Medical School is ranked #3 by U.S. News & World Report

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis remains No. 3 among research-oriented medical schools, according to the 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools." The rankings appear in the April 28 issue of the magazine and in an annual guidebook.

The School of Medicine tied this year with the University of Pennsylvania. Harvard and Johns Hopkins held the top 2 slots, respectively.

The School of Medicine's internal medicine program ranked No. 6, up from No. 8 in 2008, and the pediatrics program tied at No. 8. The medical school has ranked No. 1 in student selectivity for 11 consecutive years.

"While we try not to place too much emphasis on rankings, it is nice to see -- through both objective and reputational measures -- we are in the company of such highly regarded institutions," said Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. "We are proud of our students, faculty and staff who have helped the School of Medicine remain in the top 10 since U.S. News began the rankings in 1987."

Other individual programs ranked every several years remain in their highly ranked spots from 2008, including the Program in Occupational Therapy, tied for No. 1; the Program in Physical Therapy, which tied for No. 2, and the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences, which ranks No. 5.

In academic areas, in the most recent rankings from 2007, the biological science doctoral program tied for No. 7, and many individual doctoral programs in the biological sciences are ranked among the top 10 nationwide, including microbiology, tied for No. 3; genetics/genomics/bioinformatics, tied for No. 4; immunology/infectious disease, tied for No. 5; cell biology and neuroscience/neurobiology, both at No. 9; and biochemistry/biophysics/structural biology, tied for No. 10.