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CORVALLIS - The graduate program in nuclear engineering at Oregon State University has been ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, in the magazine's annual ranking of U.S. graduate programs.

"We're extremely gratified to be ranked so highly by our peers," said José Reyes, professor and interim department head in the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics.

"This is a tremendous tribute to the dedicated efforts of our faculty, staff and researchers," Reyes said. "It adds fire to our commitment to providing quality education and research that will benefit the nation and the world."

Reyes said a goal of the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics is to be the premier provider of research-enriched education in nuclear sciences and engineering.

Over the past three years, the department has received more than $7 million to upgrade the facilities of the Radiation Center, which houses the department, and to fund scholarships and an endowed chair. As part of a national consortium of universities, the department will collaborate with the new Idaho National Laboratory on cutting-edge research that will respond to the nation's future energy, national security and medical needs.

"Behind the ranking stand the department's world-class faculty - people committed to creating opportunities for students and advancing knowledge of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics," Reyes said.

The U.S. News and World Report specialty rankings are based on assessments by department heads who rate other schools in their specialty area on a five-point scale. In nuclear engineering, ranked for the first time in 2005, 25 schools were rated.