UW News

March 30, 2007

UW School of Nursing ranks No. 1 in nation, a spot held since 1984

The University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing again has ranked first among nursing schools in the country, according to rankings of graduate and professional schools provided today by U.S. News & World Report.

In addition, of the eight nursing specialties included in the rankings, the UW School of Nursing received first-place rankings in three Clinical Nurse Specialist focal areas: adult / medical-surgical, community / public health and psychiatric / mental health. In the Nurse Practitioner area, the school ranked first in family nurse practitioner, third in adult nurse practitioner, fourth in pediatric nursing, and tenth in gerontological nursing. The UW ranked eighth in nursing midwifery.

“We are so honored to again receive this high level of recognition from our esteemed peers. Their acknowledgement of the strength of our programs reflects the quality of education we provide to students and the impact of our research,” said Dean Nancy Woods. “We are committed to providing innovation in nursing; for example, our momentum continues with this year’s launch of our new Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program and expanded global health opportunities.”

Like other nursing schools across the nation, the UW School of Nursing is facing the challenge of educating enough nurses to overcome a severe nationwide nursing shortage and limited resources. To meet this critical need, the school is using a number of approaches to better prepare highly skilled nurses:

• Innovative partnerships with local hospitals provide additional faculty and opportunities for student learning and jobs;

• A fast-track program speeds students with a bachelor’s in a non-nursing field into the nursing master’s program;

• A Campaign UW fund-raising effort to date has raised more than $26 million in support of the school, faculty recruitment and retention, and student scholarships.

The UW School of Nursing has been ranked No. 1 in the nation since 1984, when the first survey of nursing schools was conducted. U.S News & World Report began ranking nursing schools in 1993.

The complete listing of rankings is available on the U.S. News &World Report Web site at: www.usnews.com.

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