Purdue ranked among top universities in nation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University maintained its top 25 ranking among the nation's public universities and is 65th among all universities, according to U.S.News & World Report.

Purdue ranked 23rd among public universities, in a tie with Texas A&M University, and was 65th overall, tied with Texas A&M and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Last year, Purdue was ranked 23rd among public universities and 62nd overall.

The magazine also recognized Purdue for several achievements in other areas.

The university was ranked 11th overall and eighth among public universities in "up-and-comers" for "the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty and student life," as determined by a survey of college administrators. Purdue was again acknowledged in four of eight student success categories. The areas, in which schools are listed but not ranked, are First-Year Experience, Writing in the Disciplines, Learning Communities and Internships.

"These rankings and acknowledgements reflect the strong emphasis we have placed on student success," said Timothy Sands, Purdue's acting president. "With the efforts of faculty and staff, we continue to make strides in improving the academic experience of all our students."

Purdue also was cited in "The Foreign Student Factor," a category of universities with a significant number of international undergraduate students.

"It is gratifying to be acknowledged for our progress in ensuring that students who come to Purdue are successful," said Vic Lechtenberg, acting provost and chief academic officer. "It also is significant that our College of Engineering and Krannert School of Management continue to be recognized among the nation's best programs."

Purdue's College of Engineering and Krannert School of Management earned overall rankings of 10th and 21st, respectively, and both had highly ranked specialty programs.

The College of Engineering was 10th nationally among doctoral-granting universities, tied with Princeton University and the University of Texas, down from ninth last year.

In engineering specialties, Purdue retained its top ranking in biological/agricultural, was fourth in aerospace/aeronautical and tied for fourth in industrial.

Purdue University Calumet was ranked 44th, in a tie with three other universities, among engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's.

The Krannert School of Management tied for 21st with Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland, up from 24th in 2011. In management specialties, Purdue ranked third in production/operations management and fifth in quantitative analysis/methods.

In specialty rankings, only the top five are now available. Extended specialty rankings are scheduled to be released at a later date.

The data for determining the nation's best institutions of higher education come from questionnaires U.S.News sends to all accredited four-year colleges and universities. The magazine then determines its rankings based on measures that fall into seven broad categories: assessment by administrators at peer institutions; retention of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and "graduation rate performance," the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and those who actually do.

U.S.News bases its specialty rankings on a spring 2012 survey of deans and department heads at peer institutions. The programs receiving the most votes are listed.

U.S.News' college guidebook, "America's Best Colleges," contains a directory of the more than 1,400 institutions. Information on the rankings can be found at the U.S.News & World Report website at http://www.usnews.com/

More on Purdue's past U.S.News and other rankings is available at http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/rankings/index.html

Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: Timothy Sands, president@purdue.edu

Victor Lechtenberg, vll@purdue.edu