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

Rochester Institute of Technology graduate degree programs are among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report annual statistical survey of graduate programs.

Several RIT graduate degree programs were ranked in the U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released in April. The complete rankings can be found at USNews.com.

This year, RIT is:

Tied for 63rd in the nation for the best graduate engineering programs, offered by Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Rankings of RIT’s specialty engineering programs are based on peer assessments by department heads in each area. They are tied:

• 50th in industrial engineering;
• 64th in computer engineering;
• 64th in biomedical engineering;
• 66th in electrical engineering; and
• 84th in chemical engineering.

This year, U.S. News published fresh academic reputation rankings for additional graduate programs, and RIT tied:

• 65th for the health care management MS program offered by the College of Health Sciences and Technology;
• 77th for computer science MS program offered by Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences;
• 78th for physics (astrophysical sciences and technology Ph.D. program) offered by the College of Science;
• 112th  for the full-time MBA program, offered by Saunders College of Business; and
• 188th for the physician assistant MS program offered by the College of Health Sciences and Technology.

Beyond the six disciplines listed annually, U.S. News also periodically ranks graduate programs in science, social sciences and humanities, fine arts, health, and other areas based on academic reputation surveys. These RIT programs remain ranked by U.S. News and are tied:

• 6th for photography and 23rd among fine arts program, offered in the College of Art and Design; and
• 119th for the bioinformatics MS program offered by the College of Science.

Each year, U.S. News measures the quality of professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing to assist prospective students. Rankings are based on statistical surveys of more than 2,214 programs, and from reputation surveys sent to academics and professionals in fall 2022 and early 2023.

Statistical indicators measured quality of a school’s faculty, research, and students. Also considered were graduates’ achievements linked to their degrees, such as starting salaries and how quickly they found employment in their chosen field. 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.

Note: RIT’s 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.