Several West Virginia University graduate school programs are getting high marks, according to rankings compiled by U.S.News&World Report.
TheAmerica’s Best Graduate Schoolsrankings, announced Friday and appearing on newsstands Monday, show WVU faring well in the areas of health, public affairs, social work and law.
WVU graduate programs in the rankings:
- Rural medicine, School of Medicine, 13 th
- Clinical psychology, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, 49 th
- Public administration, Arts and Sciences, 65 th
- Social work, Arts and Sciences, 70 th
- Speech pathology, College of Human Resources and Education, 86 th
- Physical therapy, School of Medicine, 91 st
- College of Law, third tier
The rankings for rural medicine, clinical psychology, social work, public administration, speech pathology and physical therapy are based on peer assessment surveys sent to deans, other administrators or faculty at accredited degree programs or schools in the disciplines.
The law rankings rely on several criteria: assessment by peers, lawyers and judges; undergraduate grade point averages; Law School Admissions Test scores; acceptance rates; student-faculty ratio; post-graduation employment figures; and bar passage rates. After ranking the top 100 accredited law schools, the magazine divides the remaining schools into a third and fourth tier. Colleges in the third and fourth tiers are listed alphabetically.
The rural medicine ranking couldn’t come at a better time, as the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center prepares this weekend to celebrate 100 years of health professions education at WVU , said Robert M. D’Alessandri, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president of health sciences.
Training physicians and other health professionals to serve in rural areas has long been a top priority for West Virginia University,D’Alessandri said.The recognition of our efforts by other medical school leadersas evidenced by the U.S. News surveyis gratifying to all of us.
We have always believed that the WVU School of Medicine can excel in both rural primary care and research and specialized health care delivery,he added.It is especially satisfying for us to be so highly regarded in this area, as we continue to make advances in neurosciences, cancer, heart care and other specialized fields of medicine; in prevention and community health; and in cutting-edge research.
Fred King, associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Eberly College, said the clinical psychology, social work and public administration rankings reflect the three programs’high quality despite their small size.
Not only do these programs enter into these rankings, but they always place very well in the rankings among peers in their professions,King said.It’s a reflection of the quality of the graduate students and dedication of the faculty ensuring that their programs are as good as any in the nation or the world.
U.S. News first published a reputation-only graduate school ranking in 1987. The annualAmerica’s Best Graduate Schoolsreport began in 1990.
The rankings are available on the Web at USNews.com. Many of the ranking categories will also appear in the April 12 edition of U.S.News&World Report.