U.S News and World Report
In U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2009" survey released today, Virginia Tech maintains its spot in the Top 100 universities at No.71. The College of Engineering retains its spot in the Top 15 engineering schools at No. 14. The Pamplin College of Business retains its spot in the Top 50 business schools at No. 43.
The Virginia Tech College of Engineering, is traditionally rated one of the top 20 engineering schools in the United States that offer doctorates. Like last year, it shares its current undergraduate program ranking of 14th with Johns Hopkins University and Northwestern University. This places the three schools among the top three percent of the more than 600 institutions accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology.
Richard C. Benson, dean of the College of Engineering and the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Chair of Engineering said, "It is certainly gratifying to realize what a high standing we have in the eyes of other engineering educators. So much of Virginia Tech's fine reputation comes from the extraordinary talent of our undergraduate students. It is an annually-renewed success story made possible by the bright students that choose the Virginia Tech College of Engineering for their studies, and the wonderful education that they receive from our dedicated and innovative faculty members."
Among undergraduate business programs, the Pamplin College of Business is ranked No. 43 overall, along with eight other schools, and No. 24 among those at public universities.
The Pamplin College of Business' overall ranking keeps it among the top 10 percent of the 512 United States business schools with undergraduate programs accredited by AACSB International -- the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The business rankings are solely based on a survey of deans and senior faculty at schools accredited by the association.
Richard E. Sorensen, dean of the Pamplin College of Business said, “The college continues to work towards enhancing the high quality of its programs, developing the leadership and technology skills and ethical values of its students, and preparing them for global business challenges. We are strengthening our curriculum to give students an even better education than before.”
The college, for example, is launching a minor in business diversity this fall. “We believe that this academic minor, which may be the first such at any university, offers a good way for our undergraduates to learn more about diversity and multicultural issues in the workplace and their impact on individual effectiveness and corporate competitiveness,” said Dean Sorensen.
With Virginia Tech ranked at No. 30, Virginia is one of two states (California is the other) with three or more schools ranked among the nation's 30 best public universities.
The individual college rankings released by U.S. News & World Report are based solely on peer assessment surveys of deans and senior faculty at accredited business and engineering schools.
U.S. News & World Report bases the overall university rankings, which have been published annually since 1983, on a number of criteria, including peer assessment, retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rates, and alumni giving.