CU graduate programs earn high marks in national report

Graduate programs across the University of Colorado system continue to earn national prominence based on the latest annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Schools and programs at the four CU campuses notch 28 mentions in the 2013 edition of Best Graduate Schools (U.S. News Media Group), including 10 ranked in the top 10 of their fields.

CU’s 2013 rankings are:

University of Colorado Boulder

• No. 1: CU-Boulder retains top honors for the atomic/molecular/optical physics program, tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Top 10: Other CU-Boulder programs ranking in the top 10 nationally are environmental sciences (fifth), quantum physics (fifth), environmental law (fifth) and physical chemistry (eighth).
• Some 11 other CU-Boulder schools and programs land on the national rankings within their fields: clinical psychology (18), physics (19), earth sciences (23), chemistry (26),  psychology (29), biological sciences (30), College of Engineering and Applied Science (35), School of Education (38), computer science (39), School of Law (44) and Leeds School of Business (47 for part-time MBA schools).

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
School of Medicine

• Top 10: The school ranks fifth nationally for primary care, with the specialties of family medicine (third), pediatrics (fifth) and rural medicine (seventh) also ranking high.
• Within the nursing program (15th), the pediatric nurse practitioner program ranks fifth; family nurse practitioner, 16th. Nursing also made the top five honor roll list of online options.
• The School of Medicine ranks 35th overall for research. The physician assistant program ranks at 11.

University of Colorado Denver

• The School of Public Affairs, with programs at CU Denver and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is listed at 29 nationally.
• CU Denver also notches recognition for its School of Education (100).

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

• UCCS shares the School of Public Affairs (29) honor with CU Denver.

The 2013 Best Graduate Schools includes essential, detailed statistical information on more than 1,200 programs nationwide, with rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines (business, law, education, engineering, and medicine). Highlights of the rankings will be published in the Best Graduate Schools 2013 edition guidebook, available April 3, 2012.

Rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program quality, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. These data come from surveys of more than 1,200 programs and some 12,400 academics and professionals. The publication aims to provide a tool to students and parents who are comparing college programs at accredited public and private universities in the United States.