RIT graduate programs ranked among best in nation by ‘U.S. News & World Report’

Graduate degree programs at Rochester Institute of Technology were named among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

In the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools 2024, RIT’s Saunders College of Business tied for 97th as one of the top full-time MBA programs.

New methodologies for ranking full-time MBA programs placed more emphasis on earnings. This ranking factor assessed how each school’s post-graduate salaries across different professions compared with other schools’ post-graduate salaries in those professions.

This change was made to account for the importance of compensation for prospective business school students, the varying vocational interests of students at different schools, and to more fully refine the impact business schools have on their graduates’ starting salaries.

RIT tied 73rd overall in the nation for the best graduate engineering school in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering based on statistical indicators that measure the quality of faculty, research, and students.

Rankings of RIT’s specialty engineering programs were based on peer assessment of program excellence. These programs tied:

•    48th in industrial engineering;

•    65th in computer engineering;

•    69th in biomedical engineering;

•    75th in electrical engineering;

•    77th in mechanical engineering; and

•    90th in chemical engineering.

RIT graduate engineering degrees ranked in the U.S. News survey include the combined biomedical and chemical engineering Ph.D. program, the combined electrical and computer engineering Ph.D., and MS programs in electrical engineering, computer engineering, and industrial and systems engineering.

This year, U.S. News incorporated new ranking indicators based on publications and citations for engineering programs that grant doctorates. It also place a higher emphasis on a school’s output of graduates with doctorates than graduates with master’s degrees.

Typically, US News & World Report ranks annually graduate programs in six fields—business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing to help prospective students make informed decisions. These data-driven rankings have been based on enrollment numbers, job placement rates, faculty statistics, and other indicators.

U.S. News also periodically ranks programs in 12 academic disciplines based on academic reputation. This year, RIT’s computer science MS program in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences tied 70th in the nation.

RIT programs ranked in prior years, based on peer assessment, remain tied:

• 65th for the health care management MS program offered by the College of Health Sciences and Technology;
• 78th for physics (astrophysical sciences and technology Ph.D. program) offered by the College of Science;
• 188th for the physician assistant MS program offered by the College of Health Sciences and Technology.
• 6th for photography and 23rd among fine arts MFA program, offered in the College of Art and Design; and
• 119th for the bioinformatics MS program offered by the College of Science.

Peer assessment data regarding the academic quality of programs came from deans, program directors, and senior faculty. U.S. News also surveyed professionals who hire or work with new graduates with degrees from the six disciplines ranked annually.

The complete rankings are available at U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools.