The Johns Hopkins schools of Public Health, Medicine and Nursing found themselves in enviable spots last Friday when U.S. News & World Report released its annual rankings of graduate schools.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health topped the public health rankings at No. 1, followed by a tie between Harvard and the University of North Carolina. Rankings were based on both master's and doctoral degree programs.

In the research medical schools category, Johns Hopkins landed in a tie with Washington University for the No. 2 spot, just a few points behind Harvard at No. 1. Among specialties, Johns Hopkins was ranked No. 1 in drug/alcohol abuse and geriatrics, No. 2 in internal medicine and AIDS, No. 3 in pediatrics and No. 4 in women's health.

The School of Nursing took the No. 6 spot for master's degree programs. In specialties, it came in at No. 2 for community health and tied at No. 10 for both nursing service administration and health services administration.

Engineering programs were also ranked. The Whiting School of Engineering rose this year to a tie at No. 22, up from 24 in 2002 and 27 the previous year. Bioengineering/biomedical scored 1st in specialties, and environmental took the No. 4 spot, up one from last year.

The magazine's 2004 edition of Best Graduate Schools is now on sale. For a complete list and methodology of rankings, go to usnews.com.