For the first time, biological sciences at Washington University has cracked the top 10 of the U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate and professional programs, to be released April 3.
Biological sciences — which includes biology in Arts & Sciences, biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, and biomedical engineering — jumped five places, from a tie for 14th to a 9th-place tie with Princeton University and the University of California-San Francisco.
Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., chair of the executive council of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences and chair of biology, said “We are glad to see recognition of our strong programs across the whole university in biology and biomedical science, medicine and engineering.”
Twenty WUSTL schools, academic areas and departments at the graduate and professional level now hold top-10 rankings by U.S. News. For a complete list of these rankings, go online to http://news-info.wustl.edu/rankings.
The School of Medicine had several academic areas rise significantly in the rankings. The U.S. News areas of immunology/infectious diseases and molecular biology both tied for 5th; genetics/genomics/bioinformatics and microbiology both tied for 6th, and pediatrics remained at 6th in the nation. Internal medicine ranked 7th, cell biology 9th, and drug and alcohol abuse and women’s health both ranked 10th.
In addition, the School of Medicine ranked 4th overall among research-oriented medical schools, and continues to rank No. 1 in the nation in selectivity, based on both college grade-point averages and MCAT scores.
“We are pleased and gratified that these rankings continue to place us among the top few medical schools in the country,” said Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We take especially great pride in our medical students, who again this year achieved the highest scholastic ranking in the country.”
Within the School of Law, trial advocacy was ranked in a tie for 7th, while clinical training was ranked No. 4. The School of Law entered the top 20 for the first time, climbing from a tie for 24th last year to a tie for 19th this year.
The M.B.A. program in the Olin School of Business climbed six places, from a tie for 32nd last year to a tie for 26th this year.
“We are pleased about the improvement in the rankings, but we don’t feel the numbers accurately reflect the value of Olin,” said Mahendra K. Gupta, Ph.D., dean of the Olin School of Business and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management.
“We are on a fast trajectory to be a world leader in management education and research. Our goal is to consistently bring innovation and new ideas into the classroom and to the M.B.A. marketplace as a whole.”
The School of Engineering and Applied Science rose one place to a tie for 33rd, while Earth Sciences in Arts & Sciences was ranked No. 25 in a first-time ranking.
Overall, 40 graduate and professional academic areas at the university are ranked by U.S. News in their top 25.
The newsstand book, “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” hits newsstands April 3. The U.S. News rankings can also be found online at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/rankguide/rghome.htm.
Many of the 2006 rankings are in the April 10 U.S. News magazine, also available at newsstands April 3.