Dozens of CU graduate programs earn national ranking

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 37 mentions in the 2012 edition of Best Graduate Schools (U.S. News Media Group), including nine ranked in the top 10 in their fields.

CU's 2012 rankings are:

University of Colorado Boulder

• No. 1: CU-Boulder takes 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 19 other CU-Boulder schools and programs land on the national rankings within their fields: aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering (17), chemical engineering (19), physics (19), psychology (19), civil engineering (22), earth sciences (23), environmental/environmental health engineering (23), speech-language pathology (25), chemistry (26), biological sciences (30), audiology (33), electrical/electronic/communications engineering (35), mechanical engineering (35), Leeds School of Business (36 for part-time MBA schools; 69 overall), School of Engineering (36), computer engineering (36), computer science (39), School of Education (43) and School of Law (47).

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

• Top Five: The School of Medicine ranks fourth nationally for primary care, with the specialties of family medicine (fourth) and pediatrics (fifth). Within the College of Nursing (ranked 15th), the pediatric nurse practitioner program ranks fifth.
• The School of Medicine ranks 38th overall for research. The physician assistant program ranks at 11; biological sciences at 68.

University of Colorado Denver

• The School of Public Affairs, with programs at CU Denver and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is listed at 32 nationally.
• CU Denver also notches recognition for its part-time MBA program (93) and School of Education and Human Development (104).

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

• Besides sharing the School of Public Affairs honor with CU Denver, the part-time MBA program at UCCS lands at 121 nationally.

The 2012 Best Graduate Schools includes essential, detailed statistical information on more than 1,200 programs nationwide. In addition to featuring new rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines (business, law, education, engineering, and medicine), the 2012 rankings also include updated peer-assessment-only rankings for health-care management, nursing, nursing-anesthesia, nursing-midwifery, physician assistant, public health, rehabilitation counseling, and veterinary medicine.

Highlights of the rankings will be published in the Best Graduate Schools 2012 edition book, available April 5, 2011.

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.