August 19, 2005
U.S.News ranks Purdue's undergrad engineering, business among best nationally
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University ranked among the top 25 public universities nationally, and its undergraduate programs in engineering and business are among the best in the country, according to U.S.News & World Report magazine rankings released today (Friday, Aug. 19).
Purdue's College of Engineering tied with Carnegie Mellon and Cornell universities for eighth nationally – the same as last year's ranking – among doctoral-granting universities. Purdue engineering ranked fourth among public institutions.
The Krannert School of Management tied for 12th in the nation – up from No. 17 last year – and tied for seventh among public doctoral-granting business schools.
Overall, Purdue's undergraduate programs tied for No. 21 – up one spot from last year's survey – nationally among public doctoral degree-granting universities. Harvard and Princeton universities tied for the top spot among all doctoral degree-granting universities. The University of California-Berkeley garnered the top spot among public doctoral-granting universities. For the second consecutive year, Indiana University tied for 30th overall nationally among public universities.
"Those of us in the Purdue community continue to be very pleased that Purdue ranks among the top 25 public universities in the country," said Provost Sally Mason. "I am especially pleased to see the tremendous progress of our Krannert School of Management. Their hard work to grow the resources of the school has clearly helped propel them to a No. 12 ranking this year.
"Finally, I could not be more excited to see our engineering college firmly embedded within the top 10 best programs in this country. Dean Linda Katehi, her leadership team and faculty are clearly focused on achieving excellence, and they are enjoying great success in their endeavors."
Purdue's engineering specialties ranked as follows:
• Agricultural engineering, No. 2.
• Industrial/manufacturing engineering, tied for No. 2.
• Aerospace/aeronautical engineering, tied for No. 4.
Krannert's specialty undergraduate programs rankings are:
• Production/operations management, No. 3 and the top-ranked public university.
• Quantitative analysis, No. 4 and the top-ranked public university.
Unlike rankings in other years, this year U.S.News only released specialty rankings for the top five universities in each category. The complete lists of rankings for engineering and management specializations are scheduled to be released today (Friday, Aug. 19), and the additional Purdue rankings will be available on the Purdue home page .
Katehi, Purdue's John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, said this year's rankings exhibit the success of the college's strategic plan.
"We're happy to be again ranked among the top 10 engineering programs in the nation," she said. "We're in a growth mode in terms of both faculty and facilities, and we're not finished yet. Our goal remains to offer a preeminent educational experience to our students – both undergraduate and graduate."
Richard A. Cosier, dean and Leeds Professor of Management, said, "We are especially pleased to move up in the rankings because of our hard work to enhance our undergraduate program over the past year. We've added an undergraduate management communication center and increased international study opportunities.
"We've also added resources to our career-placement effort and offered a new course about how to function as a member of a high-performing team."
The top undergraduate business school was the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Indiana University's Kelley School of Business ranked 11th in the poll, the same as last year. The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business tied for No. 22.
The top-ranked engineering undergraduate doctoral degree-granting universities in the poll were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology topped the poll of best undergraduate engineering programs whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's. Purdue University Calumet tied for No. 32, up from a tie for No. 47 last year.
Purdue's College of Engineering is made up of 13 schools, departments and programs: aeronautics and astronautics, agricultural and biological, biomedical, chemical, civil, construction engineering and management, electrical and computer, engineering education, industrial, interdisciplinary, materials, mechanical, and nuclear.
In the 2004-05 academic year, the college included more than 6,400 undergraduate students and almost 2,500 graduate students, making it one of the largest in the nation.
The Krannert School of Management has 2,550 undergraduate students enrolled this year, majoring in management, accounting, industrial management and economics.
The data for determining the nation's best institutions of higher education come from questionnaires sent to all accredited four-year colleges and universities. The magazine then determines its rankings based on several measures that fall into seven broad categories: peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and graduation rate.
The magazine bases its specialty rankings on ratings by deans and senior faculty in those disciplines at peer institutions.
Information on the rankings can be found at the U.S.News & World Report Web site. The magazine's college guidebook, "America's Best Colleges," contains a directory of more than 1,400 institutions.
The U.S.News and World Report issue ranking America's best colleges and universities will be on newsstands Monday (Aug. 22).
Writers: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu
Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Sources: Sally Mason, (765) 494-9709, sfmason@purdue.edu
Linda P.B. Katehi, (765) 494-1871, (765) 494-5346
Richard A. Cosier, (765) 494-4366, rcosier@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web site:
U.S. News and World Report undergraduate rankings
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