programs rankings for Duquesne include:
  • Bachelor’s in Business, #68
  • Master’s in Education, #97
  • Bachelor’s Programs, #123
• Duquesne is ranked #58 as a Best Value School.
• Our Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at Duquesne is ranked #39.
• Duquesne ranked #165 (among the nearly 1,500 national colleges and universities evaluated) in the National University category for 2025.
• Duquesne ranked #118 nationally in the Best Colleges for Veterans category.
• A number of Duquesne University online programs have been named among the Best Online Programs in the U.S. including:
  
  • Master's in Nursing Education, #3
  • Family Nurse Practitioner Master's Program, #4
  • Master's in Nursing Administration, #6
  • Master's in Nursing for Veterans, #9
  • Bachelor's in Business, #59
  • Master's in Education, #63

Washington Monthly

• Duquesne's service rank is #63 nationally and #4 among Pennsylvania universities.
• Earning power for Duquesne ranks #46 nationally and #5 in Pennsylvania.
• Duquesne is listed among "Best Bang for the Buck" schools in Northeast

Princeton Review

• Based on student surveys and institutional data, Duquesne ranked among the top 15% among four-year institutions in the U.S. for 2026 and was included in the Princeton Review’s Best Mid-Atlantic Colleges list, which showcases academically outstanding institutions across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and surrounding states.
• For three consecutive years (2026, 2025 and 2024), Duquesne has been recognized as a Green College.
• The Palumbo-Donahue School of Business was named a Best Business School for 2025, including being one of 213 business schools for the Best On-Campus MBA Programs grouping and named #6 among 10 business schools named to the Greatest Resources for Women category.
• For the second year in a row, Duquesne Kline School of Law ranks in the top 10 for “Professor Accessibility,” and is ranked #39 for “Career” outcomes. These exceptional ranks from the TaxProf Blog are based on the recently released 2025 Princeton Review Law School ratings. The ratings are out of nearly 200 law schools in the United States. 
• In 2025, Duquesne was named among the Best 390 Colleges in the nation, which includes only the top 10% of colleges and universities nationally.

Other Rankings of Note

• The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)/College Pulse named Duquesne among the 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S.
• Recent graduates of the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University achieved top-tier success on the Pennsylvania Bar Examination. For the July 2025 administration, 92.13% of takers passed the lawyer licensing exam on their first attempt. Duquesne Kline School of Law ranks together with three other top-performing Pennsylvania law schools—Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law—whose first-time passage rates were all clustered within tenths of a percentage point.
• Money magazine ranked Duquesne among its Best Colleges for 2025.
• For 2026, Duquesne climbed two spots to #60 for Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.
• Niche (2025) gave Duquesne University an A+ ranking for campus location.
• In 2025, Poets&Quants, a leading online publication for undergraduate business and education news, ranked Duquesne's Palumbo-Donahue School of Business #65 on its prestigious annual list—up three spots from 2024 and 12 spots from 2023.
• The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranks only the top 12% of colleges and universities in the country, and Duquesne was ranked #144 on their list, based on a methodology that places a significant 70% on student outcomes. 
• 100% of Duquesne's nursing graduates passed the 2024 National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) on their first time.
• Duquesne University has been recognized as one of the 2024 Money Best Colleges in America. Money's analysis showcases the country's top colleges based on graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, alumni salaries and more.
• The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University was named a “Best Value Private Law School” in preLaw Magazine’s Fall 2024 issue and ranked 6th in the nation for its excellence in bar preparation in their Winter 2024 issue.
• Duquesne's Palumbo-Donahue School of Business has again been recognized on the Corporate Knights Better World MBA Ranking. The University's One-Year MBA program is ranked #1 in the United States and came in #2 globally.
• The Wall Street Journal ranked Duquesne #143 among the top 400 universities in the country and in the top 13 schools ranked from Pennsylvania.
• Money magazine listed Duquesne University in its Best Colleges in America 2023 rankings.
• FORTUNE magazine ranked Duquesne University #5 for Best Online Master's in Nursing (MSN) Program for 2022.
• Duquesne ranked #3 in the Northeast in a recent workforce analysis focused on R2 institutions producing the most high-earning female alumni under 40 in the United States. 
• For 2022, Niche.com ranked Duquesne at #59 among its Best Catholic Colleges in America, and #4 in Pennsylvania. Additionally, Niche gave Duquesne an A+ in Best College Locations, an A for Value and an overall A- among colleges and universities in the nation.
• Duquesne University (#1) and the School of Nursing achieved Top 10, gold-level rankings as both a Military Friendly® and Military Spouse Friendly® School for 2022-23.
• Duquesne is the first university in the nation to offer combined biomedical engineering and nursing dual degree (BS-BSN).
• Also, Duquesne is the first university in the nation to offer an online Ph.D. in nursing (1997) and first in Pennsylvania to grant a BSN degree (1937).