The University of Utah’s College of Engineering, the state’s premier engineering school, continues to rise in the rankings as one of the nation’s best.
The college’s graduate school was ranked 51st out of 214 Ph.D.-granting American colleges, according to the new 2021 U.S. News & World Report‘s “Best Graduate Schools” survey, released Tuesday, March 17. That is up from 55th place the year before.
“We are pleased to see the College of Engineering’s growth in quality, size and research impact being recognized in the U.S. News rankings,” said Richard Brown, dean of engineering. “The college provides premier engineering and computer science graduates to Utah’s high-tech industry and is efficient at translating research results into commercial products, having spun out 76 companies since 2006.”
The rankings are based upon a number of factors including assessments by other engineering deans and company recruiters, student selectivity, faculty resources, number of graduate students, and research expenditures.
The U’s College of Engineering, with seven departments, six multi-disciplinary academic programs, and 26 research centers and institutes, is the state’s leading research institution for engineers and computer scientists. The college has more than 700 Ph.D. students enrolled.
Since 2002, the college has experienced tremendous growth to meet the rising need for engineers and computer scientists in Utah. Over that time, the amount of engineering-related research expenditures has nearly quadrupled to $97 million in 2019, and the number of degrees granted to students has increased from 411 to 1,122; 103 of these graduates were Ph.D.s.
The University of Utah recently became one of the newest members of the prestigious Association of American Universities, which for more than 100 years has recognized the most outstanding academic research institutions in the nation.