The latest edition of Americas Best Graduate Schools from U.S.News&World Report ranks the West Virginia University School of Nursing 75th among the best nursing schools in the country.

We are thrilled to have been ranked by our peers,said E. Jane Martin, dean of the School of Nursing.We have worked hard to make our masters program state-of-the-art, and we look forward to moving up in the ranks in future years.

The WVU School of Nursing was tied with 18 other schools for 75th place. The nursing school at the University of Washington was ranked first. The WVU College of Law and the Universitys clinical psychology program also made this years rankings.

The College of Law finished in the third tier. After ranking the top 100 accredited law schools, the magazine divides the remaining 77 into a third and fourth tier. Schools listed in those tiers are listed alphabetically and do not receive an individual ranking.

WVU s clinical psychology program is tied with 13 others for 36th place in the 2004 edition, but that ranking is not new. Several health specialties, including clinical psychology, were not freshly ranked for 2004. In the case of clinical psychology, the ranking is from 2001.

The health rankings are based solely on the results of peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators and/or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools in each discipline.

The law school rankings are based on a number of criteria, including peer assessment, assessment by lawyers/judges, student/faculty ratio,02 undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores, and02 acceptance rate.

U.S. News first published a reputation-only graduate school ranking in 1987. The annual Americas Best Graduate Schools report began in 1990.

The 2004 edition of Americas Best Graduate Schools will appear on newsstands beginning Monday (April 7). Many of the ranking categories will also appear in the April 14 edition of U.S. News&World Report, the weekly newsmagazine, which goes on sale that same day. The rankings also can be viewed on line beginning Friday at www.USNews.com