INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University School of Medicine received a strong vote of confidence of its education of primary care physicians in the 2014 U. S. News and World Report annual Best Graduate Schools rankings.
The IU School of Medicine at Indianapolis experienced a 19-position improvement in the ranking of its education of physicians who work in primary patient care, moving from 37th a year ago to 18th this year. The school moved up two positions in the research category, from 48th to 46th, and was ranked 21st among public institutions.
“The recent rankings reflect our strength in training primary care physicians to manage the health of populations, with increasing focus on keeping patients healthy, and out of the hospital. This is an area where I expect IU will become one of the leaders in the nation,” said Jay L. Hess, dean of the IU School of Medicine and IU vice president for university clinical affairs.
U.S. News and World Report also recognized Indiana University programs in business, law, education and the sciences in its annual Best Graduate Schools rankings released March 11.
The IU Kelley School of Business continued its recent overall upward momentum in various rankings, including a No. 1 ranking by U.S. News of its Kelley Direct online MBA program in January. Two more of its graduate business programs advanced one position each today: the Evening MBA at IUPUI moved to eighth in the part-time MBA category, and the Full-Time MBA at IU Bloomington moved up to 21st.
“It’s a testament to the Kelley School’s commitment to excellence and an innovative personalized curriculum that keeps us moving in a positive direction,” said Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the Kelley School of Business and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management. “We don’t just teach skills; we offer a program where students practice the global leadership skills they are learning.”
Three Kelley specialties were in the Top 10 — entrepreneurship, information systems and production/operations (all 10th) — and accounting was 12th.
Three specialties of the IU School of Education were ranked in the Top 10: curriculum and elementary education were each ranked seventh, and higher education administration was ninth. The school overall remains in the Top 25 nationally (25th from 19th). The school’s online degree programs were ranked No. 2 by U.S. News earlier this year.
“This is the 14th consecutive year our school has been ranked in the top tier of the Best Graduate School rankings,” said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the School of Education. “In the increasingly competitive world of university rankings, this is a real tribute to the quality of our faculty and students.”
Both law schools at IU were nationally ranked. The Maurer School of Law in Bloomington was 29th overall (down from 25th a year ago) and 11th among public institutions.
“The Maurer School of Law is fortunate to have outstanding alumni and faculty who help us further our mission of preparing students for a changing profession,” said Austen L. Parrish, dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law. “We are privileged for their support and honored to be included among the country’s top law schools.”
The overall ranking for the McKinney School of Law at Indianapolis increased 11 places to 87th. The school had two specialties in the Top 10: legal writing, which was ranked eighth, and health law, which was ranked 10th. Its part-time degree program ranked 18th overall and seventh among public universities.
“At IU McKinney School of Law, we will continue to focus on student success — providing high-quality opportunities and academic programs designed to train tomorrow’s lawyers and leaders,” said Andrew R. Klein, dean and Paul E. Beam Professor of Law. “I am pleased that our outstanding programs in health law and legal writing continue to be recognized as among the best in the country. I am also proud that our longstanding part-time program has been highlighted, demonstrating our commitment to access to legal education.”
New rankings from deans and department chairs for doctoral programs in the sciences were also released for 2014, and the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington received rankings in five categories, including Top 5 rankings in two specialty program areas: analytical chemistry and nuclear physics.
IU Bloomington’s Department of Chemistry continued to rise in the rankings to 24th, after coming in at 34th in 2007 and 26th in 2009. The Department of Biology was ranked 34th this year, identical to its 2009 ranking, and the Department of Mathematics fell from 30th in 2009 to 34th. The Department of Physics improved from 40th in 2009 to 39th this year.
“It is very pleasing to see our nuclear physics effort highlighted in the national rankings once again,” Department of Physics Chair Robert R. de Ruyter. “This recognition speaks to the excellence of our faculty, their choice of fundamental research directions, and the strong integration of theoretical and experimental efforts within the group.”
“I am extremely pleased that our department has moved up two spots from the last survey in 2010, which suggests that the community is beginning to take notice of the significant appointments we’ve been able to make at all ranks in all specialties in chemistry over the last several years,” said David Giedroc, Department of Chemistry chair. “Our department continues to do well in large measure to the analytical chemistry group, which continues its long-running placement among the nation’s top-ranked programs, this year in the number five position.”
Complete rankings are available at www.usnews.com/grad. They will be included in the Best Graduate Schools 2015 guidebook, on newsstands April 8. Highlights were made available to colleges and universities in advance of today’s release.
U.S. News rankings in education, business, law and medicine are based on formulas that consider reputation surveys, selectivity, research funding and productivity, outcomes for graduates, and other factors. Specialties in the schools are evaluated through surveys of deans, program directors and faculty. Ratings of doctoral programs in the sciences are based on peer assessments by academics in each discipline.
U.S. News provides updated graduate program rankings every year for schools of business, law, education, medicine and engineering. Other programs are typically ranked once every four years.