The GW Law School fell out of U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 law schools Tuesday for the first time in three years.

The law school dropped to No. 21 in the country, with other graduate programs at the University seeing slight ups and downs in the coveted annual rankings released Tuesday.

GW’s business school – which has a No. 19-ranked international business program – edged up one spot to No. 56. It shares the spot with Babson College in Massachusetts, with both reporting employment rates of about 55 percent at graduation.

The school’s part-time program slipped 13 slots to No. 60, reporting a 79.3 percent acceptance rate. Business school dean Doug Guthrie, who has faced flak from faculty this year, is in his third year leading the school.

The University’s science and engineering programs – which officials have zeroed in on as GW tries to expand its research reputation – dropped one spot to No. 93, after rising nine slots last year.

The coveted U.S. News graduate school rankings include admissions and job placement data from the 2012-2013 academic year so far, as well as peer and professional judgment on each school.

This is the first year U.S. News must follow stricter job reporting guidelines from the American Bar Association, which require more detail into students’ career paths after graduation.

Nearly 26 percent of GW law graduates were employed in full-time positions paid by the university or the law school at graduation, the rankings showed. That rate compares to about 17 percent at No. 6-ranked New York University and just 2 percent of No. 14-ranked  Georgetown University.

GW has raised attention since launching its Pathways to Practice program last year, which gives aspiring lawyers a $28,000 stipend for unpaid posts at law firms if they cannot score a job after graduation. More than one-fifth of Class of 2012 graduates were part of the $3 million-a-year program last month.

The law school has also faced tumult this year, with Dean Paul Schiff Berman resigning from his position after just 18 months at the helm. With some faculty seeking a vote of no confidence to end his time at the law school, Berman shifted into a new online learning role in the provost’s office in January.

The law school kept its No. 2 spot in part-time law, just behind Georgetown University.

GW’s graduate education programs also dropped two spots to No. 44, after falling out of the top 35 last year for the first time since 1995.