U.S. News & World Report has recognized the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis, as the nation’s best veterinary school. The 2016 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings, scheduled for release online March 10, also recognized many of UC Davis’ professional schools and graduate programs as among the nation’s best, reflecting the campus’s excellence across a broad range of fields.

“Our ultimate measures of success are the quality of the students we graduate and the lives improved by our research, but it is always encouraging to see a broad range of our graduate programs recognized as among the best in the nation,” said Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

“Special congratulations are in order for Dean (Michael D.) Lairmore and everyone at the School of Veterinary Medicine on being named the top program in the country. I was very pleased to see UC Davis included in the ranking of nursing master’s programs. This accolade is a real testament to the quick progress of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.”

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, which annually cares for more than 48,000 animal patients and is educating more than 500 veterinary students plus residents and grad students, was ranked second in 2011, the last time vet schools were ranked by the magazine. The school runs a veterinary medical teaching hospital at UC Davis and satellite clinics in San Diego and the San Joaquin Valley community of Tulare.

Veterinary faculty members work to solve society’s most pressing health issues by collaborating with colleagues from human medicine and other disciplines. An example of its “one health” approach is a recent $100 million grant to the veterinary school to coordinate surveillance for disease-causing microbes, discovering new viruses and strengthening global health capacity in more than 20 countries.

Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing ranks at first opportunity

For the first time, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis as among the best in the country for master’s-degree nursing programs, placing it at No. 43.

Because the publication only ranks nursing schools every four years, this was the first year UC Davis was eligible for inclusion in the survey. The rankings in nursing are based on a new methodology including both statistical and reputational data. One unique measure used is “achievement of graduates.” UC Davis awarded the school’s first Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Master of Science degrees in 2012.

Other UC Davis rankings

UC Davis School of Law jumped five slots to rank 31st overall. The law school also placed 23rd in the U.S. News diversity rankings, one of the few law schools to rate in the top 40 for both overall quality and diversity.

The School of Education, which has been offering graduate education to teachers, researchers and administrative leaders for grades K-16 since 2002, also saw an upswing in its rankings, reaching No. 38 after ranking No. 45 last year.

UC Davis School of Medicine’s primary care program was ranked No. 19, and the school was ranked No. 43 for research.

Other rankings include the UC Davis College of Engineering, No. 33 and the Graduate School of Management, No. 48.

Last fall, the magazine’s 2015 “Best Colleges” report puts UC Davis as ninth among the nation’s public universities and 38th overall, up one place from the year before. UC Davis consistently performs strongly on national and international college rankings. QS World University Rankings recently ranked the university No. 1 in the world for teaching and research in agriculture and forestry for the second consecutive year.

The annual U.S. News graduate program rankings are based on experts' opinions about program excellence and on statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.

Full rankings in all categories, plus web-exclusive rankings of schools of public affairs and public policy, fine arts, and library and information studies; the complete Best Graduate Schools rankings.