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 in fall 2016 and early 2017 surveyed 170 accredited medical and osteopathic schools in the United States. Of the 170 schools surveyed, 118 schools provided the information needed for inclusion in the rankings.

Harvard University takes top spot for research

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.

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Harvard University again ranked first on the research list. The top 11 schools (including some ties) were:

1. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

2. Stanford University (Stanford, California)

3. Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)

4. University of California-San Francisco (San Francisco)

5. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

6. Columbia University (New York)

7. Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)

7. Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)

9. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

9. Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)

11. University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles)

Click here to view the full list.

University of Washington tops primary care rankings

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.

1. University of Washington (Seattle)

2. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

3. University of California-San Francisco (San Francisco)

4. Oregon Health and Science University (Portland, Oregon)

5. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

6. University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)

7. University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)

8. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)

8. University of Colorado (Aurora, Colorado)

8. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

8. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)

12. University of California-San Diego (Sand Diego)

Click here to view the full list.

Best schools among eight specialties

In addition to its primary care and research school rankings, U.S. News ranked hospitals within seven medical specialties. These rankings were based on responses from deans and senior faculty members from the 118 medical schools that completed the surveys. Respondents 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.

The best schools in each of the eight specialties were:

• Drug and alcohol abuse: Harvard University
• Family medicine: University of Washington
• Geriatrics: Johns Hopkins University
• Internal medicine: University of California—San Francisco
• Pediatrics: University of Pennsylvania
• Rural medicine: University of Washington
• Women's health: Harvard University (U.S. News & World Report, accessed 3/15; Morse/Hines, U.S. News, 3/13).

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