by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a grad degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking is part of that endeavor.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
We analyzed 60 grad schools across the Southwest Region to determine which have the best doctorate degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a graduateschool is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. While doctorate degree recipients from schools in the Southwest Region earn an average starting salary of $75,218, those from the top 19 school on this list made an average of $81,896.
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that graduate students take on while they are working on their doctorate degree. We consider this number in conjunction with average post-graduation earnings to gauge the difficulty doctorate recipients will have paying back their loans.
In addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt loads, we also look at a host of other factors to determining our Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking. Several other factors - such as how much the school spends on educational resources, the demand of the school, the availability of online learning options, and the student body caliber - go into our rankings.
Find out more about our graduate school ranking methodology
Not quite ready to work on your doctorate? Check out our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our analysis found Rice University to be the best grad school for doctorate degrees in the Southwest Region in this year’s ranking. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 207 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 60 doctorate degree schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Christian University landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Fort Worth, Texas, and it awarded 132 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from TCU is $163,986 during the early years of their career.
The excellent doctorate degree programs at The University of Texas at Austin helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the Southwest Region. UT Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,290 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from UT Austin make an average of $73,129 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in the Southwest Region list means Baylor University is a great place for students working on their degree. Baylor is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Waco, Texas. It awarded 478 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from Baylor is $75,072 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #5 in the Southwest Region on this year’s best doctorate degree schools ranking. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 1,460 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Texas A&M College Station go into careers with an average salary of $76,643 during the early years of their career.
Southern Methodist University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Dallas, Texas, and it awarded 351 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from SMU make an average of $81,633 per year during the early years of their career.
Arizona State University - Skysong landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. ASU - Skysong is a large public school situated in Scottsdale, Arizona. It awarded 87 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from ASU - Skysong make an average of $79,187 a year.
University of Arizona came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Tucson, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 1,010 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from University of Arizona go into careers with an average salary of $68,776 during the early years of their career.
University of Houston did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #9. UH is located in Houston, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 900 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UH go into careers with an average salary of $80,900 during the early years of their career.
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in Stillwater, Oklahoma that handed out 303 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from OSU go into careers with an average salary of $70,246 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Arizona State University - Tempe did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 897 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from ASU - Tempe make an average of $71,672 per year during the early years of their career.
Texas Tech University landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Lubbock, Texas, the large public school handed out 513 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Texas Tech make an average of $62,114 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Norman, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 378 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from University of Oklahoma go into careers with an average salary of $78,939 during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at Dallas ranked #14 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. The University of Texas at Dallas is a large public school located in Richardson, Texas that handed out 257 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Grand Canyon University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Grand Canyon University is a large private for-profit school located in Phoenix, Arizona that handed out 829 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Grand Canyon University go into careers with an average salary of $74,421 during the early years of their career.
University of St. Thomas did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #16. UST is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 28 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
University of New Mexico - Main Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UNM is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 440 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from UNM make an average of $77,186 a year.
Texas Woman’s University landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Denton, Texas, the fairly large public school awarded 202 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from TWU go into careers with an average salary of $78,673 during the early years of their career.
University of Dallas did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Irving, Texas, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #20, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in Denton, Texas, the large public school handed out 269 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from UNT make an average of $57,903 a year.
With a ranking of #21, University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. University of Phoenix - Arizona is a large private for-profit school located in Phoenix, Arizona that handed out 356 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from UOPX - Arizona make an average of $84,216 a year.
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Arlington, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 276 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UT Arlington go into careers with an average salary of $125,276 during the early years of their career.
Northern Arizona University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Northern Arizona University is a large public school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 220 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from NAU is $76,050 during the early years of their career.
Southern Nazarene University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.
Abilene Christian University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Abilene, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 117 students in 2020-2021.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.