Graduate school may be a critical step in your higher education, whether you are interested in expanding your knowledge, learning a specialization, or earning advanced credentials required by your profession. The best graduate schools in Delaware offer advanced degrees, such as master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as opportunities for independent research, mentorships, and professional networking.
A total of six higher learning institutions offer associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Two public schools and four private schools award degrees in fields such as mathematics, political science, criminal justice, and publishing. Delaware State University and the University of Delaware are both affordable at $8,000 and $14,000, respectively.
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The student population, however, is vastly different with a little over 4,000 attending Delaware State University and just over 22,000 students at the University of Delaware. Wilmington University has the highest student population among private colleges at just under 10,000 — it is also the most affordable at $11,000. Students who attend Delaware College of Art and Design can specialize their associate degree in animation, fine arts, graphic design, illustration, or photography. Residents who earn degrees in the medical or mental health fields have the opportunity to get assistance in paying off their student loans through Delaware’s State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). Applicants must agree to work in underserved areas of Delaware for two or three years and can receive up to $105,000.
Though it is the second smallest state in the nation, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, earning it the nickname, The First State. With the Delaware River running through it, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and forests throughout, Delaware college students will find beauty everywhere.
Just above the nation’s average for cost of colleges at $12,274, Delaware provides prospective students with unique options in both the private and public spheres. Discover more about Delaware’s colleges and universities.
There are 3 doctorate-granting universities in Delaware, 2 of which satisfy our criteria. The top 2 graduate schools on the list below are composed of both private and public schools that satisfy the following four conditions:
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. At the undergraduate level, the best colleges and universities are those with the highest concentration of influence. Our Concentrated Influence metric adjusts overall influence by size of undergraduate student body, thus allowing smaller schools to compete with larger schools so long as they have proportionately as strong influential faculty and alums.
But at the graduate level, the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. Overall influence, and not influence controlled by other variables, thus becomes the best gauge of academic excellence at the graduate level. Where smaller size is an advantage at the undergraduate level (hence Concentrated Influence), graduate studies benefit from a large and vibrant community of graduate students, who promise to become the new generation of academic influencers.
If you are serious about finding the best graduate schools, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
82%
Student body
23K
Median SAT/ACT
1255/27
University of Delaware’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
39%
Graduation
48%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
920/19
Delaware State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Graduation
21%
Student body
11K
Wilmington University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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