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DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University School of Nursing was once again the No. 1 program in the nation for its Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2019 rankings released today. 

The Duke nursing school's Master of Science of Nursing program was also ranked among the best, at No. 2 out of 296 master's programs rated by the magazine. 

Several nursing specialty areas were also included among the magazine's top 10: Nurse Practitioner-Family (first); Nurse Practitioner-Pediatric (second); Nurse Practitioner-Adult/Gerontology, Primary Care (third); Nursing Informatics (fourth); Nurse Practitioner-Adult Gerontology, Acute Care (sixth); Nursing Administration (eighth).

"The outstanding work being done today, coupled with our legacy of excellence is what allows us to be counted among the elite nursing schools in the nation," said Marion E. Broome, Ph.D., R.N., dean and Ruby Wilson Professor of Nursing, Duke University School of Nursing. "We aren't one of the best nursing schools because of our rankings, we are one of the best nursing schools because of what we do."

The magazine also ranked Duke's School of Medicine among the nation's best programs, placing it 10th out of the 124 medical schools included in the magazine's annual analysis. 

Duke's medical school also had six specialty programs ranked in the top 10: Anesthesiology (fifth); Internal Medicine (fifth); Surgery (fifth); Radiology (sixth); Psychiatry (eighth); Obstetrics and Gynecology (ninth). A seventh specialty, Pediatrics, ranked 15th.

"We are pleased to again be ranked among the top schools and medical specialties in the country," said Mary E. Klotman, M.D., dean of the Duke University School of Medicine. "This is a testament to our outstanding faculty, staff and students who work tirelessly to provide the best education for our students, deliver the most advanced care to our patients, and make seminal discoveries that evolve our knowledge of the body and ways to improve health in our community and globally." 

U.S. News annually ranks graduate schools in six disciplines, including business, law, medicine, nursing, engineering and education. The magazine uses criteria such as grade-point averages of incoming students, acceptance rates and employment outcomes of graduates.

Duke's nursing school began offering a graduate program in the 1950s. In 2006, the school accepted the first students into a new Ph.D. program, and two years later, launched the first Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in North Carolina, which prepares nurses for leadership positions in clinical care.

"As a global leader in nursing education, research and clinical practice, we have created the expectation of excellence in ourselves and in those with whom we work that continues to define our future as we help reshape nursing and health care delivery," Broome said. "We will continue to expand our reputation for innovation that is a result of our engaged alumni, world-class faculty, the brightest nursing students and extremely talented staff." 

Duke's School of Medicine, established in 1930, is the youngest of the nation's top-rated medical schools. The School of Medicine includes more than 2,200 academic and clinical faculty members in 22 departments, drawing nearly $700 million in sponsored research expenditures annually.

"These rankings are yet another indication of that highest level of excellence being achieved by our exceptional faculty, staff and trainees," said A. Eugene Washington, M.D., chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System. "They attest to our national leadership in advancing biomedical research and educating tomorrow's health sciences leaders."