UNE's College of Osteopathic Medicine, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs, and online M.S.Ed. recognized among the best by U.S. News & World Report's 2013 guides
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2013 Best Graduate Schools guide, and the University of New England has once again been recognized for outstanding programs in health sciences and medicine.
Westbrook College of Health Professions
UNE's Westbrook College of Health Professions' graduate programs in occupational therapy, accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association, and physical therapy, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, both rose notably in the US News rankings and were recognized as among the best in the country in 2013.
These join UNE's nurse anesthesia and physician assistant programs, which were noted on the US News 2012 Best Graduate Schools list. US News does not review all programs annually, and data for nurse anesthesia and physician assistant were not collected for 2013.
In addition, the University of New England’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) has been recognized by US News in 2013 for its national leadership in primary care training, geriatrics, and rural medicine.
US News' overall medical school rankings include 23 accredited schools of osteopathic (DO granting) medicine, as well as 126 accredited allopathic (MD granting) programs. The rankings are based on expert opinions about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students.
Primary Care
UNECOM's mission of educating the nation's primary care leaders is reflected in the US News 2013 rankings, which rank the College as fifth in the nation for schools that turn out the most graduates entering primary care residency training programs. These programs include family medicine, general internal medicine and pediatrics.
Marc B. Hahn, DO, UNE senior vice president for health affairs and dean for the College of Osteopathic Medicine, says, "I am extremely proud of this national recognition, which reflects the effectiveness of our medical school mission with regard to primary care education for our graduates."
Geriatric Medicine
Medical school deans and senior faculty also selected the best program specialties using peer assessment surveys. In the Best Medical Schools specialty ranking for geriatrics, UNECOM's Geriatric Medicine program was ranked 16th nationwide, rising three notches from last year's top-20 spot, and once again reflecting the program's world-class reputation. Its innovative curriculum includes the nationally recognized "Learning by Living" program, which places medical students in area nursing homes to live the lives of a resident.
UNECOM is also ranked 22nd in the nation for rural medicine.
University of New England is one of only a handful of private universities with a comprehensive health education mission including a medical school, pharmacy, dental hygiene, allied health, and dental medicine. Its two distinctive campuses on the coast of southern Maine offer students a quality education with more than 40 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.
Online Education
UNE's online Master of Science in Education program was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in its 2013 rankings of the Best Online Education Programs. Only regionally accredited schools that met the federal standard of 100 percent online course delivery were evaluated.
The programs were evaluated based on admissions selectivity, student engagement, faculty credentials and training, and student services and technology. UNE's online M.S.Ed program offers concentrations in career and tech ed online; curriculum and instructional strategies; educational leadership; inclusion education; and literacy education K-12.
While the 2013 rankings evaluate online programs, many of the top-performing schools, including UNE, also have physical campuses, where face-to-face contact is available to students.
2013 America's Best Colleges
The 2013 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" list once again ranked the University of New England in the top tier of universities in the North that offer "a full range of undergraduate and master's programs."