The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering rose to the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report's 2015 graduate program rankings, strengthening the school’s position as one of the nation’s elite engineering schools.
The school moved up one spot from the previous year. UT Austin’s aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, environmental and mechanical engineering programs all ranked in the nation’s top 10, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings released this morning.
More than 2,100 students are currently enrolled in the Cockrell School’s 13 graduate degree programs, where they work side-by-side with world-renowned faculty. The school’s 27 research centers and affiliated research units provide graduate students with the opportunities to focus on various high-demand areas, including but not limited to wireless networking, nanomanufacturing, energy, transportation, biomedical and petroleum engineering.
The boost in graduate rankings comes at a significant time for the Cockrell School. Last month, the school announced that four faculty members were elected to the esteemed National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the highest number among universities nationally in 2014. And in January, the school announced a $20 million gift from the Mulva Family Foundation that will help build the new Engineering Education and Research Center, a 430,000-square-foot facility that will be dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching and research and will transform the UT Austin campus.
Cockrell School graduate degree programs ranking in the top 10 this year are:
- Civil Engineering, No. 3
- Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering, No. 4
- Chemical Engineering, No. 6
- Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, No. 8
- Computer Engineering, No. 9
- Mechanical Engineering, No. 10
U.S. News & World Report's engineering graduate program rankings are based on student acceptance rates, faculty/student ratios, research expenditures, reputation among engineers in industry and academia, the number of doctorate degrees produced, the percentage of faculty elected to membership in NAE and entrance exam scores.
This year, in addition to the Cockrell School’s ranking, UT Austin's graduate schools in business, education, geosciences and law are all ranked in the top 15 nationally, in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 edition of “Best Graduate Schools.”
