Primary care, research and rural medicine rise in U.S.News rankings

UNMC’s primary care, research and rural medicine education programs all moved up in the 2012 U.S.News & World Report rankings of the nation’s top graduate schools.

In the latest rankings:

• Primary care program ranked seventh, up from 14th last year;
  
• Research tied for 66th, up from 71st last year; and
  
• Rural medicine tied for 15th, up from 17th last year.

How schools are ranked The U.S. News rankings on primary care are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. Rankings for the health specialties — including rural medicine, nursing and physician assistant — are based solely on the ratings of academic experts. UNMC officials encourage students to use many sources — including rankings — when selecting a graduate or professional program.

“These are three of our most important programs and it’s gratifying to see them move up in these rankings,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “This is truly great news for the UNMC community and Nebraska as a whole.”

Dave Crouse, Ph.D., interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies, echoed Dr. Maurer’s comments.

“It’s great to see these programs make such great advances in this year’s rankings,” Dr. Crouse said. “Combine these developments with the solid rankings of several other UNMC programs and it’s apparent that our efforts to provide a world-class educational environment for our students are paying off.”

The rankings are reported in the magazine’s 2012 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools, which is available soon on newstands. The online edition includes longer lists of some specialty rankings, as well as additional school directory information.

Other programs that were recognized in this year’s rankings are:

• The School of Allied Health Professions’ physician assistant program, which tied for 16th; and
  
• The College of Nursing’s master’s degree program, which ranked 36th.

The following UNMC programs also were included in the guidebook and/or online edition, but were not newly ranked:

• The College of Pharmacy ranked 29th; and
  
• The School of Allied Health Professions’ physical therapy program ranked 33rd.

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