U.S. News & World Report ranks SRPH in Top 25 graduate schools of public health

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — The Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health has received a high honor from U.S. News & World Report – a ranking in Top 25 graduate schools of public health in the United States.

The HSC-SRPH is listed in the magazine’s 2008 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” alongside such institutions as John Hopkins University, Yale University and the University of Tulane. It is among the youngest schools, with those ranked averaging 45 years.

“I am very pleased that our young school of public health is recognized for its rapid achievement in academic excellence and impact on the public we serve,” said Ciro V. Sumaya, M.D., M.P.H.T.M., founding dean and Cox Endowed Chair.

Created by the Texas Legislature in 1995, the inaugural class entered in fall 1998 to pursue a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) and doctoral degrees in public health and health services research. In less than 10 years, the HSC-SRPH has grown to offer a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs at the College Station main campus and five distance education sites – McAllen, Corpus Christi, Austin, Temple and Laredo. The first school of public health in the nation to focus in name and mission on rural populations, it achieved its accreditation faster than any other U.S. school of public health without a previous public health presence.

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional-school programs in business, education, engineering, law and medicine based on both expert opinion and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. More details are online at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/about/index_brief.php

The Texas A&M Health Science Center provides the state with health education, outreach and research. Its six components located in communities throughout Texas are Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and the School of Rural Public Health.