Graduate programs recognized in ‘U.S. News’ rankings

Students in the physical therapy program gain clinical practice skills.

The physical therapy program at Northern Arizona University was among five graduate programs at NAU named in the U.S. News 2014 Best Graduate Schools Rankings, released this week.

Physical therapy ranked 34th in the nation on the publication’s annual list that evaluates programs in business, law, medicine, engineering and education—including specialties within each discipline.

Other health sciences programs that made the list were NAU’s speech-language pathology program, which ranked 106th in the nation, and NAU’s School of Nursing, which ranked 127th.

In other disciplines, NAU’s graduate education programs ranked 108th and the graduate program in biological sciences ranked 160th in the nation.

“National rankings can certainly reinforce Northern Arizona University’s reputation as an exceptional place to learn,” said Ramona Mellott, dean of the Graduate College. “It’s a strong complement to the testimony of our students and graduates, who routinely cite NAU faculty and programs across disciplines as being first-rate. One of the strongest attributes of NAU’s graduate programs is its faculty, who make themselves accessible to our students and prepare them for jobs as outstanding professionals.”

The complete list of 2014 graduate school rankings is online.