Georgetown's graduate programs continue to be among the top in the country, with the Law Center garnering especially high marks, according to U.S. News and World Report's latest graduate school rankings.

The university's medical and business programs also received recognition in the "Best Graduate Schools for 2010" list in the magazine's May issue that will hit newsstands on April 28.

"We are gratified to be recognized among our peers so highly with this year's rankings," said Georgetown President John J. DeGioia. "We will continue our ongoing efforts to enhance our graduate programs in law, business and medicine."

The rankings put the Law Center at No. 14 in the country, the same position as last year. The Law Center also retained its No. 1 rank among top clinical training programs and ranked No. 1 part-time law programs. This is the first year the magazine has ranked part-time law programs.

Other Law Center specialty programs that earned top rankings include: tax law (No. 2); international law, trial advocacy and environmental law (each No. 4); and health law (No. 6.)

McDonough School of Business moved up three spots in MBA rankings to No. 19 this year.

The business school saw improvements in several categories, including an increasing number of students employed upon graduation -- up nearly 6 percentage points to almost 88 percent. Average starting salaries for MBA graduates also rose, going up about $6,000 to $114,463.

"We long have known that the McDonough School of Business' MBA programs are among the best in the country, as our students are studying an outstanding curriculum from faculty who are true leaders in their respective fields," said Dean George Daly. "With our new, state-of-the-art building opening this spring, I believe that the McDonough School of Business experience will continue to receive national recognition."

The School of Medicine also moved up in the rankings this year -- the medical research graduate programs rose one spot to No. 39. This is the fourth consecutive year the School of Medicine has seen gains in the rankings list.

Doctoral programs in the social sciences were ranked this year for the first time in 2005. The psychology doctoral program shot up 62 spots to No. 74. The jump marks a revival in the program, which began offering specialty tracks in 2003, said Tim Barbari, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

“There has been a reinvigoration to our psychology department with the decision to focus on a few subspecialties and attract faculty and students from those areas,” he said. “It’s clearly getting the attention of others in the field.”

Students have the option of selecting a human development/public policy or a lifespan cognitive neuroscience track in the degree program. Almost all psychology doctoral students choose one specialty track, said department chair Sandra Calvert.

Other ranked social science doctoral programs are: history (No. 36, down four spots), government (No. 39, up two spots) and economics (No. 46, up four spots).

U.S. News and World Report creates its rankings with a methodology that includes opinions of experts in the field and statistical data that measures quality of faculty, students and research. The magazine does not rank every graduate field of study each year.

For a full list of the rankings, visit www.usnews.com