Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering graduate program improved two positions to No. 37 in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The 2011 graduate program rankings were released today.
The School, which tied with the University of Rochester, ranks ahead of Yale, Virginia and Washington University in St. Louis and just behind Duke, Rice, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of California-Irvine. MIT was ranked No. 1.
Programs at 198 engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees were surveyed; 192 responded. Data were collected in fall 2009 and early 2010.
“While rankings are only one measure of a program’s accomplishments, the School’s steady upward progress in these rankings is recognition that our reputation and our success in engineering graduate education is rising,” said Dean Kenneth F. Galloway. “I am proud of our faculty and our graduate students. We believe that their research will have lasting impact.”
Peer opinion data is gathered from deans, program directors, and senior faculty to judge the academic quality of the programs. Professionals who hire new graduates are also surveyed. Other “quality indicators” include acceptance rates, average quantitative GRE score, faculty membership in the National Academy of Engineering, engineering school research expenditures, Ph.D.’s granted, and total graduate engineering enrollment.
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies George E. Cook said, “We believe the graduate experience our students enjoy is among the best anywhere. We anticipate that Vanderbilt engineering will continue to be the first choice of many outstanding students across the country and internationally.”
Also ranked were School programs in Biomedical Engineering (No. 20), Chemical Engineering (No. 36), Civil Engineering (No. 49), Electrical Engineering (No. 38), Environmental Engineering (No. 51), and Mechanical Engineering (No. 43).
Among the specialty rankings were 94 schools with bioengineering/biomedical engineering; 125 with chemical engineering; 141 with civil engineering; computer engineering not ranked this year; 173 with electrical/electronic/communications engineering; 95 with environmental/environmental health engineering; and 163 with mechanical engineering.
Extended rankings and details relating to the methodology in engineering can be found at http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools .
Highlights of the graduate rankings will be published in the May issue of U.S. News & World Report, which will be available April 27 on newsstands. The America’s Best Graduate Schools guidebook will also be available for purchase as of April 27.