<p>I was just wondering what makes certain schools' engineering programs "the best." Stanford, MIT, UMich are all in this category (in their respective fields) but what makes them so distinguished? Why aren't schools like Columiba or Princeton in this category? Just wondering how engineering is ranked. Thanks.</p>
<p>I also want to know. I have compared sample exams from Stanford(which is ranked 3rd) with exams that i've taken at Penn State(ranked no. 18) and i dont see the difference at all.</p>
<p>Can you tell me where you found rankings beyond tenth? I've been looking everywhere. Thanks.</p>
<p>Research quality is important to engineering schools. Beyond research opportunities for students, the schools with the best research funding and facilities tend to get the professors that are at the top of their field.</p>
<p>rankings are based on a lot of things: research, fundings, faculty comprised of PhDs etc. and these things have no bearing on undergraduate education. in the end the only factor is probably the name of the school....stanford is more prestigious than Penn, but that doesn't mean that it's undergraduate engineering curriculum is any better.</p>
<p>jhchen. There used to be tons of 'engineering undergrad rankings' threads. I cant find any of them. The admin probably deleted the old threads.</p>
<p>Citan, so basically what you are saying is Stanford won't make me a better engineer any more than Penn will? What do you think I should look for in a college if I want to go into engineering or is there a better way to measure academic excellence for a college?</p>
<p>jhchen: being a better engineer depends on you and you only. going to stanford or berkeley will not automatically make you a better engineer. to measure academic excellence I would look at individual programs, curriculum, professors, co-op/internships, and overall reputation of the school's engineering department. I would not pick an engineering school solely on rankings alone.</p>
<p>Higher ranked schools tend to attract the best students though. More competitive students drive each other to higher standards.</p>
<p>"Higher ranked schools tend to attract the best students though. More competitive students drive each other to higher standards."</p>
<p>In many comparisons, this is the only thing that seperates high and low ranked schools.</p>
<p>I'm a student at Carnegie Mellon (top ranked for computer science), and after taking to many of my friends at other schools (University of Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Houston), I've concluded that my school offers a larger range of more specific courses (graph theory and combinatorics rather than just 'discrete math' and so on). There is more of an emphasis on concepts and problem solving than just programming. It's also a lot easier to get involved in research at a school that's doing alot more of it.</p>
<p>Given that most engineering programs are ABET accredited my understanding is that there isn't a huge difference between programs. </p>
<p>As far as more courses or more research opportunities, the ungrad curriculum seems so packed as it is, and with fitting in co-ops, that I wonder how much time there is for the extras anyway?</p>
<p>When looking at the US News rankings it is important to read what they are based on -- and it doesn't sound especially scientific. Just because there is a distinguished faculty present does not guarantee a stellar ungrad experience (in my opinion). </p>
<p>Here is what US News says the engineering rankings are based on:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Methodology: Best undergraduate engineering programs</p>
<p>The U.S. News rankings of undergraduate programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology are based solely on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program they are familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). The deans and faculty members were surveyed in spring 2005. We have separate rankings for schools that offer doctoral degrees in engineering and schools whose terminal degree in engineering is a bachelor's or master's. Research at the graduate level often influences the undergraduate curriculum, and schools that have doctoral programs in engineering tend to offer the widest possible range of offerings. Students who prefer a program focused on undergraduates can consult the list of top programs at schools whose terminal degree is the bachelor's or master's. Fifty percent of those surveyed returned ratings of the group whose terminal degree in engineering is a bachelor's or master's; 59 percent did so for the doctoral group. We also asked for nominations of the best programs in specialty areas; those receiving the most mentions in each appear here. Schools offering any courses in a specialty are eligible to be ranked in that specialty.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Here is a pertinent thread on which I received some helpful advice:</p>
<p>You have to really, really analyze down to the specialty of the major when comparing schools.</p>
<p>For instance, MIT has the best overall math program, but NYU is #1 in applied mathematics.</p>