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UA Graduate Engineering Programs Among the Best in the Nation

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UA Graduate Engineering Programs Among the Best in the Nation

March 24, 2015
Rising enrollment and research dollars lift UA graduate engineering programs to top 50 in latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

The University of Arizona's graduate engineering programs are ranked among the top 50 nationwide in U.S. News & World Report's 2016 edition of "Best Graduate Schools," released March 10, 2015.

The UA is ranked 49th out of 195 reporting schools, reflecting an increase of six points from the previous year.

The University of Arizona offers 13 engineering master's and doctoral degree programs through the College of Engineering, and an additional one through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

U.S. News & World Report based its 2016 rankings on two forms of data from 2014: expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.

"We are educating and granting degrees to more graduate students, and our faculty members are conducting more research per person," said Jeff Goldberg, dean of the College of Engineering. "Taken together, those facts have enabled us to attract and provide financial assistance to more and higher-quality graduate students."
 
Gains in Enrollment and Research Funding

In the College of Engineering, graduate student enrollment, including full-time and part-time students, rose from 653 in 2013 to 723 in 2014. (U.S. News & World Report includes only full-time graduate students in its rankings.)

The numbers of doctoral and master's degrees awarded in the College have also increased. The College granted 53 PhDs in 2014, reflecting a steady annual increase since 2010, and 122 MS degrees in 2014, a 16 percent increase from the previous year.

Graduate students in the College of Engineering are diverse. In 2014, 21 percent were women, 24 percent were from minority groups, and 68 percent were international students.

Average research expenditures per faculty member in the College rose from $232,000 in 2013 to $247,800 in 2014. Total research dollars in the College rose more than $1 million, from $27.4 million in 2013 to $28.5 million in 2014.

In opinion polls conducted at peer institutions, the College's electrical engineering graduate program was rated its highest -- in the top 20 percent nationally. Four other graduate programs in the College made the top 25 percent: computer engineering, systems and industrial engineering, environmental engineering and civil engineering.

Across-the-Board Excellence

UA College of Engineering graduate students and faculty are frequent collaborators with researchers in other UA graduate programs that also received high marks from U.S. News & World Report in its latest survey.

"The across-the-board excellence of the University of Arizona is reflected in the U.S. News graduate school rankings," said UA President Ann Weaver Hart. "Our Never Settle strategic plan has brought greater focus to our efforts at a time of enormous funding challenges. Without question, our faculty have been more resourceful than ever at preparing students for the future."

UA Engineering grad programs