Hispanic Business Incorporated ranked UNM's schools of law, business and medicine among the top 10 in the nation for Hispanic students.
Most notably, the UNM School of Law was ranked No. 1 for Hispanics out of 185 accredited universities. The School of Engineering was ranked third of 197 universities, and the School of Medicine was No. 6 out of 144.
Jozi De Leon, vice president for the Equity and Inclusion department at UNM, said the honors were well-earned.
"I've always known that UNM's law school was one of the best in the country," she said. "It's got the most diverse student population and one of the most diverse faculty populations when you compare it to schools across the country."
Angela Chavez, a law student at UNM in her second year, said the school is successful because of help from the community.
"UNM School of Law gets a tremendous amount of support from the New Mexico Legislature as well as the legal community as a whole in New Mexico," Chavez said. "It's really a community effort."
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Hispanic Business Incorporated has conducted this survey since 1998.
Mike Caplinger, research supervisor at HBI, said surveys are distributed to accredited universities across the country five to six weeks before the rankings are compiled.
"We looked at the enrollment figures and the faculty figures," Caplinger said. "We also look at the school's reputation and the retention rate."
Hispanic Business Incorporated compares the total student enrollment in a particular program to the enrollment of Hispanic students in the program as well as the number of Hispanic students who complete the program.
"UNM scored high in all the categories and all the schools, which is why they're so well-represented," Caplinger said.
De Leon said UNM's focus on Hispanic enrollment and success is the reason behind the high rankings.
"It is no accident that UNM ranks as a top institution in all of these areas," De Leon said. "At a time when we need students from under-represented groups, I think the fact that the UNM law school is one of the top-ranked schools is really important, because it says that UNM is doing something right."
Percentages and enrollment numbers aren't the only criteria for the survey, Caplinger said.
"The other main thing that we look at that doesn't necessarily show on our rankings is the student services programs that the school has that are trying to attract Hispanic students and keep them there," he said. "I think they're putting the effort towards diversity, especially towards the Hispanic community."
