Staff and Wire Report
The UNM School of Medicine led the University in the latest rankings released by U.S. News and World Report, followed by the UNM Law School and UNM School of Engineering.
The UNM School of Medicine is ranked second among U.S. medical schools for its rural medicine program in the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
It was the seventh consecutive year the school’s rural medicine program was ranked in the top two.
The magazine also rated the school third among U.S. medical schools for training primary care physicians and seventh in family medicine in a survey of medical school deans and faculty members nationwide.
It is the 11th consecutive year the magazine has ranked UNM’s school among the top 15 primary care-oriented medical schools.
Every year the magazine ranks graduate programs in medicine, law and business. Other graduate programs are evaluated every three years. U.S. News and World Report lists new rankings this year in public affairs, clinical psychology and occupational therapy. New rankings also are listed for doctorate programs in the social sciences and humanities, including economics, English, history, political science, psychology and sociology.
The rankings were based on various criteria, including faculty and dean recommendations, academic reputation, research activities, faculty salaries, student selectivity and employment success. The magazine also surveys people outside of academia who are likely to hire new graduates or come into contact with them in the workplace. Judges are surveyed for their opinions on law schools. Practicing engineers and recruiters are canvassed for their knowledge of engineering programs.
Schools were chosen according to measures of academic quality, including reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources and the percentage of graduating physicians who go into the primary care specialties of family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics.
“I am delighted that our school has been recognized again,” said Dr. Paul Roth, dean of UNM’s School of Medicine. “The University’s programs have a long history of nontraditional and innovative approaches to training physicians.”
For the first time, U.S. News and World Report identified the law schools in the country with the most racially diverse student bodies. The diversity index is based on the total proportion of minority students — not including international students — and the mix of racial groups on campus. UNM’s Law School made the table because its student population is 24 percent Hispanic. To be included in the table, the law school must be accredited by the American Bar Association.
UNM’s Law School remains among the top 100 law schools in the nation, although the magazine did not release its exact numeric rating.
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UNM’s School of Engineering again ranks among the top 50 engineering schools in the country. The University is in a three-way tie for 48th this year, with Arizona State University and the University of Delaware. Last year the school ranked 47th.
For more information or a full list of rankings, visit U.S. News and World Report’s Web site, www.usnews.com.
The U.S. News and World Report guide to undergraduate rankings, “America’s Best Colleges,” comes out around Labor Day.
