Two online graduate programs highly ranked by U.S. News
Two University of Colorado Denver │ Anschutz Medical Campus online graduate programs were ranked in the top 10 of online programs nationally, in a report released by U.S. News & World Report.
The CU College of Nursing at the Anschutz Medical Campus was ranked fifth in the report’s Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs category and the CU Denver School of Public Affair’s Online Master of Criminal Justice Program was ranked ninth in the online Criminal Justice Programs category. The CU Denver | Anschutz programs were the only two graduate programs in Colorado to make the top 10 list.
Programs were ranked using key factors including student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, peer reputation and admissions selectivity.
CU College of Nursing Online Graduate Programs Raises in Rank to No. 5
U.S. News & World Report’s ranking covers master’s and doctor of nursing practice programs that are offered entirely online. The two ranked CU College of Nursing programs are a master’s in Health Care Informatics and the i-LEAD (Innovation in Leadership and Administration in Nursing and Health Care Systems) master’s program. These programs are led by Amy Barton, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, the Daniel and Janet Mordecai Endowed Chair in Rural Health Nursing and Associate Dean for Clinical and Community Affairs, and Diane Skiba, Ph.D., FAAN, FACMI, Project Director, I-Collaboratory: Partnerships for Learning.
Both of the Informatics and i-LEAD master’s programs require an undergraduate nursing degree from a Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) accredited school or university and a copy of current and unencumbered nursing license, among other requirements.
“We’re proud of our long history in distance education,” says Dean Sarah A. Thompson, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. “Dr. Skiba pioneered distance formats for nursing education in the 1980s. And, Dr. Barton has used online formats in to fill education gaps in rural areas of Colorado. Our graduate programs are distance accessible and fill a statewide as well as national need.”
U.S. News & World Report most recently ranked graduate schools in 2013; the University of Colorado College of Nursing ranked 15th for overall master’s program by U.S. News & World Report. The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner specialty ranked fifth, Nursing-Midwifery ranked 13th, and the Nurse Practitioner for Family Nursing specialty ranked 16th in the nation.
Online Criminal Justice Program makes top 10 in inaugural program ranking
In the first-ever ranking of online criminal justice programs, the CU Denver MCJ program placed ninth nationally and fifth among public institutions.
Graduates of the MCJ online program pursue careers in crime analysis, social work, victim advocacy, policing at the local, state and federal level, public policy and more. Students in the MCJ online program come from a wide range of backgrounds and professional experiences.
“We are thrilled by this powerful endorsement of our online program,” says Callie Rennison, associate professor and MCJ program director. “Students in the program benefit from faculty who are not only highly respected researchers, but who also have worked in the criminal justice field. Our graduates are very well prepared for contemporary criminal justice jobs in crime analysis, victim advocacy, nonprofit organizations and law enforcement.”
The School of Public Affairs at CU Denver also offers an undergraduate criminal justice degree and a dual Bachelor/Master of Criminal Justice program.