The University of New Mexico School of Medicine ranks third in the nation for its Rural Medicine Program in the upcoming issue of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools” for 2018. UNM's medical school has maintained this top-five national ranking since 1996, underscoring UNM’s commitment to programs that serve New Mexico’s rural communities. The magazine also ranks the School of Medicine’s Primary Care curriculum 35th, up five spaces from last year’s ranking of 40th. “Our Primary Care Curriculum and Rural Medicine Program are structured specifically to serve the health needs of all New Mexicans,” says Paul Roth, MD, UNM chancellor for health sciences and dean of the UNM School of Medicine. “These national rankings directly reflect our priorities in training our healthcare work force, and reaffirm that we are addressing New Mexico’s unique health challenges and opportunities in providing quality health care.” A total of 130 U.S.-accredited medical schools and 26 schools of osteopathic medicine were surveyed for this year’s rankings. The schools were ranked according to selected measures of academic quality, including academic reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources, and the percentage of graduating physicians who go into the primary care specialties of family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics.