Ten VCU programs earn national rankings

By Marcia Meredith

Ten graduate programs at Virginia Commonwealth University rank among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2001 rankings of "America’s Best Graduate Schools."

Nine of the VCU programs were ranked in the top tiers this year. They are: sculpture, fifth; rehabilitation counseling, seventh; health services administration, eighth; nursing service administration, ninth; community health, 11^th; social work, 13^th; physical therapy, 15^th; drug/alcohol abuse, 16^th; and fine arts, 19^th. Nursing also was ranked at 52^nd.

The newsmagazine will publish its newest graduate school rankings in the issue that arrives on newsstands Monday and in its annual guidebook.

"It is an honor that our peers from around the country recognize VCU as a top university that offers high-quality graduate and professional education," said VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D. "This type of endorsement gives us another benchmark that signifies we are meeting and exceeding the needs of our students."

Three programs ranked this year — rehabilitation counseling, health administration and physical therapy — are offered through the School of Allied Health Professions.

VCU’s rehabilitation counseling’s seventh-place ranking rose significantly from its 22^nd ranking in 1998. This year the program tied with George Washington University and the University

of Arkansas-Fayetteville. In health administration, VCU was the sole holder of the eighth place ranking. In physical therapy, VCU’s 15^th-place ranking – up from a 16^th-place ranking in 1998 – tied with Boston University, Temple University and the University of California-San Francisco/San Francisco State University.

In other new rankings this year, VCU’s social work was ranked 13^th, up from an 18^th -place ranking in 1997. The program tied with Fordham University, the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Pittsburgh.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News & World Report surveyed deans and top officials of accredited master’s, doctoral and professional programs, asking them to rate the schools within their own discipline.

U.S. News & World Report ranked several other VCU graduate programs in 1998. Those programs were nurse anesthesia, 10^th; occupational therapy, 12^th ; and family medicine, 19^th. Among the 1997 rankings, VCU’s pharmacy placed 19^th and creative writing, 50^th.

"We take tremendous pride in these rankings," Dr. Trani said. "It serves as a testament to the outstanding work of our talented faculty members and graduate students."