Graduate programs ranked

By Anne Bromley

U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings were released March 30 in the magazine’s special guidebook, with several U.Va. programs included in the top 10 or 20. The Law School tied for seventh place with the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In the psychology department, the developmental psychology program ranked fifth and the clinical psychology program ninth. The Curry School of Education has three programs in the top 10: special education, ranked fourth, and elementary and secondary education programs, both ranked 10th. See below for more listings.

Readers should be aware that not all programs are covered every year, although they are included in the guidebook. This year, for instance, medicine and related health fields — but not nursing — were reviewed in fall 2000. Likewise, Ph.D. programs in the social sciences were re-evaluated, but not those in the hard sciences.

Professional schools are ranked using statistical categories such as test scores, acceptance rate, student/faculty ratio and percentage employed at graduation. The rankings of Ph.D. programs are based on reputation, gleaned from academic surveys sent to deans, program directors and senior faculty.

A complete listing of U.Va. rankings is available on the Web at http://www.virginia.edu/Facts/Glance_Rankings.htm. The most recent ranking is given in parentheses.