For release: March 29, 2012
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

U.S. News & World Report has ranked three University of Memphis programs among the top 20 in the nation in its “Best Graduate Schools 2013” issue.

Two programs in the U of M’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders achieved high ratings. Audiology was ranked No. 12 and Speech-Language Pathology as No. 15.

Rehabilitation Counseling, a program in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, was ranked No. 17.

“I’m very proud of the fact that both our Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology programs have been ranked among the top programs in the country since these rankings were established in the 1990s,” said Dr. Maurice Mendel, dean of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “This achievement represents significant contributions on the part of our faculty and students to gain this recognition.”

Dr. Donald Wagner, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, said, “The graduate program in rehabilitation counseling has a longstanding reputation for excellence in the community. The ranking this program has achieved is a tribute to the outstanding faculty. It also recognizes the professional contributions that the alumni have made to helping individuals with disabilities improve their quality of life.”

Dr. Karen Weddle-West, vice provost for graduate programs, added, “The consistent national ranking of the doctoral programs in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders has made them extremely competitive, yielding the highest quality of student applications. These rankings also are a testament to the high quality of research produced by the faculty.

“The rehabilitation program in counseling continues to be ranked among the best in country, largely due to quality of faculty and administrators and the high levels of scholarly activity and grantsmanship they produce. Essentially, these and other internationally regarded graduate programs contribute significantly to our prestigious Carnegie Classification as a Research University with High Levels of Research Activity (RU/HA).”