UI Carver College of Medicine listed in 2025-2026 ‘Best Graduate Schools’ rankings by ‘US News & World Report’
Physician assistant (No. 1) and physical therapy (No. 3) programs remain in top 5 nationally; medical college ranks in 7 categories overall
The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine programs in physician assistant studies and physical therapy and rehabilitation science remain in the top five nationally—with the physician assistant program tied for the No. 1 spot—in the 2025-2026 edition of “Best Graduate Schools” from U.S. News & World Report.
In its “Best Health Schools” and “Best Medical Schools” rankings, U.S. News lists the Carver College of Medicine in six categories:
- Physician Assistant: No. 1 (tie)
- Physical Therapy: No. 3
- Most Graduates Practicing in Rural Areas: No. 34
- Most Graduates Practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas: No. 51
- Most Graduates Practicing in Primary Care: No. 112
- Primary Care: Tier 2
- Research: Tier 2
UI Carver College of Medicine is once again ranked as one of the best graduate schools in the United States. Thank you for educating the next generation of health care professionals.
As with last year’s rankings, U.S. News placed medical schools in one of four tiers for the Primary Care and Research categories. Each school’s tier was derived from an overall score, calculated across several factors. The first two tiers comprise approximately 50 medical schools, according to U.S. News.
The rankings are a measure of quality that help inform prospective students, faculty, and staff—Iowans, in particular—who are considering medical schools, says Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine.
“The U.S. News rankings are a well-known resource when it comes to evaluating medical schools. They help Iowans see the value of staying here in the state, and they can help us recruit outstanding individuals from outside the state to come to and stay in Iowa,” Jamieson says. “To be included in the rankings every year indicates that the Carver College of Medicine is among the top schools in the country. It says a lot about the high quality of our programs, resources, and people.”
Methodology
During fall 2024 and early 2025, U.S. News surveyed 197 medical and osteopathic schools fully accredited in 2025 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association. Data from these medical schools, along with some third-party statistics, was used to calculate the tiers and primary care practice rankings.
Schools that did not submit a medical school statistical survey in fall 2024 or early 2025, or submitted a survey that was lacking key data, are displayed as unranked on the U.S. News website. For the second consecutive year, no peer assessments or residency assessment scores were included in the research-oriented or the primary care rankings formulas.
For primary care and research, medical schools are presented in tiers instead of numbered rankings. There were 102 schools with eligible data for the research rankings, and 99 schools for the primary care rankings. Research indicators included total research activity (average total dollar amount of research grants and contracts); research activity per faculty member; total average dollar amount of National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards; and average NIH research grants per faculty member. Primary care indicators included the proportion of medical school’s 2016 to 2018 graduates practicing in primary care specialties (family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, geriatrics, general medicine, or internal medicine pediatrics) as of 2024. It also included the proportion of a medical school’s 2016 to 2018 graduates who entered primary care residency training programs. The research and primary care rankings also included MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores, mean undergraduate GPA, and a school’s acceptance rate as indicators.
For the rankings of schools with most graduates practicing in rural areas, health professional shortage areas, and primary care, U.S. News calculated the percentage of 2016-2018 graduates practicing in these respective areas. In these categories, 170 schools are ranked from highest to lowest.
The physician assistant and physical therapy rankings are based on U.S. News surveys conducted in fall 2024 and early 2025. Respondents from 206 accredited physician assistant programs and 264 accredited physical therapy doctoral programs rated peer programs on a 1-5 scale. Scores for each program were determined by calculating the average rating each program received.
The complete list of U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” rankings is available at usnews.com/best-graduate-schools. For additional details on the methodology, visit usnews.com/gradmeth.