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.

RIT graduate degree programs in engineering, science, and business were featured in the U.S. News & World Report 2023 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released in March. The full data can be found in the U.S. News Graduate School Compass. This year, RIT:

• Tied for 69th 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 for:
  • 66th in biomedical engineering;
  • 87th in chemical engineering
  • 69th in computer engineering;
  • 63rd in electrical engineering; 
  • 42nd in industrial engineering.

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.

• Tied 119th in biology for the bioinformatics MS program offered by the College of Science; and
• Tied for 102nd to 134th for the full-time MBA program, offered by Saunders College of Business.

Each year, U.S. News measures the quality of professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, and nursing to assist prospective students in comparing programs. Rankings are based on statistical surveys of more than 2,150 programs, and from reputation surveys sent to more than 23,200 academics and professionals in fall 2021 and early 2022.

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

Peer assessment data about 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. 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. 

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

• Tied for 74th among computer science programs, offered in Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences; and
• Tied for 83rd among physics, offered in the College of Science;

These RIT programs remain ranked by U.S. News as follows:

• Tied for 23rd among fine arts program and tied for sixth in photography, offered in the College of Art and Design; and
• Tied 108th among physician assistant programs, offered by the College of Health Sciences and Technology.