University Times

The physical therapy program in the School or Health and Rehabilitation Sciences tied for No. 1 in the U.S. News & World Report latest annual Best Graduate School rankings in business, education, engineering, law and medicine.

New in the 2017 rankings are reputation-based rankings of nurse midwifery and nurse anesthesia programs.

U.S. News ranks other areas of study on a three-year rotation. This year’s report updates rankings of graduate programs in public affairs, fine arts and seven health-related fields: audiology, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, social work and speech-language pathology. These rankings, based on ratings by academic experts, last were updated in 2012.

The 2017 rankings were released March 16 at www.usnews.com. The “Best Graduate Schools 2017” print guidebook will be on newsstands April 5.

BUSINESS
Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business fell in the rankings this year, tying for No. 55 with the University of Georgia. Last year it tied for 48th overall with Rutgers, Southern Methodist University, University of California-Davis and the University of Connecticut.

Harvard took the top spot in the 2017 business school rankings, with Stanford and the University of Chicago tied for No. 2, followed by the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

U.S. News ranked 129 business schools this year. The rankings were based on peer and recruiter assessment scores; mean starting salary and bonus and employment rates for full-time MBA graduates; mean GMAT and GRE scores; mean undergraduate GPA; and acceptance rate.

Pitt’s part-time MBA program tied for No. 66 with the College of William and Mary, CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College, Florida State, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Rochester. It tied for No. 64 last year with Bentley, Lehigh, the University of Nebraska and the University of Richmond.

Rankings were based on average peer assessment score; the percentage of the business school’s fall 2015 MBA enrollment that is part time; the fall 2015 part-time MBA entering class’s average GMAT score and average GRE quantitative and verbal scores; average undergraduate GPA; and work experience.

Katz was not ranked in any of the 10 specialty rankings in business.

EDUCATION
Among schools of education, Pitt fell three places to tie at No. 30 with the University of Florida and Utah State. In the 2016 survey, Pitt tied for No. 27 with Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ranked highest in education were Stanford, followed by Johns Hopkins and Harvard tied for No. 2; then the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Vanderbilt, among 255 schools.

Rankings in education were based on a combination of peer and superintendent assessment scores; mean GRE verbal and quantitative scores; acceptance rate; student-faculty ratio, percentage of faculty with awards and doctoral degrees granted; and research activity, made up of total research expenditures and average expenditures per faculty member.

Pitt was not ranked in any of the 10 education programs and specialties this year. Last year, Pitt tied for No. 13 in educational psychology.

Pitt rose two places in online graduate education rankings, tying for No. 66 with Campbellsville University, Georgetown College, McDaniel College, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of New England and University of West Georgia.

Last year, Pitt was tied for 68th with Georgia Southern University, Ohio University, Texas A&M, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Missouri and Wheeling Jesuit University.

ENGINEERING
The Swanson School of Engineering held steady at No. 43 in the 2017 rankings, tying with Arizona State and University of Florida. Last year, Pitt’s engineering school was tied for No. 43 with Iowa State University, Northeastern University and the University of Florida.

This year’s top five in engineering were Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, the University of California-Berkeley, California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University, among 194 schools.

Rankings were based on peer and recruiter assessment scores; mean GRE quantitative scores; acceptance rate; student-faculty ratio; percentage of faculty in the National Academy of Engineering; doctoral degrees awarded; total research expenditures; and average research expenditures per faculty member.

The Swanson school was ranked in eight of a dozen specialties this year:
• In biomedical engineering/bioengineering, Pitt ranked No. 18, down from 2016, when Pitt was tied  for No. 16 with Case Western Reserve.
• In chemical engineering, Pitt rose to No. 36, tied with Lehigh, the University at Buffalo-SUNY,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Southern California, University of Virginia,    Vanderbilt and Washington University in St. Louis. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 39 with Michigan
State, the University at Buffalo-SUNY, University of Houston, Virginia Tech and Washington
University in St. Louis.
• In computer engineering, Pitt rose to a tie for No. 48 with Arizona, University of Colorado-Boulder,
Notre Dame, University of Utah and Vanderbilt. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 54 with Case Western
Reserve, the University of California-Riverside and the University of Utah.
• In electrical/electronic/communications engineering, Pitt fell to No. 55, tied with the University of
California-Riverside. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 52 with New York University, the University of
Central Florida, University of Delaware, University of Texas and University of Utah.
• In environmental/environmental health engineering, Pitt tied for No. 54 with Lehigh, Michigan
Technological University, Northeastern, Oregon Health and Science University and University at
Buffalo-SUNY. Last year, Pitt was tied for No. 48 with Drexel, Iowa State, Oregon State, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute; the University at Buffalo-SUNY, University of Connecticut and Vanderbilt.
• In industrial/manufacturing/systems engineering, Pitt tied for No. 23 with Arizona State and Naval
Postgraduate School. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 22 with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the
University of Texas-Austin.
• In materials engineering, Pit tied for No. 55 with Boston University and Dartmouth, down from 2016,
when the University was tied for No. 53 with Boston University, Clemson, Michigan Technological
University, Stony Brook University-SUNY and the University of Utah.
• In mechanical engineering, Pitt fell to No. 51, a 10-way tie with Arizona State, Clemson, Colorado  School of Mines, Dartmouth, Drexel, Michigan Technological University, University of Arizona,
University of Connecticut and University of Illinois-Chicago. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 49 with  Lehigh, the University of Delaware and Washington University in St. Louis.

LAW
Pitt’s School of Law tied for No. 78, among 196 schools, the same rank as last year. Sharing the ranking were American University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and University of Oregon.

