UNR Med ranked in latest U.S. News & World Report 2022 list of best medical schools
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 03/30/2021 - 8:42am
U.S. News & World Report has released the 2022 edition of Best Graduate Schools today, featuring new rankings of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. UNR Med’s rankings in U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools 2022 reflect improvement in several areas, as well as strong performances in new categories.
U.S. News & World Report uses a variety of factors to calculate medical schools' research rankings. In the sub-category of total federal research grants per full time faculty member (2019), UNR Med earned a top 25 spot with over $186K in grant funding per full time faculty member. Other highly-ranked categories for UNR Med include:
26th for medical school diversity, with 22% of medical school enrollment from under-represented minorities
30th for percentage of 2012-14 graduates practicing in primary care specialties at 35.5%
UNR Med ranked highly in three new U.S. News & World Report categories added to medical school rankings. These include: proportion of a medical school's recent graduates practicing direct patient care in medically underserved areas (UNR Med rank: 50th); proportion of a medical school's recent graduates practicing direct patient care in rural areas (UNR Med rank: 45th); and, as noted above, the proportion of a medical school's enrollment who are underrepresented minorities, including Black, Hispanic, Native American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander enrollment (UNR Med rank: 26th). U.S. News & World Report worked with the Robert Graham Center, a division of the American Academy of Family Physicians, to produce these new metrics.
Overall, UNR Med ranked 90th for research emphasis out of about 170 medical schools, and 84th for primary care.
“Some of the U.S. News & World Report rankings are particularly meaningful to us,” said UNR Med Dean, Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D. “With our commitment to diversity, we are attracting the best students who are bolstering the primary care workforce. These students strengthen our dedication to serving the underserved and addressing health disparities in our state and nation.”
Schwenk continued, “The U.S. News & World Report rankings favor larger and more well-known schools, but the one metric in this ranking of which UNR Med is particularly proud is the calculation of research funding per faculty member. Our basic science faculty members are truly outstanding scientists.”
Schwenk added that “National rankings do not generally assess the unique features of each medical school and how well they accomplish their specific missions. UNR Med’s high level of research funding, our success in caring for underserved populations, our emphasis on primary care, and our small size reflect our unique mission, and are measures of how we contribute to a Healthy Nevada.”
Rankings are available at usnews.com, and some of the statistical data requires a subscription to access. Data used for rankings is based on in-depth reputation and statistical surveys conducted. The statistical data that schools report to U.S. News & World Report can be used to compare factors such as enrollment; acceptance rates; scores of the most recently enrolled class on the MCAT; ethnic diversity; student-faculty ratios; amount of research conducted; and graduate indebtedness. Detailed methodologies are available in the ranking methodologies section of the website.
Prospective students who wish to view the full rankings, ranking indicator values and complete school profiles may use the subscription-based U.S. News Graduate School Compass. However, U.S. News & World Report stresses that the rankings themselves should not be used as the sole basis to decide to attend one graduate program or school over another.
Prospective students should consider other factors including a school's course offerings, department culture, the total cost to obtain the degree, debt after graduation, the advising or mentoring a student can expect to receive, the school's location and campus life.
