Still riding the crest of a rapid expansion and growth period that includes the opening of new clinical research facilities, the purchase of a private hospital, and the soon-to-be-completed first phase of a life science and technology park, the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine has surged two spots higher in the new edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools, coming in at No. 45 on this year’s list.

“Our continued rise for the past five years in the rankings is confirmation of the top-tier quality of our students and our education programs and the groundbreaking research taking place at the Miller School of Medicine,” said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, senior vice president for medical affairs, dean of the Miller School, and CEO of UHealth – University of Miami Health System. “In the years ahead we will continue to educate the very best physicians and scientists, who will help patients in South Florida and around the world in delivering and advancing the best health maintenance and disease management.”

In four years the Miller School has climbed 11 spots in the rankings—from No. 56 in 2007 to No. 52 in 2008, 51 in 2009, 47 in 2010, and 45 this year.

The medical school’s ranking is based on quality and peer assessment, research activity supported by the National Institutes of Health, student selectivity, and other indicators.

The school’s physical therapy graduate program remains ranked No. 7 in the rankings. The program, evaluated in peer assessment surveys conducted in the fall of 2007, has been consistently ranked in the top ten since U.S. News began ranking physical therapy programs in 1995.

Each year, U.S. News ranks professional schools and programs in business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. Several other UM graduate programs are highly rated in this year’s Best Graduate Schools edition.

The School of Law’s Graduate Program in Taxation comes in at No. 5 in the rankings. Consistently ranked by U.S. News, the program offers a curriculum that allows lawyers to pursue a full range of tax specialties while also providing a solid foundation in the core subjects of taxation.

“Our tax program is one of the preeminent in the nation and has become even stronger with our recent hires of [professors] Patricia Brown, Lawrence Lokken, and Leigh Osofsky,” said School of Law Dean Patricia D. White.

“My goal is to have our students develop tax sense,” explained Brown, who directs the taxation program and is a former deputy international tax counsel for the Treasury Department, where she oversaw and coordinated the U.S. tax treaty program. “Someone who graduates from the program should be able successfully to tackle any kind of tax issue, because he or she will understand the economics and policy that underpin the Internal Revenue Code.”

UM’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, which has helped to spearhead nationwide efforts to solve some of the most pressing problems facing the nursing profession, has surged onto the U.S. News list of top graduate schools and programs, coming in at No. 79 in a ranking based on a peer assessment survey.

The Clinical Psychology Program in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology ranked No. 25 on the list, continuing a trend of placing high in the rankings. Department Chair Rod Wellens said the ranking is consistent with a recent National Research Council analysis that placed the psychology department within the top quartile nationally. “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all of our faculty, graduate students, and support staff,” he said.

Continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association for the past 45 years, the program offers an extensive clinical training curriculum, emphasizing adult, child, pediatric, and health psychology.

Also making an impressive showing was the graduate program at UM’s School of Education, ranked No. 52 out of 251 schools. The school offers graduate programs in teaching and learning, kinesiology and sport sciences, and educational and psychological studies.

The Best Graduate Schools guidebook will be on newsstands April 5.