Newswise — The Graduate Nursing program at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University was recently ranked No. 72 by the U.S. News & World Report 2016 Best Graduate Schools Guidebook. The College has quickly risen from its previous ranking of No. 197 in 2011, and this is the highest ranking for FAU’s graduate nursing program in its 26-year history. “FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is proud to join the ranks of prestigious universities and colleges around the nation with top nursing programs,” said Marlaine Smith, R.N., Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Nursing. “This acknowledgement is a testament to our outstanding faculty and students, and especially to our benefactor Christine E. Lynn for her vision, support and dedication in helping us to reach this pivotal position for our institution.” A total of 503 accredited institutions were eligible to be included in the rankings of master’s nursing programs—246 were included in rankings based on a weighted average of 13 indicators. The magazine evaluated a number of criteria for the rankings, including acceptance rates, average GPAs, student/faculty ratio, degrees awarded, peer assessments, enrollment and National Institutes of Health- and other federally-funded research and teaching grants.

FAU’s College of Nursing excelled in the number of Master’s degrees awarded and in NIH and other federally-funded research and teaching grants, placing the College in the top 25 of the ranked schools in this category. In addition, 100 percent of full-time faculty teaching in the graduate program in FAU’s College of Nursing have doctoral degrees.

FAU’s College of Nursing is internationally known for its commitment to nursing as a discipline focused on nurturing the wholeness of persons and the environment through Caring. The College advances Caring knowledge through education, practice, research and scholarship to transform care locally, nationally and globally. Currently, the College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, master’s, DNP and Ph.D. degree programs with approximately 1,600 nursing students enrolled in its programs. For more information, visit www.nursing.fau.edu.

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Florida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.