Rankings
A sampling of recent major achievements and developments from UC Davis Health and the UC Davis School of Medicine. For more listings and news, please visit our newsroom and follow us on social media.
A top 25 graduate nursing program
The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis ranks among the top 25 best master’s-degree nursing programs for the fourth year in a row, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Graduate Schools.
In April the publication released its annual report and ranked the school’s Master’s Entry Program in Nursing as No. 24, tied with one other school. The Master of Health Services – Physician Assistant (P.A.) Studies Degree Program placed #40 (tie) in the most recent multi-year rankings, issued in 2023.
“We continue to be honored that our peers recognize the School of Nursing as a leader in health care education,” said Dean Stephen Cavanagh, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. “We remain focused on evolving our educational programs, research and community partnerships to meet the needs of an ever-evolving California.”
The 2024 U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings for medical schools were not available at press time. In 2023 rankings, U.S. News placed two of the UC Davis School of Medicine’s programs in the top 10: family medicine as fifth and primary care as sixth. The publication also ranked psychiatry 15th nationwide.
UC Davis ranked the third most diverse medical school in the country, and 50th in research (tie). The public health graduate program ranked 22, tied with five other schools.
Medical school ranked among the nation’s best for NIH research funding
The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation’s leading medical schools in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, according to the latest Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research ranking. The school broke its record of NIH funding with a total of more than $209 million, placing it 33rd nationally.
This year, nine School of Medicine departments ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective fields, with an unprecedented four in the top 10.
The top three departments in terms of overall NIH funding were Neurology ($34.5 million), Internal Medicine ($26.2 million) and Public Health Sciences ($24.4 million). This fiscal year, 266 principal investigators (PIs) were awarded 410 NIH grants.
“Research is foundational to our mission of delivering tomorrow’s health care today,” said Susan Murin, M.D., M.Sc., M.B.A., the School of Medicine’s interim dean. “We’re proud to be in the top quartile of all medical schools in the country for NIH funding, furthering us in this mission.”
The Aggie Square innovation district, currently under construction, is also expected to double the school’s research spaces.
“We are very proud of our researchers who work to address some of the most challenging medical and health issues,” added Kim E. Barrett, vice dean for research. “We’re also excited that Aggie Square will soon accelerate this exciting research and allow for greater collaborations across disciplines.”
To view School of Medicine annual research impact reports, visit health.ucdavis.edu/medresearch. For more about Aggie Square, visit aggiesquare.ucdavis.edu.
America’s 100 Best Hospitals Award for 2024
Nationally recognized as a top performing hospital
UC Davis Medical Center has been nationally recognized as a top performing hospital according to research released by Healthgrades. Receiving America’s 100 Best Hospitals Award for 2024 means the medical center is among the top 2% of hospitals nationwide for overall clinical performance. The medical center received accolades for high-quality patient care, known as Specialty Excellence Awards, in five areas. This marks the third year in a row for specialty awards for gastrointestinal care, gastrointestinal surgery, pulmonary care and stroke care, and the fourth year in a row as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for critical care.
One of America’s Best Large Employers
UC Davis Health ranked No. 51 among 600 listed institutions on the 2024 Forbes list of America’s Best Large Employers, an annual ranking based on an independent survey of approximately 170,000 participants from a wide range of companies with 1,000 or more U.S. employees. Respondents rated their willingness to recommend their employer to family and friends, as well as factors such as working conditions, development potential, organizational culture and company image. UC Davis Health has also earned Forbes distinctions as a Best Employer in the State, Best Employer for Diversity, and Best Employer for Women.
One of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women
Newsweek recently ranked UC Davis Health among the best workplaces for women in organizations with more than 5,000 employees. The America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women rankings included more than 100 hospitals and health systems in addition to thousands of other organizations and companies. UC Davis Health was the only UC Health campus selected in the “large” employer tier, and one of two UCs named overall. In 2023, Forbes also listed UC Davis Health as a Best Employer for Diversity for the fourth consecutive year and a Best Employer for Women for the second consecutive year.
One of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families
UC Davis Health has been recognized as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group, based on an evaluation of categories such as work-life balance, working environment, and corporate culture. Some contributing factors to the recognition include UC Davis’ award-winning lactation support program; a recently opened child development center for UC Davis Health affiliates; and child care grants for medical and nursing students.
UC Davis recognized for innovation and economic prosperity
UC Davis has again been recognized for significant contributions to innovation, economic growth and community engagement by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, which extended UC Davis’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation for another five years. A 2019 economic impact report showed UC Davis is a major economic driver for California, generating $12.56 billion in statewide economic activity and supporting 68,900 jobs. Every dollar UC Davis spends in California generates an additional $1.10 of economic activity in the state, and for every UC Davis job, the university’s economic activity led to the creation of another non-UC Davis job in California.
More Beacon Awards for Excellence
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on UC Davis Health’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and Children’s Surgery Center PACU. At the time of announcement in December it was the only PACU with this distinction on the West Coast. The three-year award recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s Healthy Work Environment Standards. Multiple intensive care units across UC Davis Health, and its regional burn center, held gold- or silver-level Beacon recognition as of early 2024.
People with personality traits such as conscientiousness, extraversion and positive affect are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia than those with neuroticism and negative affect, according to researchers at UC Davis and Northwestern University
Read recent findings in clinical, translational and basic science research at UC Davis Health
Liver transplant program certified, expands access
The UC Davis Transplant Center has been certified as a liver transplant program by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and UC Davis Health can now accept potential liver transplant patients insured by Medicare or Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California)
Tong to help lead health equity-focused population science research
Elisa Tong named assistant director for population sciences for UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, where the internist and tobacco researcher will focus on health equity to improve cancer prevention, screening, and more
