UC's Graduate Nursing Program Ranked No. 28

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program came in at No. 28 in the U.S. News and World Report 2017 ranking of the country's top graduate nursing schools.

The rankings—pulled from surveying graduate nursing programs offered by public, private and for-profit institutions—reflect scores from peer-to-peer evaluation, student selectivity and master's program size, faculty resources, research activity and specialty rankings. 

The college's graduate program was ranked No. 54 last year and the jump to No. 28 this year was one of the largest of any ranked program.

"At the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, we are committed to leading as nurses and as educators," said College of Nursing Dean Greer Glazer, PhD, RN. "I feel this year's rankings are reflective of the many initiatives that we've undertaken over the past few years to innovate nursing education and lead the transformation of health care."

When UC's College of Nursing first offered a MSN degree in 1956, it became one of the first colleges in the nation to do so. In 2005, the college launched its distance learning program and today offers a growing number of specialty master's degrees and certificates online. The UC College of Nursing online master's program was ranked No. 8 in U.S. News & World Report rankings released earlier this year.  

Additionally, the UC College of Nursing graduate program in nursing-anesthesia was ranked No. 22, the nurse midwifery program ranked No. 38. The Doctor of Nursing Practice program ranked No. 47 in the first-ever U.S. News and World Report rankings of this category. 

"We are going to continue to improve, quality improvement is what we're all about," said Denise Gormley, PhD, RN, executive director of the college's graduate programs. "We are always evaluating our programs, and always looking at ways to be more student-centered and faculty-centered." 

The rankings also showed that the UC College of Nursing was at the top of the list for the second straight year in the number of master's degrees awarded, with 666. 

The commitment of the college's faculty to teaching innovations has been noticed on a national scale, earning the UC College of Nursing high-profile recognition in the past year that likely contributed to the jump in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Among the faculty, Christine Colella, DNP, RN, associate professor of clinical and director of master's specialties, won the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Innovations and Excellence in Teaching Award for 2015. The College of Nursing also received the AACN Innovations in Professional Nursing Education award and the 2015 Insight into Diversity - Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. These accomplishments followed recognition by Apple as a distinguished program for innovation, leadership and educational excellence.

"Our nursing graduate programs are critical in helping address the need for more primary care and advanced practice providers in the United States," Glazer said. "We're focused on continuous improvement in our programs, in order to prepare leaders equipped to address the complexities of today's health care environment."

The U.S. News and World Report 2017 rankings of the nation's top graduate nursing schools listed 128 programs of the 259 that responded to a survey. According to the AACN, there are more than 674 schools and colleges offering baccalaureate and higher degree programs.