College of Engineering graduate programs rank tops in nation

U.S. News & World Report’s latest edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools gives high marks to several Ohio State University graduate and professional programs, with The Ohio State University College of Engineering’s graduate program ranking first in Ohio and 17th among all public universities.

Graduate programs in education, business, law, and humanities and social sciences also ranked first in the state of Ohio. 

“Ohio State’s graduate programs continue to be recognized among the very best in the nation,” university President Michael Drake said. “This recognition reflects our founding mission to provide students with an education that is both excellent and affordable.”

Several departments within the College of Engineering also placed among the top programs in the nation, and each department either retained or improved its ranking since last year. The Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering was ranked 11th among its peers within American universities. The nuclear engineering program, part of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, ranks 12th overall, up one spot since last year.

Other top 25 engineering programs at Ohio State include industrial and manufacturing engineering (15), aerospace engineering (17), electrical engineering (18), materials engineering (19), computer engineering (21), chemical engineering (23, up from 26) and mechanical engineering (24). In moving up eight spots, computer engineering experienced the most dramatic improvement.

“We take great pride in being the top producer of engineers in Ohio and preparing our students to address global engineering and innovation challenges,” said Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs La’Tonia Stiner-Jones.

While overall engineering graduate school rankings are derived from a combination of 10 quantitative and qualitative indicators, the publication’s engineering specialty rankings are based solely on peer assessments by department heads in each area. The peer assessment surveys for the specialty area rankings were conducted in summer 2016.

In January, Ohio State was ranked 18th in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs rankings. The publication's 2016 Best Colleges rankings listed Ohio State's engineering undergraduate academic program 16th among public universities whose highest degree is a doctorate.