According to new graduate and professional rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report, Washington University’s School of Medicine and George Warren Brown School of Social Work are both ranked second in the nation. Both schools received the same rankings when data was last compiled.

The School of Law’s rank increased five spots from last year to tie for 20th in the nation, while the Olin School of Business dropped in rank from 29th to 39th. The rank of the School of Engineering and Applied Science remained relatively stable at 36th, down one from last year.

This year the medical school placed second after Harvard University, followed by Johns Hopkins University, Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania (tie). The school’s student selectivity was again ranked first, as it has been every year since 1998. Student selectivity is based on a measurement of the quality of students’ Medical College Admission Test scores, undergraduate grade-point average and the proportion of applicants selected.

On an individual basis, the University’s physical therapy program ranked second in the nation, occupational therapy was third, and pediatrics and internal medicine both ranked seventh.

Larry Shapiro, dean of the School of Medicine, was not available for comment.

The George Warren Brown School of Social Work, which was ranked second in the nation when social work rankings were last compiled in 2000, has held onto its position under the administration of current dean Shanti Khinduka.

“I’m delighted that [they have] shown great esteem for our program,” he said. “It is a tribute to the faculty who have introduced several innovations in our curriculum, and for the quality of their research. We attract outstanding students from all parts of the world, and based on our educational program, the caliber of our students, the contributions our alumni make, and the intellectual stature of our faculty, it is very gratifying to see that our colleagues in social work education think so highly of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.”

Khinduka noted that in his thirty years serving as dean, many new programs have been introduced in the school’s curriculum. One recently launched program, Alliance for Building Capacity, is an initiative to work with St. Louis social agencies.

This year is the first that the School of Law has been ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News and World Report. Law school dean Joel Seligman, JD, attributes school’s increase in rank to both new faculty members and the caliber of its students.

“We’ve made some terrific hires in the last few years, [and] student selectivity [in] law school admissions tests and grade-point averages have gone up, while [still] retaining diversity,” he said.

The most encouraging thing about the rankings, Seligman noted, is that among judges and lawyers the law school was evaluated as 22nd-best in the country.

“Given that most judges and lawyers don’t live near us, this is an [indication] that more people are learning about the wonderful things we’re doing at this school,” he said.

Yesterday’s hiring of two Harvard Law School assistant professors, Sam Bagenstos and Margo Schlanger, also looks promising.

“One of the really exciting aspects of hiring them was they had other suitors, and chose Washington University’s School of Law because of their excitement [about] working with our faculty,” Seligman said. “In some ways that’s even more important than U.S. News [rankings].”

Stuart Greenbaum, dean of the Olin School of Business, was not available to comment on the school’s shift in rankings.

Joe Fox, associate dean of the business school’s MBA program, declined to comment.

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