Graduate programs hold steady

Staff Report

Several University of Virginia graduate programs slipped a notch but still rate among the nation’s best in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, released April 4.

Every spring, U.S. News rates several graduate programs, although not every program is ranked every year. The rankings released today, to be included in both the regular magazine issue and a guidebook that hit newsstands April 7, include only newly rated programs. A more comprehensive set of rankings may appear on the U.S. News Web site.

This year’s rankings come against a backdrop of nationwide economic distress that led to budget cuts at several public universities, including those in Virginia.
A closer look at U.Va.’s rankings:

• The School of Law remains in the top 10 nationwide, ranked ninth. It tied for seventh in last year’s rankings.

• The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration was rated 11th in the country, down one spot from last year. Its top-10 management program also dropped one spot, from sixth to seventh.

• The School of Medicine’s research ranking held steady at No. 27, while its primary care ranking improved one spot to 26th. The magazine also rated several individual health disciplines, listing the U.Va. School of Nursing as having the sixth-best program in “clinical nurse specialist: adult/medical surgical,” a new category this year; the No. 5 program in psychiatric/mental health nursing, up from No. 8 last year; the ninth-best pediatric nursing program, holding steady from a year ago; and the 26th-ranked nursing master’s program, down from No. 21 in 2002.

• The Curry School of Education’s overall ranking dropped from 19th to a tie for 21st. Both its No. 5 special education and No. 8 secondary education programs earned top-10 status, although each fell one spot in the rankings from a year ago.

• Finally, the School of Engineering and Applied Science fell from No. 35 to a tie for 38th.