Harvard schools again top U.S. News and World Report’s annual graduate school rankings.

Harvard Medical School came in at number one among research medical schools, a spot it has held since the first publication of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” in 1990. And for the fifth consecutive year, Harvard Business School kept up its lead among business schools.

Meanwhile, Harvard Law School moved up one spot to tie with Stanford for second behind Yale Law School. Yale has earned the top billing among law schools since the inception of U.S. News’ report. In education programs, Harvard Graduate School of Education slipped to third behind Columbia University’s Teachers College and Stanford. This drop came as a “slight surprise,” according to U.S. News Director of Data Research Robert J. Morse, who attributed the drop partly to Harvard “not doing as well” in research.

U.S. News researchers evaluate the schools based on factors such as selectivity, peer and professional assessment, student-faculty ratio, and post-graduation employment.

Among the top 10 to 15 schools, “rankings are relatively stable,” Morse said. Each year he has fielded fewer and fewer media calls about the lists, he said.

Inertial or not, the lists’ still garner interest. “It’s very exciting as a premed at Harvard to see our school be recognized for its excellence,” said Bianca A. Verma ’10, public relations chair for Harvard Pre-Medical Society.

“You wouldn’t want to go to the 120th-ranked school,” said David Mattos ’09, president of the society, who has his sights set on Harvard Medical School.

But while the rankings summarize individual school strengths, some students end up “seeing the number one, two, and three schools and applying blindly,” Verma said.

Officials at Harvard’s graduate schools caution against an overemphasis on rankings.

“Each year there is marginal movement in the law school rankings, but our view is the same,” Law School spokesman Michael A. Armini said. “We encourage students to visit our campus, learn what Harvard has to offer, and ultimately make an informed decision.”

Like Armini, Education School spokesman Michael Rodman pointed to the unique opportunities Harvard undergraduates have given their proximity to the University’s graduate schools.

“Do some individual research,” he urged students. “Come check us out.”