In the 2016 rankings, Pitt tied at No. 78 with Brooklyn Law School, the Illinois Institute of Technology and Loyola University.

U.S. News this year ranked Yale No. 1 among law schools, followed by Harvard and Stanford at No. 2; Columbia and the University of Chicago tied for No. 4.

Rankings were based on peer assessment score; assessment score by lawyers/judges; median LSAT scores; median undergraduate GPA; acceptance rate; placement success; bar passage rate; expenditures per student; student-faculty ratio; and library resources.

• Pitt was listed in one of 10 specialty rankings, health care law, where the school rose to No. 12, tying with Hamline University. Last year, Pitt was tied for No. 14 with the University of Minnesota and Wake Forest.

Pitt fell out of this year’s international law specialty rankings. Last year Pitt was tied for No. 29 with Emory, Tulane and Vanderbilt.

The law specialty rankings were based on nominations by legal educators at peer institutions.

MEDICINE
Among medical schools, Pitt held steady at No. 16 for research. Tops in this category were Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania, among 116 schools.

For primary care, Pitt rose to No. 11, tying with the University of Colorado and the University of Pennsylvania. Last year Pitt tied for No. 19 with the University of California-Davis, the University of California-San Diego, the University of Chicago, the University of Hawaii-Manoa and Washington University in St. Louis.

Heading the 2017 list were the University of Washington, the University of North Carolina, University of California-San Francisco, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Nebraska Medical Center, among 116 schools.

Rankings were based on quality assessment; peer assessment; assessment score by residency directors; total research activity; average research activity per faculty member; primary care rate; student selectivity; median MCAT total score; median undergraduate GPA; acceptance rate; and faculty resources.

The School of Medicine was ranked in five of seven specialties:
• In drug and alcohol abuse, Pitt tied for No. 8 with the University of Washington, rising from a No. 11 tie last year with New York University.
• In geriatrics, Pitt was ranked No. 10, the same as last year.
• In internal medicine, Pitt rose to tie at No. 13 with Cornell and Mayo Medical School. Pitt ranked No. 18 last year.
• In pediatrics, Pitt tied for No. 9 with Washington University in St. Louis. Last year Pitt ranked No. 11. • In women’s health, Pitt ranked No. 5, down from No. 4 last year. Specialty rankings were based on ratings by deans and senior faculty from the schools surveyed.

NURSING
Pitt’s School of Nursing tied for No. 13 in master’s programs with Vanderbilt, of 259 schools ranked. Topping the rankings were Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, University of California-San Francisco, Duke and University of Washington.

In the new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program rankings, Pitt tied for No. 8 with New York University, of 149 schools. The University of Washington ranked No. 1, followed by Johns Hopkins, Duke, Columbia and Case Western Reserve.

In last year’s single graduate nursing ranking, Pitt was No. 5.

According to U.S. News, both the master’s and DNP rankings include research activity indicators; faculty credentials; the percentage of faculty members with important achievements; and faculty participation in nursing practice. Other indicators in each ranking use measures specific to each degree type.

Pitt’s School of Nursing earned a spot in nine of 10 specialty rankings:
• No. 4 in clinical nurse leader, down from No. 3 last year.
• No. 4 in nurse anesthesia. Last year Pitt ranked No. 1.
• No. 5 in nurse practitioner/adult/gerontology/acute care, the same as last year.
• No. 8 in nursing administration, down from No. 5.
• No. 9 in nurse practitioner/pediatric/primary care, down from No. 3 last year.
• No. 9 in nursing informatics, down from No. 6 last year.
• No. 10 in nurse practitioner/psychiatric/mental health/across the lifespan, down from No. 5 last year.
• No. 13 in nurse practitioner/family, up from No. 17 last year.
• No. 14 in nurse practitioner/adult/gerontology/primary care, unranked last year.

The University was not ranked in nursing-midwifery. Specialty rankings were based on assessments by nursing school deans and deans of graduate studies.

Pitt’s online graduate nursing program fell to No. 23, tied with Ball State, East Carolina, University of Arizona and University of Missouri-Kansas City. Last year, Pitt’s online graduate nursing ranked No. 21.

NON-ANNUAL RANKINGS

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs tied for No. 34 with Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, Stanford, the University of Arizona, University of Colorado-Boulder and Virginia Tech.

In 2012, Pitt tied for 33rd with Missouri, Nebraska-Omaha and Texas A&M.

GSPIA was not ranked in any of nine public affairs specialties.

At the top of the new rankings were Indiana-Bloomington and Syracuse, tied for No. 1; Harvard at No. 3 and Princeton and University of Georgia tied for No. 4.

FINE ARTS
Pitt’s fine arts graduate programs were not ranked in the 2017 top graduate schools listing.

HEALTH-RELATED FIELDS
• The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) tied for No. 1 in physical therapy with Delaware, the University of Southern California and University of Washington in St. Louis.
• In audiology, SHRS tied for No. 7 with Northwestern.
• In occupational therapy, SHRS, tied for No. 4 with University of Illinois-Chicago.
• In speech-language pathology, SHRS tied for No. 7 with MGH School of Health Professions, the University of Arizona, Kansas and University of Texas-Austin.
• In clinical psychology, Pitt’s Department of Psychology tied at No. 11 with Duke, Emory, the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign and University of Pennsylvania.
• Pitt’s School of Pharmacy tied for No. 9 in pharmacy rankings with Purdue, the University of Florida, University of Maryland-Baltimore, University of Southern California, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Pitt’s School of Social Work tied for No. 10 with Boston College.

—Kimberly K. Barlow