P&S Drug Program #1; Medical School Top 10 Overall in U.S. News Ranking P&S topped the drug and alcohol abuse category for medical specialty programs when U.S. News & World Report released its annual ranking of the nation’s best graduate schools in March. In these specialty rankings, the school ranked seventh in the AIDS category. In the overall ranking, which examined all 124 accredited medical schools in the country, P&S continued its ranking in the top 10 as eighth. To rank specialty programs, U.S. News asked medical school deans to name the 10 schools offering the best programs for each category. The schools receiving the most nominations were ranked in top 10 lists. “Our programs are comprehensive.” says Dr. Richard Sohn, associate dean for research administration. “They cover all aspects of research, from bench to bedside, as well as clinical trials, health services, and outcomes research and community based programs. “One reason our drug abuse program is successful is because it is one of the principal focuses of our psychiatry department. Medicine also has a strong research group focusing on cocaine addiction. “As with drug abuse, our AIDS program is multi-faceted with research programs ranging from basic to clinical, including clinical trials involving both adults and children. It is a far-reaching program that interacts with similar programs in the dental school, the school of public health, and the hospital. It also includes active involvement of the community.” U.S. News considers several factors in its overall ratings, including reputation, assessed by surveying deans, senior faculty and residency program directors; research activity, indicated by the amount of National Institutes of Health research grants; student selectivity, based on admission test scores, undergraduate grade-point average, and acceptance rate; and faculty resources, which is a faculty-to-student ratio.