UC Davis tops list of veterinary school rankings for second time

U.S. News and World Report releases its list of veterinary schools every four years.

Receiving a 4.7 out of a possible 5, the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine has topped the list of best veterinary schools in the nation for a second time, according to a list published by U.S. News and World Report.

In 2015, the last time veterinary schools were ranked, the organization has faced criticism for its methodology, which remained the same for the current list. Each school that participated was scored on academic quality by peer assessment surveys sent to deans and other administrators on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding) and the scores were then averaged. If a respondent didn't know enough about the program to judge it, they were instructed to reply “don't know,” according to U.S. News and World Report.

“The continued recognition of UC Davis as the national leader in veterinary medicine is a tribute to the reputation of our exceptional people and programs that advance the health of animals, people and our planet,” says the school's dean, Michael D. Lairmore, DVM, PhD, in a university release.

Here are the top 10 veterinary schools, according to U.S. News and World Report. Click here to read the full rankings.

1. University of California, Davis-Davis, California | 4.7

2. Cornell University-Ithaca, New York | 4.4

3. Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Colorado | 4.2

4. Tie: North Carolina State University-Raleigh, North Carolina | The Ohio State University-Columbus, Ohio | Texas A&M University, College Station-College Station, Texas | University of Pennsylvania-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 3.9

8. University of Wisconsin, Madison-Madison, Wisconsin | 3.8

9. University of Florida-Gainesville, Florida | 3.6

10. Tie: University of Georgia-Athens, Georgia | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities-St. Paul, Minnesota | 3.5