The Vanderbilt biomedical engineering graduate program jumped to No. 14 in the U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings, which were released today. The BME program, perennially in the top 20 U.S. graduate programs, this year reached its highest ranking in the five decades since the program’s inception. Vanderbilt’s program was one of the first to be established in the nation, predating USNWR rankings.
“One of Vanderbilt’s hallmarks has always been the strong ties the university maintains with our globally renowned medical center,” said Philippe Fauchet, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering. “This is especially true in engineering, where interdisciplinary collaboration has long been part of the fabric of our academic culture.”
Overall, the School of Engineering rose one spot from last year to No. 42. MIT is ranked No. 1.
“When I came to Vanderbilt as chair of the biomedical engineering department, I had a vision to raise our national visibility and impact,” said Michael R. King, J. Lawrence Wilson Professor of Engineering. “Dean Fauchet and the university administration strongly supported this idea, and, now to see our Ph.D. program rise to 14th in the country, is extremely gratifying.”
Other Vanderbilt engineering graduate programs made gains this year and remain in the top 50. Chemical engineering is No. 34, civil engineering is No. 47, environmental engineering is No. 47, electrical engineering jumped 10 spots to No. 41, and mechanical engineering ranked No. 46. Computer science is No. 50, up three spots. CS is a separate category from engineering program rankings. The Interdisciplinary Materials Science program is No. 57, up three spots.
The annual ranking of graduate engineering schools is determined by measures in four key areas: 1. quality assessments as determined by peer schools and corporate recruiters; 2. faculty resources, which include items like the number of doctoral degrees awarded and percentage of faculty who are members of the National Academy of Engineering; 3. research activity, which accounts for overall research expenditures and the amount spent per faculty member; and 4. student selectivity.
View the complete rankings at the U.S. News & World Report website.
Contact: Brenda Ellis, brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu