U.S. News & World Report Recognizes Colorado State University Graduate Programs among Best in the Nation

Colorado State University’s excellence in scholarly and research activities again earned the university multiple rankings in U.S. News and World Report’s annual recognition of America’s best university graduate schools.

The U.S News Best Graduate Schools rankings, released today, include several Colorado State programs in health and science disciplines across multiple colleges at CSU.

The veterinary medicine professional doctorate program in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences ranked in the top three among programs of its kind throughout the United States. The graduate program in the Department of Occupational Therapy in the College of Applied Human Sciences, a “Program of Excellence” designated by the state of Colorado, ranked 8th in the nation.

Also ranked among the top 50 in the nation were the Civil and Environmental/Environmental Health programs in the College of Engineering and the Chemistry and Statistics programs in the College of Natural Sciences. The university’s College of Engineering and the School of Education also were ranked among the best overall programs.

Other programs listed in the U.S. News rankings: Chemical, Electrical and Mechanical engineering, Biological Sciences, Computer Science , Earth Sciences, Fine Arts, Math, Physics, Psychology, Social Work and Sociology.

“At CSU, we’re focused on providing an excellent, affordable education and cutting-edge research that makes a difference in the world, and to the extent a rankings system recognizes our success in meeting these goals, we appreciate it,” said Tony Frank, president of Colorado State. “Given the importance of state funding in most rankings, and in light of the enormous funding challenges and significant reductions that Colorado higher education has been facing the past three years, the fact that CSU programs remain recognized as top in the nation is a great tribute to the quality and dedication of our outstanding faculty and commitment of our talented students.

“We are committed to ensure CSU programs provide the best education possible for our students and are the most benefit to society – by any measure.”

CSU’s veterinary medicine program is a leader in multiple small and large animal veterinary fields, including advancing cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, pain management and scientifically sound alternative medicine. The college also was a pioneer and continues to be a leader in teaching and practicing animal ethics. It is home to the largest cancer center for animals of its kind in the world. Admission into the college is extremely competitive with more than 1,700 annual applications to the DVM program alone, with admission limited to 138.

Occupational Therapy at Colorado State has a strong focus on evidence-based practice and is recognized by the university as one of 19 Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence. The department has notable programs to assist stroke victims, war veterans and individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

U.S. News and World Report rankings are based on the results of peer assessment surveys at accredited degree program so schools in each discipline. The rankings of health programs are compiled every four years. Science rankings are compiled annually.

Colorado State University has recently received multiple recognitions and rankings for students’ classroom and research experience, including the following.

• In January, Colorado State University was ranked among the 2011 “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” by Kiplinger’s. Kiplinger’s methodology for determining the best values in public education includes data on more than 500 top public institutions and ranks quality measures such as admission rate, test scores of incoming freshmen and four- and six-year graduation rates. Also part of the ranking is cost data including tuition, fees, room and board, and financial aid for in-state and out-of-state students. Institutions listed among the top values are based on a combination of academic quality and affordability.

• U.S. News and World Report ranked Colorado State University in the top tier of best universities in the nation in the 2011 "America’s Best Colleges” edition. The magazine listed Colorado State in the top tier of public and private doctoral universities, ranking the university No. 60 among public universities, up from No. 64 last year.

• Colorado State is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education and one of the 120 “Best in the West,” according to The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company. Only 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges surveyed were listed in “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region” at www.PrincetonReview.com. Colorado State also ranked as one of the best overall 373 colleges in the new 2011 edition of Princeton’s annual guide.

• Colorado State University’s College of Business offers one of the best MBA programs in the nation and in the Western United States, according to The Princeton Review. Colorado State’s business college is among 300 colleges listed in the 2011 edition of Princeton Review’s “The Best 300 Business Schools.”

• Colorado State is on Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges list for 2010. The ranking lists the best public and private colleges and universities from the student point of view.

• The College of Agricultural Sciences consistently ranks in the top 10 in the country in terms of awards, grants and contracts received.

• Colorado State University ranks third in the nation in the number of undergraduate alumni per capita serving in the Peace Corps and 10th overall among all universities and colleges for the number of alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers, according to the most recent rankings by the Peace Corps. Colorado State consistently lands in the top 15 among universities and colleges with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

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