UAMS Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Professions, Public Health, Make List of Top Graduate Schools for 2024
| LITTLE ROCK — U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of Best Graduate Schools for 2024 ranked the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Professions and Public Health highly among their peers nationwide.
The UAMS College of Pharmacy was ranked 31st nationwide among all pharmacy colleges. It has produced more than 5,000 graduates since making UAMS its home in 1951. The college offers several dual degree programs, as well as experiential opportunities in specialties from oncology pharmacy to toxicology and solid organ transplant, as well as one of the nation’s few nuclear pharmacy programs.
“I am proud that the UAMS College of Pharmacy continues to rank among the nation’s best,” said Cindy Stowe, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy. “This recognition reflects the positive impact that our students, alumni and faculty have here at home and across the country. They lead by example through their passionate commitment to improving the health of all. A high ranking in U.S. News is a strong endorsement of that fact.”
UAMS’ College of Nursing was ranked 45th nationally – up from 69th in 2023 – for its Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and 38th nationally for its master’s degree program.
“The College of Nursing continues to prepare advanced practice nurses to meet the health care needs of our state through their roles of nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and administrators,” said Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, dean of the College of Nursing. “The U.S. News & World Report rankings reflect the pursuit and achievement of excellence by our graduate students and faculty.”
Other UAMS colleges recognized among the Best Graduate School rankings were the College of Health Professions, whose occupational therapy program ranked 79th nationally and whose physical therapy program ranked 74th.
“Both programs are relatively young, with physical therapy having graduated their first class in 2018 and occupational therapy in 2022,” said Susan Long, Ed.D., dean of the College of Health Professions. “To have achieved this national distinction so quickly is a testament to each program’s innovative curriculum, state-of-the-art facilities, committed clinical preceptors and most of all, dedicated faculty and staff.”
The occupational therapy program is a collaboration between UAMS and the University of Arkansas — the first joint degree program between the two universities. It is the top-ranked program of its kind in the state. Earlier this year, the physical therapy program achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on their national board examination twice, a rare distinction many programs never reach.
Meanwhile, UAMS’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health moved up two notches in the 2024 rankings, from 90th to 88th.
“We are honored to be among the best graduate public health programs as ranked by U.S. News and World Report,” said Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the College of Public Health. “Given our low tuition, the college provides a world class public health graduate education at a reasonable cost. But we are not satisfied to remain at our current ranking. Faculty and staff are working every day to make the college the best school of public health in the region and one of the top ranked schools in the United States.”
Designed for prospective students looking to further their education beyond an undergraduate degree, the Best Graduate School rankings evaluate programs in six academic disciplines based on academic data collected from schools through surveys and third-party sources. Aside from nursing, the disciplines are medicine, business, education, engineering and law.
The public health rankings stem from an evaluation of schools in seven disciplines that is based solely on peer surveys. The other disciplines evaluated are public affairs, health care management, rehabilitation counseling, veterinary medicine and computer science. The report releases in early summer each year.
For more information, the U.S. News report is available by visiting the website usnews.com/best-graduate-schools.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###