Texas A&M Engineering Programs Continue To Rise In U.S. News Rankings, Other Programs Also Ranked

Texas A&M University’s Dwight Look College of Engineering continues to move up in rankings by U.S. News & World Report for the best graduate degree programs in engineering, now ranking in a sixth-place tie among public universities and tied for 11th place overall.

Texas A&M programs in public affairs, business, education, science and the social sciences and humanities also are ranked in the magazine’s annual spring ratings of graduate-level degree programs in a variety of fields.

U.S. News’s 2014 rankings, released Tuesday (March 12), show that Texas A&M graduate engineering programs overall moved up one place in both categories and into a tie with the University of Texas at Austin. Texas A&M’s nuclear engineering program is rated the third-best of its type in the nation among public universities and fourth overall. Its biological and agricultural engineering program is rated the fifth-best program of its type in the nation, and its aerospace engineering program is ranked sixth among public institutions and tied for ninth place overall with Princeton.

In response to a growing need for engineers in Texas and nationally, Texas A&M officials announced earlier this year plans to expand the university’s engineering enrollment to 25,000 by the year 2025, with both undergraduate and graduate students included in the “25 for 25” initiative. Texas A&M currently enrolls more than 11,000 engineering students annually, placing it among the largest in the nation.

Overall enrollment for Texas A&M surpassed 50,000 last fall and ranks among the top seven universities nationally in size.

University officials note Texas A&M’s graduate program continues to grow in size as well as improve academically, surpassing the 10,000 milestone last fall for enrollment of students pursuing doctoral or master’s degrees.

Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin cited two key factors that have contributed to the university’s enhanced standing in graduate education.

“Unquestionably the faculty reinvestment program — our successful endeavor to add more faculty, including many with world-class credentials — has had a highly positive impact at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and has also enabled us to significantly expand our research portfolio,” Loftin stated.

Texas A&M’s investment in research now totals more than $700 million annually, ranking among the leaders nationally and first in Texas.

Texas A&M University's graduate program now enrolls more than 10,000 students

The U.S. News graduate school rankings released in the spring complement those announced annually in the fall for undergraduate programs at U.S. colleges and universities. Texas A&M programs at that level, particularly in engineering and business, also fare quite well, university officials note. Also, they point out that Texas A&M placed second nationally in the magazine’s “Great Schools, Great Prices” category, which is considered a key assessment that ties academic excellence to affordability.

The graduate programs in Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, Mays Business School and the College of Education and Human Development also are once again ranked by U.S. News, along with several departmental programs in science and the social sciences and humanities.

Among public affairs programs at universities throughout the nation, Texas A&M’s Bush School is tied for 21st among publics and once again ranks 33^rd overall — tied with three other institutions. The Mays Business School ranks 14th among full-time MBA programs at public universities and 35th overall. Texas A&M’s College of Education and Human Development ranks in a 35^th-place tie among public institutions and in a 47th-place tie overall.

In the College of Science, the chemistry program is eighth among public universities and tied overall at 19th. In the inorganic chemistry field, Texas A&M places sixth in both categories. The statistics department is tied for third place among similar entities at public institutions.

The political science program in the College of Liberal Arts is tied for 14th among public institutions and is in a three-way tie for 25th place overall. The economics program is in a four-way 21st-place tie among public institutions and in a similar tie for 42nd overall. The psychology program is in a five-way tie among publics at 41st and tied with 11 others at 67th overall.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662

Texas A&M Listed Among Top 100 “Most Powerful Global University Brands” By British Magazine

Texas A&M University is included in a list of the top 100 “most powerful global university brands” compiled by The Times Higher Education, a London-based magazine.

The Times Higher Education’s “World Reputation Rankings” employ the world’s largest “invitation-only academic opinion survey to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands,” according to a posting on the publication’s website, with a notation that the list is a spin-off of the annual “World University Rankings.”

The 2013 rankings are based on the judgments of “senior, published academics” garnered through 16,639 survey responses, according to the site, which includes a notation that “a university’s brand can be important in luring both professors and students.”

The University of Texas at Austin also is included in the magazine’s listings, which are topped by Harvard University.

This is the latest in a series of rankings and ratings in which Texas A&M is prominently noted, university officials pointed out. Most of the other surveys that feature Texas A&M focused on “best values” coupled with high-quality academic programs and research and service benefitting the nation.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662

Texas A&M Tops Among Texas Public Colleges In Kiplinger’s 2013 “Best Values” Rankings

Texas A&M University placed first in Texas in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance “best value” rankings of public colleges for 2012-13.

The widely distributed publication announced its “top 100 best values” in public schools today, ranking Texas A&M 18th nationally and tops in Texas. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill heads the list, just as it has done since the magazine began its ratings in 1998.

Kiplinger’s editors say they base their ratings on a combination of “outstanding education and economic value.” Janet Bodnar, the magazine’s editor, said, “We applaud this year’s top 100 schools for their efforts to maintain academic standards while meeting the financial needs of their students.”

