By Michael Seele
ENG advanced four places – among the largest gains of any school in the top 50 – from 31st in last year’s rankings. US News evaluated 222 doctoral-granting engineering schools, weighing a variety factors related to research and doctoral programs. In addition, deans were surveyed and asked to rate the academic quality of each of the schools. The College’s climb this year comes on the heels of a five-point jump last year, making a total rise of nine places in just two years.
Among engineering schools at private universities, which tend to be much smaller than those at public universities, ENG fared even better, ranking 15th.
“It is gratifying to see that the groundbreaking work of our faculty is making major inroads as reflected in many ways, including those measured in these rankings,” said Dean ad interim Elise Morgan. “Also gratifying is the recognition this work is garnering among our peers.”
Much of the College’s rankings climb can be attributed to gains in areas related to research productivity and reputation. Among private engineering schools, ENG ranked 27th in total research expenditures (11th among private engineering schools), 16th in research expenditures per faculty member (10th among private schools), and 19th in the number of citations (5th among private schools). The subjective measure of academic quality, as rated by other engineering deans, was the College’s highest ever.
At the department level, rankings were determined based solely on subjective assessments of academic quality as rated by respective department chairs at all institutions. In ENG, the Biomedical Engineering program ranked 19th; Computer Engineering 38th (a rise of six places from last year); Electrical Engineering 45th; Materials Science & Engineering 56th; Mechanical Engineering 51st; and Systems Engineering 44th (a rise of 11 places in a category more closely related to industrial engineering.