Points of Distinction

The University of Kansas is the nation's most popular medical school, according to an analysis of yield data by U.S. News and World Report.

A school's yield is the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll in the program. At KUMC, 82.2 percent of the accepted students chose to attend in fall 2010. At the University of Nevada-Reno, 81.6 percent of those accepted did enroll for fall 2010.

KU's School of Medicine ranks 5th among the country's 141 medical schools in a study on how well medical schools meet their social mission to train doctors to care for the nation's patients.

The George Washington University researchers who created the study defined social mission in three ways: the percentage of graduates practicing primary care, the number of graduates from underrepresented minorities, and how many work in areas with shortages of health professionals. The study tracked 6,000 medical students.

KU graduate programs continue to excel nationally, according to 2011 U.S. News and World Report rankings.

City management and urban policy and special education continue to rank No. 1 among public institutions. City management and urban policy also is No. 1 overall among public and private university programs. Special education is No. 2 overall. The School of Education is ninth among publics and 17th overall.

The doctoral program in paleontology, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences geology department, was ranked fourth among publics and seventh overall. Also on this year’s list is the School of Law, which ranked 33rd among public institutions. Only selected academic disciplines are ranked annually.

A graduate community health program at the School of Medicine — the master of public health — ranks 6^th among public and private schools combined, according to U.S. News and World Report.

U.S. News said the program is tied for No. 2 among public university programs. U.S. News also ranked KU’s health care management master’s degree program 22nd and primary care 30th among public university programs.

KU's program was honored by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists for excellence in teaching methodology, innovative programs, and leadership training.

Pharmacy residents work at the KU Hospital while completing master's degrees in pharmacy practice.

The William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications is one of the 10 best journalism schools in the United States, according to CollegeMagazine.com.

The site based its selections on admission requirements, distinguished faculty, rankings of campus media outlets, internship opportunities, and use of technology.

KU faculty ranked second nationwide for the number of prestigious Fulbright awards they received, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Nine KU faculty members received the awards, which enable recipients to teach and conduct research overseas for a year.

The School of Law ranks 19th in the nation for providing hands-on learning opportunities through clinical positions for its students, according to National Jurist magazine.

Faced with a tough legal job market and law firms that want new associates who can hit the ground running, law schools are ramping up their practical skills training – especially with clinics, the magazine notes in its September 2011 issue. The KU law school offers 12 clinics and externships in a variety of practice areas. Each program allows students to develop legal skills and learn professional values in actual practice settings.

The University of Kansas rose slightly in rankings in the 2012 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges.” KU rose to 46th among public universities, up one place from last year. Overall, KU ranks 101st this year, up three places.

The schools of Engineering and Business also saw gains in the undergraduate rankings, with Engineering rising two places to 44th among public universities and Business rising two places to 33rd.

Outstanding academics, research opportunities, a diverse student body, and affordable tuition help the University of Kansas once again earn a place among the best institutions for undergraduate education, according to the Princeton Review.

“The school ‘provides numerous, wonderful opportunities to every student’ through ‘the integration of tradition and new media … to form a new level of excellence,’” the education services company says in the 2012 edition of its annual guidebook, “The Best 376 Colleges.”

In the profile, KU students praised the Honors Program, broad course offerings, and an active social scene. The profile singled out the David A. Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. The city of Lawrence garnered kudos, as well.

The KU School of Law is one of the best in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.

The law school is listed in the 2012 edition of Princeton Review's "Best 167 Law Schools," which includes information about KU's academic offerings, faculty, support groups, and comments from law students.

KU's Department of Special Education has been ranked No. 2 in the number of published journal articles by Science Watch.

Articles by researchers and faculty published in peer-reviewed journals are an important indication of a university's contributions to a field of study. Also in the top 5: Vanderbilt University, the University of Texas-Austin, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Louisiana State University.

U.S. News and World Report egularly ranks KU’s special education master's program No. 1 in the nation among public institutions.

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University has ranked the Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor Lizard (Varanus bitatawa), a giant fruit-eating lizard discovered in the Philippines last year by KU researchers, a Top 10 New Species list for 2011.

The School of Pharmacy is fourth in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy reported that KU received more than $18,400,000 in NIH research funding in fiscal year 2010. The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for schools of pharmacy. Support is considered an important part of a pharmacy school’s national reputation.

The KU School of Law ranks 23rd among public law schools, according to a new listing by U.S. News and World Report called “When Lawyers Do the Grading.”

The ranking was based on the opinions of the people doing the hiring at the nation’s most highly regarded law firms.

The University of Kansas is among the nine public doctoral/research universities listed as best in the nation for junior faculty in a new report from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education based at Harvard University.

KU, which also was one of five universities cited as an “exemplar” for its clarity of institutional expectations for tenure, was recognized as a top place for beginning faculty in COACHE’s last report in 2007.

Among national public research universities, KU ranks 44th in federal funding for science and engineering research, according to the National Science Foundation. KU's funding in 2009 totaled a record $124.7 million.

The American Library Association has listed the University of Kansas Libraries as one of the top 50 libraries in the nation by volumes held.

KU Libraries is ranked 47th among all U.S. libraries and 25th among public universities in the United States with 4,235,542 total cataloged items available to patrons.

“We’re pleased with the designation,” said Lorraine Haricombe, dean of KU Libraries. “The number of volumes we hold reflects deep collections of world-class materials that enhance the quality of scholarship here at KU. An even more important measure of our success is the number of students, faculty, and community members we serve — and the level of quality we achieve in both service and collections.”

The KU law school ranks 21st out of 65 schools that "carry a low price tag and are able to prepare their students incredibly well for today's competitive job market," according to National Jurist magazine.

The magazine based its best value rankings on tuition and employment statistics.

Twenty-eight KU programs rank in the top 30 spots among public universities nationwide, and KU's special education program continues to rank first among special education programs, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The 28 programs and their rankings are

1. City Management and Urban Policy (Master)
1. Special Education (Master/Doctorate)
2. Community Health (Master/Doctorate)
2. Occupational Therapy (Master/Doctorate)
3. Paleontology (Doctorate)
3. Public Management Administration (Master)
4. Public Affairs (Master)
4. Speech-Language-Pathology (Master)
7. Audiology (Doctorate)
9. Nursing-Midwifery (Master)
9. Petroleum Engineering (Master/Doctorate)
9. Public Finance & Budgeting (Master)
10. School of Education (Master/Doctorate)
11. Social Work (Master)
12. Music (Master)
12. Physical Therapy (Master/Doctorate)
13. Clinical Child Psychology (Doctorate)
18. Clinical Psychology (Doctorate)
18. Pharmacy (PharmD)
21. Psychology (Doctorate)
22. Healthcare Management (Master)
23. Drama/Theatre (Master)
24. History (Doctorate)
25. Nursing-Anesthesia (Master)
26. Fine Arts (Master)
28. Nursing (Master)
30. Biological Sciences (Doctorate)
30. Political Science (Doctorate)