April 5, 2002

VUSM maintains high rank

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VUSM maintains high rank

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine was ranked 16th out of 125 accredited medical schools in the United States in the annual graduate and professional schools ranking by U.S. News and World Report magazine.

The ranking marks the third year in a row VUSM was 16th in the magazine’s survey of top research schools.

“We should be extremely proud of the ranking,” said Dr. Steven G. Gabbe, dean of the School of Medicine. “This is a reflection of the efforts of our faculty, our students, and our academic leadership.

“Even though they have their faults, these rankings are used to assess quality of medical education by national organizations.”

U.S. News says it bases it rankings on what it calls expert opinion and statistical indicators, weighing factors such as reputation, research activity, student selectivity, and faculty resources.

While VUSM has not traditionally striven to be identified as a primary care educator, U.S. News still ranked Vanderbilt 43rd in that area.

In addition, the publication also surveys several health disciplines. Vanderbilt’s program in Audiology was ranked second, Speech-Language Pathology was ranked eighth, and Clinical Psychology was 14th. All of these rankings were unchanged from the 2001 survey.

Also unchanged from last year was the ranking of the School of Nursing, which was in a five-way tie for 27th in the survey. U.S. News has ranked schools of nursing five times, with Vanderbilt being ranked each time.

Other Vanderbilt professional schools recognized by U.S. News included Law at 17th, Peabody, seventh, Owen Graduate School of Management, 29th, Engineering, 46th, and Biological Sciences, 29th.