ASU, UC Boulder both top-tier national universities

Editor's Note: Arizona State football will take on the University of Colorado, Boulder, at 6 p.m., Oct. 11 in Boulder. Learn more about ASU's collaborations with Pac-12 schools.

Both Arizona State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder are ranked in the top tier of national universities this year by U.S. News and World Report. And while ASU is about twice the size of its sister Pac-12 university in Boulder, both schools have outstanding undergraduate and graduate programs which made the magazine’s honor list.

The W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU comes in an impressive No. 24 in the undergraduate rankings, and No. 30 for MBA programs. And while CU-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business wasn’t in the top group, both universities’ B-schools are ranked among the best in the Southwest by Bloomberg Business Week.

ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law ranks No. 26 and gives students hands-on experience in areas including patent, immigration, and tribal law through about 10 clinics. The law school at CU Boulder, which ranks No. 47, stresses experiential learning through clinics, externships, competitions and mandatory pro bono work. Both schools offer several dual degree programs including a J.D./M.B.A. and a J.D./M.D.

ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College comes in at No. 35 in the nation and has highly-ranked specialties in curriculum and instruction, education policy, elementary and secondary education and counseling. The School of Education at UC Boulder ranks 38, with a highly regarded specialty program in educational psychology.

The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU place No. 44, with eight highly-ranked specialty areas:  biomedical/bioengineering, chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, industrial/manufacturing, materials and mechanical. UC Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science ranks No. 36. Highly ranked specialties include aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental and mechanical.