The University of Vermont has been ranked among the “10 Best Colleges to Study Health Professions” for its number of quality majors within the field, small class sizes and collaborative learning with professors, and high salaries following graduation and at the mid-career level.
The list, reported by USA Today and compiled by College Factual, is a ranking of overall programs based on the quality of the college and the strength of the individual majors offered within the health professions field. UVM was lauded for its wealth of quality majors in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, including undergraduate programs in communication sciences and disorders, medical laboratory and radiation sciences, nursing, rehabilitation and movement science and rural emergency medical services training.
The article drew attention to the fact that UVM’s health profession majors center on research and patient care with students splitting their time between “classrooms and education centers that allow them to apply their knowledge in a hands-on setting.”
"The College of Nursing and Health Sciences prides itself in attracting strong students and providing them with a high quality innovative educational experience including opportunities in clinical simulation and inter-professional education, international study, and research experiences at both the undergraduate and graduate level," said Patty Prelock, dean of the Colege of Nursing and Health Sciences. "Faculty are committed to student learning and combine classroom teaching with enriched clinical experiences. We have numerous opportunities to collaborate with our College of Medicine and University of Vermont Medical Center colleagues to ensure our students receive the best possible academic and clinical learning experience."
As the seventh oldest medical school in the nation, the UVM College of Medicine was praised for having “established programs and comprehensive curriculums that students may begin pursuing at the graduate level.” This ranking comes on the heels of the recently-released U.S. News & World Report 2016 Best Graduate Schools Rankings that placed the College of Medicine 57th nationally in the research category. The College of Medicine was also ranked in the top quartile of the primary care category, placing 29th along with Duke University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
"Our recent Match Day results demonstrate the strength of the College of Medicine's curriculum and its grounding in primary care, with medical students matching to residency programs across the specialties at outstanding institutions nationwide, including a number of Ivy League programs like Johns Hopkins, Yale and Stanford,” said Dr. Frederick Morin, dean of the UVM College of Medicine. “With early and continuous access to clinical experiences, as well as a focus on professionalism, communication and cultural competence, our students graduate ready for the challenges and rewards of our global society."
Based on data provided by Payscale.com, UVM graduates entering the health profession will earn an average early career salary of $48,000, rising to $67,000 at the mid-career level.
Overall, UVM finished just ahead of Johns Hopkins University with the University of Pittsburgh placing first.