UCSF's School of Medicine maintains its high national ranking in the new annual survey of the best graduate schools, conducted and published by US News & World Report.

As it did last year, the UCSF medical school ranks among the top ten for both research-based and primary care education and training – one of only two universities to have a high rank in both categories.

The UCSF School of Medicine ranks sixth nationally in the quality of its research training, the highest rating for any public institution in the nation. The School ranks eighth nationally in the quality of its primary care training.

The rankings appear in the April 12 issue of US News & World Report and in the book, American's Best Graduate Schools, both on newsstands April 5.

UCSF also ranks among the top ten in six of the eight medical school specialty programs assessed, including first in AIDS medicine and third in both internal medicine and women's health. The UCSF drug and alcohol abuse specialty ranks fourth nationally in this year's survey, while pediatrics ranks fifth and family medicine ranks ninth.

“We are pleased that UCSF School of Medicine has once again been recognized as one of the premier medical training programs in the country, excelling in medical research, primary care and medical specialties,” says David Kessler, MD, Dean of UCSF School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs at University of California, San Francisco. “During the last decade, the School has pioneered new approaches for educating students, and is highly committed to public health, providing the best training for physicians and medical researchers.”

The ten research-based medical schools ranked as the best are the following: (1) Harvard, (2) Washington University in St. Louis, (3) Johns Hopkins University, (4/tie) Duke, University of Pennsylvania, (6) UCSF, (7) University of Michigan, (8/tie) Columbia, Stanford, (10/tie) University of Washington, Yale.

The medical schools ranked best for the quality of their primary care training are as follows: (1) University of Washington, (2) Oregon Health & Science University, (3/tie) University of Massachusetts-Worcester, University of Wisconsin, (5/tie) University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of North Carolina, (7) UC San Diego, (8) UCSF, (9/tie) University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Iowa, University of Missouri.

The rankings also include new assessments of physical therapy graduate programs. UCSF's program ranks 14th in this category.

The issue also includes the most recent rankings in nursing. In 2003, UCSF's School of Nursing ranked second in the nation, with the school's specialty programs ranked in the top ten in seven of eight categories.

The new medical school research and primary care rankings are based on assessments by medical school deans and senior faculty, admissions acceptance rates and test scores, ratio of faculty to students and other factors. The research rankings include the amount of funding from the National Institutes of Health, while the primary care rankings include assessment of the percentage of medical school graduates entering primary care residences in family practice, pediatrics and internal medicine. The specialty rankings are based solely on ratings by medical school deans and senior faculty.