ATHENS, Ohio -- Two Ohio University graduate programs are recognized in the 2004 edition of U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools," which recently hit the newsstands. Nominated by peer institutions for its excellence, Ohio University is tied for fifth place in ceramics and 46th place in speech-language pathology.

"I appreciate this recognition for two excellent graduate programs," Ohio University President Robert Glidden said. "Although we write and talk a great deal about the excellence of undergraduate education at Ohio University, quality graduate programs are also among our distinguishing features."

Bob Lazuka, director of the School of Art, said, "This is yet another indication that the School of Art shares the academic and artistic spotlight with some of the nation's best private and public institutions."

The Ohio University Ceramics Department tied with Louisiana State University and the Rhode Island School of Design. This is the second consecutive time that the department has placed in the top 10 (the last rankings were published in 1997).

"The diverse teaching practices of the faculty, along with an excellent facility that supports learning and research contributes to the department's success," said Brad Schwieger, chair of the Ceramics Department.

The speech-language pathology program is tied with Baylor, Florida State and Kent State universities and the University of Virginia.

Many prominent speech-language pathologists and speech scientists have received their education at Ohio University, said Gary Neiman, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. "We are extremely proud of the quality of our speech-language pathology program," he said.

"Our graduate program in speech-language pathology is nationally acclaimed because of the high quality students we attract to our school, our highly productive faculty and the strong reviews they receive from our alumni and students," said School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences Director Norman Garber.

Ohio University's graduate studies mission is to create an array of learner-centered graduate education offerings that are innovative, creative and collaborative among university units.

U.S. News & World Report uses many factors to measure academic excellence, including peer assessment, academic reputation, student retention rate, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate and alumni giving rate.