Making U.S.News&World Reports list of the top graduate programs in the nation has been a goal of the faculty and staff in West Virginia Universitys Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Mission accomplished.
The department is ranked 70 th out of 86 civil engineering programs listed in the magazines 2006 edition ofAmericas Best Graduate Schools.
WVU s doctor of pharmacy program and College of Law also make the rankings, which were announced Friday and appear on newsstands Monday.
The pharmacy program is ranked 32 nd out of 57 schools nationwide.
The College of Law is listed in the third tier, where it usually falls. After ranking the top 100 accredited law schools, the magazine divides the remaining 77 into a third and fourth tier. Schools in those tiers are listed alphabetically and do not receive an individual ranking.
The civil engineering and pharmacy rankings 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 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.
WVU s civil engineering program is among eight in the nation ranked 70 th.
David Martinelli, chairman of the department, said the departments inclusion inAmericas Best Graduate Schoolsvalidates what he and other faculty members have known for some time.
The department, in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, has nationally renowned research programs in environmental remediation, high-performance building materials and sensing technologies to monitor bridges and pavements, Martinelli said.
Civil engineering is an important field in a state like West Virginia, where economic development is such a high priority,he said.Our transportation infrastructure and environmental restoration are critical to our states economic growth.
Our program has always been a strong one, and in recent years we have committed to making it even better,Martinelli added.Then it became just a matter of telling our story.
As chairman of the American Society of Civil EngineersDepartment Heads Council, Martinelli is in a position where he can tell that storytime and again.
We set a goal this year to be in the top 100 programs in graduate studies, and here we are at 70,he said, noting that there are about 200 schools across the country with graduate civil engineering programs.
Our faculty have worked hard to remain competitive in their fields of scholarship, and we are proud that we integrate excellent research together with excellent teaching,he added.
The School of Pharmacy doctor of pharmacy program is among eight in the country ranked 32 nd.
The U.S. News ranking confirms what many students, graduates and employers already know WVU s Pharm.D. program is among the best in the country,said Dr. Robert DAlessandri, vice president for health sciences.
Our students rank highly on their national tests, they graduate ready for the jobs that are out there, and they are in high demand by employers in pharmacies, in hospitals, and in the pharmaceutical industry,DAlessandri added.Were proud of the faculty and students of the WVU School of Pharmacy.
U.S. News began its annual rankings of American colleges and universities in 1983. The fall of 1987 marked the first publication of the newsstand book,America’s Best Colleges.It was joined byAmericas Best Graduate Schoolsin 1994.
The rankings are available on the Web at USNews.com. Some of the ranking categories will also appear in the April 11 edition of U.S.News&World Report