Pitt Grad Programs Advance in U.S. News Rankings

The latest edition of the U.S. News & World Report newsstand book America’s Best Graduate Schools contains rankings that show advances in a number of Pitt graduate programs, according to that publication’s 2008 methodology.

Highlights of these rankings will appear in the April 7-14 U.S. News & World Report magazine, on sale at newsstands on March 31.

The book, which goes on sale April 1, shows that Pitt’s School of Medicine moved to 14th place from its ranking of 15th last year in the Schools of Medicine-Research category, tied with the University of California-San Diego. The Pitt School of Pharmacy advanced to the 19th place from its ranking of 24th in 2005 in the Pharmacy-Pharm. D. category, tied this year with the University of Kansas. The Swanson School of Engineering advanced to 48th place from its ranking of 50th last year in the Schools of Engineering category. For the first time since 2004, a number of health disciplines were ranked by program directors and faculty, and among them Pitt was ranked 9th in the Clinical Psychology-Doctorate category, up from 20th in 2004, tied this year with Duke University, Penn State, SUNY-Stony Brook, the University of Illinois, the University of Iowa, and Penn; in the Occupational Therapy-Master’s/Doctorate category, Pitt also was ranked 9th, up from 14th place in 2004, tied this year with New York University and the University of Washington; and in the Physical Therapy-Master’s/Doctorate category, Pitt was ranked second, up from 3rd in 2004, tied this year with Washington University in St. Louis.

In the Medical Specialties category of Women’s Health, Pitt was ranked 4th, unchanged from last year. And in the Social Work-Master’s category, Pitt’s ranking of 14th was unchanged from 2004, tied this year with Boston College, Penn, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Also, a Best Graduate Schools article titled “‘Critical Care’ Is a Rising Med School Specialty” highlights Pitt’s Department of Critical Care Medicine, quoting its chair, Professor Derek Angus, and noting, among other things, that the Pitt program is a pioneer in the field “and, with about 40 fellows, one of the largest in the country” that “now runs simulations in a multilevel facility using actors and ‘robotic’ humans.”