Texas A&M has a long record of figuring prominently in rankings focusing on high quality of education coupled with costs. Most recently, Texas A&M placed second in a Washington Monthly survey that also includes values of research contributions and overall service to the nation.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4662

Texas A&M Ranked Among Nation’s Top 10 “Best Colleges To Work For”

Texas A&M University is ranked by Glassdoor as one of the nation’s “best colleges to work for”

Texas A&M University is ranked by Glassdoor, an online jobs and career community,  as one of the nation’s “best colleges to work for” — placing sixth overall, third among public institutions and first in Texas.

The prestigious business magazine released its “top 10” list Thursday (Sept. 27), with Brigham Young and California Institute of Technology heading it. The only public institutions to rank higher than Texas A&M are the University of Illinois and the University of Delaware.

Other institutions among the top 10 are Carnegie Mellon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of South Florida, University of California-Berkeley and University of Utah.

The rankings are based on an “employer rating” system that takes into consideration how valued employees feel by top administration, a shared commitment to students and to developing tomorrow’s leaders, the passion employees have for their work, a sense of family and tradition on campus and overall job satisfaction. Other items such as good benefits, a healthy work-life balance and a flexible atmosphere are also among the criteria.

This is the second job-related survey published this month in which Texas A&M fares well.

Texas A&M ranks tops among Texas public universities on the basis of median starting salaries for graduates and what they are earning midway in their careers, according to the latest national survey by PayScale, a Seattle-based compensation data firm. A PayScale survey published earlier this year by Bloomberg Businessweek placed Texas A&M among the top 10 public institutions nationally on a return-on-investment (ROI) basis — what graduates earn in their careers compared to their college costs.

Traditionally, Texas A&M ranks high in national surveys about colleges and universities, particularly those that have “best value” perspectives. Earlier this month, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas A&M second nationally among public universities in its “Great Schools, Great Prices” category.

Texas A&M University placed second nationally in Washington Monthly’s new rankings, released last month, that take into major consideration factors such as research and service. In the magazine’s 2012 rankings released Monday (Aug. 27), Texas A&M was runner-up to the University of California at San Diego.

SmartMoney magazine ranked Texas A&M first nationally in 2011 for “payback ratio”— which the magazine defined as the earnings levels of an institution’s graduates compared to what they paid in tuition, fees and related costs for their undergraduate educations. The Wall Street Journal ranked Texas A&M second nationally in a 2010 survey based on employers’ satisfaction with an institution’s graduates.

Texas A&M also fared well in a New York Times listing of what business leaders worldwide say are the top institutions from which they recruit — and ranked first in Texas. The New York Times spread, titled “What business leaders say,” is based on responses from “hundreds of chief executives and chairmen chosen from leading companies in 10 countries,” according to a notation explaining the selection process. The polling that produced the list of 150 institutions was conducted by the surveying company Emerging. Overall, Texas A&M placed eighth among public U.S. universities and first among all public or private universities in the Southwest or deep South.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services at (979) 845-4662

Texas A&M Ranks First In State, High Nationally For Salaries Among Graduates Of Public Universities

Texas A&M University ranks tops among Texas public universities on the basis of median starting salaries for graduates and what they are earning midway in their careers, according to the latest national survey by PayScale, a Seattle-based compensation data firm.

The PayScale survey showed Texas A&M graduates in the 2011-12 timeframe to have median starting salaries of $50,200 and mid-career annual earnings of $92,500.

Most of the public institutions elsewhere in the nation that outranked Texas A&M in the broad-based survey were in technical or otherwise highly specialized areas, according to an analysis of the findings. Of the institutions that do not have technical, maritime or mining notations in their names, the only public institutions ranking higher in starting salaries are the University of Illinois ($51,500) and the University of California at Berkeley ($51,400).

A PayScale survey published earlier this year by Bloomberg Businessweek placed Texas A&M among the top 10 public institutions nationally on a return-on-investment (ROI) basis — what graduates earn in their careers compared to their college costs.

Traditionally, Texas A&M ranks high in national surveys about colleges and universities, particularly those that have “best value” perspectives. Earlier this month, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas A&M second nationally among public universities in its “Great Schools, Great Prices” category. SmartMoney magazine ranked Texas A&M first nationally in 2011 for “payback ratio”— which the magazine defined as the earnings levels of an institution’s graduates compared to what they paid in tuition, fees and related costs for their undergraduate educations. The Wall Street Journal ranked Texas A&M second nationally in a 2010 survey based on employers’ satisfaction with an institution’s graduates.

Texas A&M also fared well in a New York Times listing of what business leaders worldwide say are the top institutions from which they recruit — and ranked first in Texas. The New York Times spread, titled “What business leaders say,” is based on responses from “hundreds of chief executives and chairmen chosen from leading companies in 10 countries,” according to a notation explaining the selection process. The polling that produced the list of 150 institutions was conducted by the surveying company Emerging. Overall, Texas A&M placed eighth among public U.S. universities and first among all public or private universities in the Southwest or deep South.

More than 3,000 employers, including 80 percent of the Fortune 100 companies, recruit at Texas A&M each year, according to records maintained at its Career Center. Personnel there also report that job opportunities posted for Texas A&M students increased 95 percent from 2009-10 to 2010-11 — from 4,600 to 9,100.

Overall results of Pay Scale’s latest survey can be viewed here.

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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services at (979) 845-4662