The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was ranked 34th in primary care this year, according to recently released rankings from U.S. News & World Report, marking the college’s sixth consecutive appearance in the top 50.

The TCOM Physicians Assistant Studies program was also ranked 34th among the nation's PA programs in the U.S.News list, marking the program's second appearance in the top 50.

“The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was originally founded to educate primary care physicians, and we have long been a leader in this area,” said Marc B. Hahn, DO, dean of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. “We have garnered national recognition for success in medical education with leading-edge efforts in curriculum reform, the use of medical simulation for training and a unique rural track program to prepare primary care physicians for rural Texas.

“This continued recognition by our peers is yet another indication of the quality of our physician graduates."

The ranking for 2008 places the college among the foremost medical schools in the nation in primary care.

The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine has had approximately 77 percent of its graduates enter primary care programs from 2004 to 2006 – the third highest percentage among the top 50 schools. The other two Texas medical schools ranked in the top 50 for primary care, Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, had 44.9 percent and 42 percent respectively of their graduates enter primary care in that period.

Each year, U.S.News ranks professional-school programs in business, education, engineering, law and medicine. The rankings are based upon expert opinion about program performance and statistical indicators that measure the quality of the school’s faculty, research and students.

To gather the opinion data, U.S. News and World Report surveyed deans, program directors and senior faculty to judge the academic quality of programs in their field on a scale of 1, which was marginal, to 5, which was outstanding. Professionals who hire new graduates were also surveyed for the rankings.

If you are with the media and need additional information or would like to arrange an interview, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 817-735-2446.