Four University professional schools are among the nation”s top five in their respective fields according to U.S. News and World Report”s annual “Best Graduate Schools” rankings published yesterday.
- Paul Wong
- Students walk past the Lurie Bell Tower on North Campus yesterday afternoon. The University”s College of Engineering is ranked fourth in the nation, according to rankings published yesterday by U.S. News and World Report. The college was tied for fourth p
The University”s School of Public Health is third in the nation. The School of Information tied for third in the nation with Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh. The College of Engineering and the School of Nursing are both fourth.
Five other University professional schools are in the top 10 schools in the nation. The School of Education is seventh the Law School tied for seventh with the University of Virginia the School of Public Policy tied for seventh with Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas Austin the Medical School is the ninth-best research-oriented medical school and the Business School is ranked 10.
College of Engineering Dean Stephen Director said that although ranking systems all have room for a wide amount of error, the college is happy to stay at its fourth place spot in the nation, a place it shared with the Georgia Institute of Technology last year.
Director also said there are objective and subjective parts to the ranking system U.S. News and World Report uses.
“We have a lot of research going on. We”re in high demand by students,” Director said of objective qualities that contribute to the ranking.
Director added that subjectively, because the college has an outstanding faculty, they are ranked highly by other deans from around the nation.
Medical School Dean Allen Lichter said the medical school is composed of “leaders of academic medicine in the nation. We are absolutely one of the very, very top schools in the country.”
University Vice President for Medical Affairs Gilbert Omenn said that the medical school has continued to excel and because of that it has held its very high rankings.
But Omenn said the medical school”s rankings would have been even higher if selectivity had not been incorporated into the rankings.
Lichter said the quality of residency program directors, deans and senior leaders at the school moved the Medical School up from 12th place last year in the U.S. News rankings.
Omenn agreed that the fourth place ranking is an important testament to the “quality of education that students get at the medical school.”
Lichter also said the reputation of the medical school, helped by the Life Sciences Initiative, boosted the school into the top 10.
“One of the most important things is the reputation that our school has. The fact that we are among the great leaders in the life sciences, that reputation gets around quickly,” Lichter said.
Omenn that the “spectacular results” are derived from “a long sustained effort.”