Two graduate programs at East Carolina University have been ranked among the best in the nation according to an annual list from U.S. News & World Report.

The rehabilitation counseling program and the Brody School of Medicine were included in the magazine's 2013 listing of the best professional and graduate schools released today.

The rehabilitation counseling program in the College of Allied Health Sciences is ranked the 13th.

"Our graduates are in high demand in substance abuse, mental health and other rehabilitation settings," said Dr. Lloyd Goodwin, professor and interim chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Studies at ECU.

"Student interns are almost always offered jobs at the end of their internship and often before completion of their internship. It is rare for a graduate to not be offered a position within one month of graduation."

The Brody School of Medicine tied for 31st overall among primary care schools this year. ECU also sent the seventh-highest percentage of its graduates, 49.6 percent, into primary care residencies between 2009 and 2011. U.S. News defines primary care as family medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine.

"We are glad to be included among some very fine and well-established schools from across the country," said Dr. Paul Cunningham, dean of the medical school. "We will continue to pursue our mission to serve the citizens of North Carolina with passion and purpose."

The U.S. News guidebook of U.S. professional and graduate schools will be available on newsstands April 3.

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Two ECU grad programs ranked