MEDCoE Graduate School ranks high among top U.S. schools

Story by Erin Perez

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS—U.S. News and World Report ranks several programs at the Fort Sam Houston-based U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence highly in their most recent report on the best graduate health schools. Within the MEDCoE Graduate School, there are 14 graduate programs ranging from master’s to doctoral degrees.

At 70 years, Baylor University has the longest running affiliation with MEDCoE for the Master of Health Administration and Master of Business Administration. Coined the Army-Baylor program, MEDCoE continued to add accredited graduate programs through Baylor University, and later, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, each of which earned accreditation through their both their professional accrediting bodies and universities. The exception is the Master of Social Work, which is accredited through the University of Kentucky.

Each of the graduate programs is ranked within the top 15% of their respective disciplines across the nation, and two are ranked in the top 5%.

The annual ranking of MEDCoE’s graduate health programs include:

– The U.S. Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing ranked second out of 131 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, affiliated with Baylor University.

– The Army-Baylor Doctor of Physical Therapy program ranked 11th out of 245 programs across the nation.

– The Army-Baylor Master of Health Administration/Master of Business Administration program ranked 12th out of 90 national programs.

– The Army-Baylor Doctor of Occupational Therapy program ranked 41st out of 263 programs nationwide.

– The Interservice Physician Assistant Program ranked 27th out of 211 PA programs [affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center].

– The Army-University of Kentucky Master of Social Work program ranked 43rd out of 319 MSW degree programs.

“I am enormously proud of the work our staff and instructors do every day to make the Medical Center of Excellence the top-tier medical training and instructional institution. These rankings demonstrate that we are working daily to train the nation’s premier healthcare professionals to save the lives and maintain the medical readiness of the world’s best warriors. We must be at our best on their worst day. They deserve nothing less,” said Brig. Gen. Clinton Murray, commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence.

According to Col. Matthew Douglas, Dean of the Graduate School, the faculty designed the course work, and continue to update and implement new ways to train and test students.

“They are fully professors in their own right,” Douglas explained. “They take the knowledge, skills and clinical hours that satisfy the degree requirements and build the courses around it.”

Once students finish up the classroom phase of their degree, they complete any secondary or clinical requirements at medical treatment centers throughout the Department of Defense and some civilian partners.

“We couldn’t do this without our partners at the universities and medical institutions around the world. Our presence through our universities, and our regional, national, and international forums, and our participation in our fields of work through research, collaboration, governance, and policy drive these results, as do our successful students who carry this work forward,” said Douglas.

The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, with 1,700 faculty and staff, provides training for nearly 31,000 students annually. This includes training all U.S. Army combat medics all the way to graduate, master’s and doctoral programs in health sciences.