VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

The Virginia Commonwealth University graduate schools of the Arts, Allied Health Professions, Social Work, Education and Nursing are ranked among the nation's best in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 edition of Best Graduate Schools. In addition, two programs are ranked No. 1 in the country – Nurse Anesthesia and Sculpture.

The VCU School of the Arts is ranked 4th, the School of Social Work is ranked 11th, the School of Education is ranked 28th, with teacher preparation listed in the top 50, and the School of Nursing is ranked 36th.

Other VCU graduate departments ranked among the top 50 in the nation are: Health Services Administration, 5th; Rehabilitation Counseling, 7th; Occupational Therapy, 15th; Physical Therapy, 19th; and Pharmacotherapy and Outcome Sciences, 21st. In addition, other School of the Arts programs ranked highly are: Graphic Design, 5th; Ceramics, 9th; Painting / Drawing, 7th; Printmaking, 10th; Photography, 13th; and Multimedia / Visual Communications, 14th.

The School of Education moved up in the rankings this year from its previous rank of No. 30 in 2012. There was no change in the rankings of the other schools.

"These rankings of our graduate programs reinforce the world-class reputation of our faculty and students," said VCU President Michael Rao. "They also reflect the academic excellence of VCU as we take our place among the Top 50 public research universities.”

VCU graduate schools carrying over previous rankings are: School of Pharmacy, 21st and School of Nursing, 36th. VCU graduate programs carrying over previous rankings are: Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, 21st; Physical Therapy, 19th; and Rehabilitation Counseling, 7th.

The L Douglas Wider School of Government and Public Affairs, 53rd, was not ranked last year. The psychology program dropped four spots from its previous ranking to 78th.

The U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings are available online at www.usnews.com. A compilation of VCU's top-ranked graduate and first professional programs by U.S. News & World Report can be found at www.vcu.edu/ranking/. In addition, VCU's Top Spots page, www.vcu.edu/topspots/, summarizes a variety of rankings and awards.