U.S. News Confirms UC San Diego’s
National Influence, Global Reach

Outstanding rankings for UC San Diego from U.S. News & World Report

April 23, 2009

By Pat JaCoby

A closely watched ranking of college and university graduate programs nationwide has given a significant boost to the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine.  The America's Best Graduate Schools, 2010 Edition released today by U.S. News & World Report ranked the medical school 15th out of the nation’s 120 research-intensive medical school programs, while its ranking in primary care increased by nine points to 26th from 35th  last year in the new graduate program rankings.

Reflecting excellence across a broad range of academic disciplines, the annual U.S News ranking recognized 36 schools, departments and programs at UC San Diego, including everything from bioengineering, geophysics and seismology to neurosciences, biochemistry, political science, psychology and plasma physics.

“These outstanding rankings reinforce the collaborative, diverse and interdisciplinary ethos of our campus,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. “We are fortunate to have award-winning experts at the forefront of their fields, with impressive track records for achieving scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs.”

The U.S. News rankings are based on a variety of criteria. For example, the 15th place ranking of the UC San Diego School of Medicine was based on peer assessments, grade-point average and test scores of students, grant support from the National Institutes of Health, faculty-student ratio, and other factors. The School of Medicine’s HIV/AIDS program was ranked eighth and its drug and alcohol abuse program was ranked 10th.

“I am extremely proud that our School of Medicine has been ranked among the nation’s best,” said David Brenner, M.D., UC San Diego’s vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. “Our recognition as the 15th best among research-intensive schools of medicine in the country, as well as 26th in primary care, is due to our faculty’s dedication to training the next generation of physicians and researchers. Our rankings also reflect UC San Diego’s strength in translational medicine—bringing the discoveries of the research lab to help patients in our care. This is particularly true in the top-10 rated programs of HIV/AIDS and drug and alcohol abuse, where our researchers are also found on the front lines of patient care, not only in San Diego but also globally.”

The impact of UC San Diego’s consistently high rankings by U.S. News was noted by Kim Barrett, dean of Graduate Studies. “Our graduate student applications for next fall are up almost four percent, because students want to study under professors who are leaders in their respective fields,” she said.

The U.S. News rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research, and students. These data come from surveys of more than 1,200 programs and some 11,000 academics and professionals that were conducted in fall 2008.

In other academic areas, U.S. News ranked the Jacobs School of Engineering 12th in the nation, with its renowned bioengineering program ranked second. Other Jacobs School  listings were (computer) systems, ninth, and computer science, 16th.

UC San Diego’s noteworthy Political Science Department ranked seventh and the department’s subspecialty rankings were: American politics, sixth; comparative politics, sixth; international politics, sixth; and political methodology, eighth.

Other ranked schools, departments and programs at UC San Diego were: biological sciences, 18th; chemistry, 20th; biochemistry, ninth; biochemistry/biophysics/structural biology, 10th; earth sciences, 15th; economics, 14th; econometrics, sixth; master of fine arts, 15th; geophysics and seismology, fifth; history, 33rd; mathematics, 24th; discrete mathematics and combinations, fourth; neurosciences/neurobiology, fifth; physics, 16th; ) condensed matter physics, 10th; plasma physics, seventh; psychology, 17th; behavioral neuroscience, third; cognitive psychology, third; experimental psychology, seventh; sociology of culture, sixth; clinical psychology (joint program with San Diego State University), 25th; psychology (joint program with SDSU), 50th.

 

 

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, 858-534-7404, pjacoby@ucsd.edu