VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts is ranked the No. 1 public university visual arts and design graduate program in the country in next week's issue of U.S. News & World Report.

VCU School of the Arts retained its top ranking from 2005, the last time the magazine issued graduate school rankings, and was ranked fourth overall among graduate visual arts and design programs – the highest ranking ever for a public program. VCU School of the Arts was ranked sixth overall in 2005.

In total, 25 different programs at VCU were ranked in the U.S. News & World Report graduate and first professional programs rankings. The Department of Sculpture and the Department of Nurse Anesthesia were each ranked No. 1. Both were also ranked first in 2005. 

"We are very pleased with the latest rankings that reaffirm VCU's excellence in graduate programs on both of our campuses, and we are of course exceptionally proud to have two no. 1 ranked programs, sculpture and nurse anesthesia," said VCU President Eugene P. Trani.

Within School of the Arts, eight different graduate programs were ranked. In addition to Sculpture, they include Fiber Arts (4th), Graphic Design (4th), Glass (5th), Painting and Drawing (8th), Multimedia/Visual Communications (9th), Ceramics (12th) and Printmaking (17th).

Other VCU graduate programs recognized by U.S. News & World Report include:  

Health Services Administration (4th)
Occupational Therapy (13th)
Rehabilitation Counseling (13th)
Social Work (14th)
Drug and Alcohol Abuse (16th)
Community Health (18th)
Women's Health (18th)
Pharmacy (21st)
Physical Therapy (24th)
Education (40th)
Teacher Preparation (top 50)
Nursing (47th)
Creative Writing (50th)
Clinical Psychology (57th)
Public Affairs (57th)