1:10 p.m., April 10, 2008--University of Delaware graduate programs in physical therapy, urban affairs, engineering and education remain among the nation's elite, according to new rankings published in the 2009 edition of the U.S. News & World Report newsstand guidebook “America's Best Graduate Schools.”

"The University community should be pleased by this national recognition of the quality of the graduate programs in education, engineering and physical therapy,” UD Provost Dan Rich said. “Although the publication's annual survey includes a narrow range of fields, the University of Delaware offers a wide array graduate programs that are recognized to be among the best in their fields."

The Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Arts and Sciences is ranked 4th in the nation, just behind the University of Southern California, the University of Pittsburgh and Washington University in St. Louis.

The city management program in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy is ranked 10th in the nation, and the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy itself, which is part of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP), is ranked 41st. The city management program is tied with that at Syracuse University and the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy is tied with Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Department of Chemical Engineering graduate program is ranked 10th, and the College of Engineering is ranked 46th in the nation for its graduate programs. The Department of Chemical Engineering is tied with the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the college is tied with Washington University.

The School of Education in CHEP is ranked 31st in the nation, tied with the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Iowa and the University of Virginia, and UD's teacher preparation program is ranked in the top 50.