U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday released its annual Best Medical Schools list based on specific indicators for research and primary care, as well as the lists of top medical schools for eight specialties.
For the primary care and research rankings, U.S. News used survey data from fall 2013 and early 2014 from 118 accredited medical and osteopathic schools in the United States.
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For the research rankings, the magazine assessed each school's performance on eight indicators: MCAT scores, undergraduate GPAs, acceptance rates, faculty-to-student ratios, peer assessment scores, assessment scores by residency directors, total research activity, and average research activity per faculty member. They were then ranked based on a weighted average of the eight indicators.
Harvard University again ranked first on the research list. The top 10 schools were:
- 1. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
2. Stanford University (California)
3. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
3. University of California-San Francisco
5. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
6. Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri)
7. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
8. Columbia University (New York City)
8. Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
10. University of Chicago
10. University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
10. University of Washington (Seattle)
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UW ranks first in primary care for second year
For the primary care rankings, U.S. News assessed each school's performance on seven indicators: MCAT scores, undergraduate GPAs, acceptance rates, faculty-to-student ratios, peer assessment scores, assessment scores by residency directors, and primary care rate. They were then ranked based on a weighted average of the seven indicators.
For the second year in a row, the University of Washington took top honors. The top 10 were:
- 1. University of Washington
2. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
3. University of California-San Francisco
4. University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha)
5. Oregon Health and Science University (Portland)
5. University of Michigan
7. University of California-Los Angeles
8. University of Colorado (Aurora)
9. . University of Wisconsin (Madison)
10. University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)
Best schools among eight specialties
In addition to its primary care and research school rankings, U.S. News ranked hospitals within eight medical specialties. These rankings were determined solely by surveys in which medical school deans and senior faculty members were asked to identify up to 10 schools offering the best programs in each specialty. Schools were then ranked based on the number of nominations.
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The top schools across the eight specialties were:
- AIDS: University of California-San Francisco
- Drug and alcohol abuse: Harvard University
- Family medicine: University of Washington
- Geriatrics: Johns Hopkins University
- Internal medicine: Johns Hopkins University
- Pediatrics: University of Pennsylvania
- Rural medicine: University of Washington
- Women's health: Harvard University (U.S. News & World Report, 3/10).
The takeaway: This week, U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of the nation's top medical schools. Harvard took top honors in research, while the University of Washington came in first for primary care.