Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine is ranked the best in the nation in U.S. News and World Report's 2012 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools," released March 15. This is the fourth time in a row that the college has captured the top spot since the 2000 rankings.

Compiled every four years, the U.S. News rankings of health programs, including veterinary schools, are the result of peer assessments by program directors and faculty.

"We are pleased and humbled by this wonderful recognition," said Michael I. Kotlikoff, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. "The nation has many stellar veterinary colleges, all with unique attributes and all of which make vital contributions to animal, environmental, and human health through education and research. To be identified by our peers as the leading veterinary college is both an honor and a challenge, reflecting the aggregate strength of our faculty and the innovative educational and research programs that they have developed. We look forward to continuing to strengthen and improve these programs and are gratified by this recognition."

In the same rankings category, Cornell's Sloan Program in Health Administration was rated No. 14 among health care management programs, up from No. 25 four years ago.

In the annual rankings, published each spring, Cornell's College of Engineering has seven of its graduate programs recognized in the top 10. Overall, the college is ranked 10th best engineering college in the nation.

These comparisons cover schools in business, education, engineering, law and medicine. They are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students. The data come from surveys of administrators at more than 1,200 programs and 13,000 academics and professionals, conducted during fall 2010 and early 2011.

Within the engineering disciplines, Cornell's biological and environmental program ranks fourth. Its programs in computer engineering, industrial engineering, materials science, and mechanical engineering each receive a No. 8 ranking; electrical, 9; and civil engineering, 10.

In the top 20 of the engineering disciplines, Cornell's aerospace engineering program ranks 11th; chemical, 13; environmental, 14; and biomedical, 20.

In the professional schools, Cornell Law School places 13th, the same as last year. The Johnson School is No. 16 among business schools, up two notches from the 2011 ranking. And Weill Cornell Medical College is ranked 17th, down from last year's No. 16 slot, in the category for schools of medicine (research).

"These rankings are a clear recognition of the quality of our faculty and students, and the strength of Cornell's graduate and professional programs," said Vice Provost and Graduate School Dean Barbara Knuth.

This year U.S. News created a new law school ranking. Based on the opinions of people who hire at law firms, Cornell ranks eighth. And in a new law school diversity index in which the closer a school comes to 1.0, the more diverse its student population, Cornell received a score of .57.

U.S. News ranks only selected disciplines annually. Categories in which Cornell typically has had a strong showing, including history, psychology, sociology, economics, political science and English, were not ranked this year.

For more information about the 2012 rankings, visit http://www.usnews.com/grad.