UC Riverside’s School of Medicine is ranked No. 6 for diversity in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Grad School rankings released Tuesday, March 30.
It was among several UCR programs that did well in the rankings, which are separated by discipline into different lists. Education, engineering, and social sciences moved up in their rankings or made the top 100 in the 2022 list.
This is the first year the magazine has published its list of Most Diverse Medical Schools, noting the importance that many institutions have placed in increasing minority access to medical education. At most schools, the number of minorities is below their percentage of the population in the state or nation, the report states.
UCR’s School of Medicine had a student population of 34.1% from underrepresented minority communities, according to the magazine, which looked at fall 2020 enrollment figures.
The school has been committed to training a diverse physician workforce since its founding, creating pipeline programs from schools and community colleges, and recruiting students from underserved areas and varied backgrounds, said Dr. Deborah Deas, vice chancellor for health sciences and school dean.
“Through these efforts, we have created a cadre of students that reflects the incredible diversity of Inland Southern California,” she said. “Of course, our work is not done, but receiving this recognition from U.S. News & World Report is a validation of what we have accomplished so far."
In other rankings, the Graduate School of Education was one of UCR's biggest improvements in this year’s list, moving to No. 55 from No. 79 the previous year.
Interim Dean Louie Rodríguez said the improvement is a testament to the school’s faculty members, who he described as at the forefront of education research, as well as staff, students, and alumni.
“These rankings signal that our school is moving in the right direction, and we will continue to develop compassionate educators, address equity and social justice, and remain focused on student success and community impact, which are all at the center of our mission in the GSOE,” he said.
Five graduate programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences also did well in this year’s list. The English program was ranked No. 46, climbing one spot from last year’s 47. Sociology went from No. 57 to No. 49, History went from No. 79 to No. 54, and Economics rose from No. 63 to No. 59. Political Science remained at No. 48.
The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering moved up one notch from No. 80 to No. 79. The Public Affairs program at the School of Public Policy ranked No. 95, an improvement from No. 101 the previous year.
The rankings and data are based on reputation and statistical surveys the magazine conducted in fall 2020 and early 2021 of each program in the six largest graduate school disciplines.
