P.C. Rossin College of Engineering & Applied Science Moves Up
in National Graduate School Rankings

Lehigh continues to rank among the top national research universities in the nation.   U.S. News & World Report released its 2005 Best Graduate School rankings on April 2, 2004,  and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science ranked 37th, up from 41st.

Graduate programs at 185 engineering schools that granted doctoral degrees were surveyed and ranked according to reputation among deans of engineering and graduate schools, and recruiters, student selectivity, and faculty research activity. While rankings are at best imperfect, they are a way that many people judge, at least partially, colleges and universities.

"Lehigh is pleased to continue to be highly positioned among the nation’s very best universities in national media rankings," says Gregory Farrington, president of Lehigh. "I extend a well-deserved congratulations to Dean Mohamed El-Aasser for continuing to keep Lehigh's graduate programs in engineering among the most highly regarded in the country."

"This ranking is an outcome of the dedication of the engineering faculty and our commitment to an integrated approach that enhances the visibility of our outstanding educational programs, faculty activities and graduate students," says Mohamed El-Aasser, provost at Lehigh.

"We will continue to work on repositioning our college to be among the top engineering institutions in the nation by hiring the best faculty and creating the optimum environment to ensure their academic success, as well as creating programs that attract the best graduate students."

Farrington also notes that while national media rankings are important, they are certainly not the only measure of a graduate program's strength.

"Regular dialogue with our students, employers and others consistently confirms for us that Lehigh is widely known as one of America's most selective and highly regarded private research universities," he says.

"The best way for prospective graduate students to evaluate whether a university is well-suited for their needs is to visit the campus and speak with professors and students, sit in on classes, and tour the facilities to gain a sense of the campus community."

To view a PDF (Adobe Acrobat required) of the top 50 rankings for engineering colleges, click here.