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. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in Texas ranking.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
After analyzing 40 grad schools in Texas, we came up with our list of those that offered 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 Texas earn an average starting salary of $77,315, those from the top 16 school on this list made an average of $83,031.
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
Still not sure what graduate degree you wish to pursue? You may want to visit our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Rice University the best grad school in Texas in terms of overall quality for students working on their doctorate degree. Located in Houston, Texas, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 207 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas Christian University. The school came in at #2 in Texas on this year’s best doctorate degree schools ranking. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 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.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #3 in Texas on this year’s best doctorate degree schools ranking. UT Austin is a large public school situated in Austin, Texas. It awarded 1,290 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UT Austin go into careers with an average salary of $73,129 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in Texas list means Baylor University is a great place for students working on their degree. Baylor is located in Waco, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 478 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from Baylor is $75,072 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. Texas A&M College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1,460 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making 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 Texas list. SMU is located in Dallas, Texas and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 351 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from SMU is $81,633 during the early years of their career.
University of Houston landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. This large public school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 900 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
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.
Texas Tech University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. Located in Lubbock, Texas, the large public school awarded 513 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,114 during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at Dallas ranked #9 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. Located in Richardson, Texas, the large public school handed out 257 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
University of St. Thomas landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. Located in Houston, Texas, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 28 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas Woman’s University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking, coming in at #11. Texas Woman’s University is a fairly large public school located in Denton, Texas that handed out 202 doctorate degrees 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 ranked #12 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Irving, Texas, and it awarded 9 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #13, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. Denton, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 269 students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from UNT is $57,903 during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. UT Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas. It awarded 276 doctorate degrees 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.
With a ranking of #15, Abilene Christian University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. Located in Abilene, Texas, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 117 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas Wesleyan University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. Texas Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Worth, Texas. It awarded 56 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Lamar University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking, coming in at #17. Lamar University is a fairly large public school situated in Beaumont, Texas. It awarded 81 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Lamar University make an average of $82,165 per year during the early years of their career.
St. Mary’s University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. Located in San Antonio, Texas, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 210 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from St. Mary’s is $55,618 during the early years of their career.
Sam Houston State University landed the #19 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. SHSU is a public institution located in Huntsville, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 69 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $68,691 during the early years of their career.
Concordia University, Texas did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking, coming in at #20. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 11 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. UT Rio Grande Valley is a large public school situated in Edinburg, Texas. It awarded 81 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Houston Baptist University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 18 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #23, University of the Incarnate Word did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas list. University of the Incarnate Word is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Antonio, Texas that handed out 361 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from UIW is $98,069 during the early years of their career.
Dallas Baptist University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. DBU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dallas, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 49 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from DBU make an average of $76,149 per year during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at San Antonio landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Texas ranking. UTSA is a public institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 134 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UTSA go into careers with an average salary of $72,470 during the early years of their career.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.