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UMass Medical School jumped up a spot to eighth in primary care education in the highly anticipated U.S.News & World Report rankings of the nation’s 126 medical schools and 20 schools of osteopathic medicine. The 2012 edition of the “Best Graduate Schools,” released at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15, also ranked UMMS 16th among family medicine programs, 53rd among top research schools, 79th in nursing and 46th in the biological sciences. UMMS has been listed near the top in the primary care education since 1994 when the magazine began publishing the rankings. UMMS is the only school in the top 50 that accepts only in-state students into its medical degree program.
“Once again, we extend our congratulations to Chancellor Collins, Dean Terry Flotte and the entire University of Massachusetts Medical School community for another remarkable year of achievement and recognition in the area of primary care medical education," said University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson. "The Medical School’s success continues to be a source of immense pride for our university and our commonwealth.”
“UMass Medical School’s consistently high ranking is a reflection of our dedication to our mission and the faculty’s unwavering commitment to providing an outstanding education to our students,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins. “This achievement is particularly important now, because as we enter an era of unparalleled health reform, there is a growing emphasis on the importance of primary care. This makes our institution’s role even more essential.”
Traditionally, more than 50 percent of each graduating class enters a primary care residency program. In addition, more than half of each class stays in the state for residency, adding 260 new residents in the last five years alone. Members of the Class of 2011 will find out at noon on Thursday, March 17—Match Day across the nation—where they will begin their medical careers.
“These rankings provide a timely validation of our work in providing a rich primary care education to our students,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor in Medicine, executive deputy chancellor, provost, and dean of the School of Medicine. “The Medical School’s standings in the report are a point of pride not only for the faculty and administration, but for our students who are matching into primary care residencies this week. This gives them additional bragging rights.”
The U.S.News & World Report rankings of the nation’s 126 medical schools fully accredited in 2010 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the 20 schools of osteopathic medicine fully accredited in 2010 are based on measures of academic quality, which are weighted by reputation among faculty and residents, research activity, student selectivity and faculty resources.
To read more about the rankings, log on to www.usnews.com. The rankings were posted at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, March 15; the “2012 Best Grad Schools” guidebook will be on newsstands Tuesday, April 5.
