In new rankings for its Best Graduate Schools, U.S. News & World Report lists USC School of Pharmacy ninth among the nation’s more than 125 schools of pharmacy. USC School of Pharmacy remains the nation’s top-ranked private pharmacy school, and the top-ranked pharmacy school in Southern California.
The rankings mark an advancement for USC School of Pharmacy, which was previously ranked 10th among schools of pharmacy in the United States.
“I am incredibly proud of the work that our talented faculty, staff and students at USC School of Pharmacy do every day as we seek to achieve our mission of leading pharmacy education in California and across the nation,” says Interim Dean Glen L. Stimmel. “We’re shaping the future of pharmacy practice, integrative research and educational excellence, and our efforts have been recognized by our peer schools of pharmacy across the country.”
Last updated in 2012, the U.S. News & World Report rankings for pharmacy schools are based exclusively on ratings from academic representatives at schools of pharmacy across the U.S. Deans, department chairs and faculty members from more than 125 colleges and schools of pharmacy were surveyed for the 2017 rankings.
“As the needs of society and the profession of pharmacy evolve, our enhanced positioning in the U.S. News & World Report pharmacy school rankings showcases how we at the USC School of Pharmacy are creating forward-looking educational programs, establishing a national model of clinical pharmacy through our work serving at-risk communities, advancing therapies that have yielded tangible improvements in people’s lives, and helping pioneer the transition of the pharmacist’s role to a direct provider of patient care,” Stimmel says.
Consistently the top-ranked private school of pharmacy, the School launched the nation’s first PharmD/MBA dual degree in 1990, the first PhD in pharmaceutical economics and policy in 1994, the first professional doctorate in regulatory science in 2008, and a translational science graduate program that merges science with clinical expertise.
The School offers numerous dual- and joint-degree programs—in such fields as law, business, public health, regulatory science, healthcare decision analysis, and gerontology— creating graduates with unique skills and knowledge who are highly sought for a variety of career options. The School’s location in Los Angeles and on USC’s Health Science Campus provides students an array of clinical experiential opportunities in a wide variety of settings, working with a diverse range of patients and disease states.
In 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded researchers at the USC School of Pharmacy a $12 million grant—the largest ever at the School—to improve healthcare outcomes, reduce avoidable hospitalizations and emergency visits, enhance medication adherence and safety, and lower overall costs for high-risk, underserved populations.
The School leads the way nationally in promoting pharmacy practice in safety-net clinics serving the homeless and uninsured.
The complete U.S. News & World Report ranking list, as well as explanations of ranking methodologies, can be found on the U.S. News & World Report website.