Building on an already strong reputation as one of the top public universities in America, the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering is now ranked No. 23 overall among public universities by U.S. News & World Report (USNWR), moving up one spot since the magazine’s assessment of “Best Graduate Schools” last year, and has earned high marks from industry leaders looking for top-shelf engineering talent.

Six of the engineering college’s disciplines — computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, materials engineering, mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering — are listed among the Top 15 programs among public institutions. The Electrical Engineering program’s No. 14 ranking is the highest ever for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering specialty.

“The upward trajectory of our engineering graduate programs as evidenced by rankings among the top public peer engineering institutions is a testament to our commitment to attracting and retaining eminent faculty,” said Cammy R. Abernathy, Ph.D., Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. “We are grateful to the investment from the state and all our stakeholders in support of our college’s commitment to experiential learning, where our faculty and their graduate students continue to produce impactful, world-class research that not only serves to draw the best and brightest engineering students from all over the world, but also positions our graduate engineering programs at the University of Florida as a perennial leader in the nation.”

This year, the college also broke into the Top 15 bracket and attained the No. 13 position among industry recruiters balloted by USNWR. A consistent emphasis on leadership mentoring, hands-on and interdisciplinary research — some of them conducted in real-world settings and targeted at solving the most critical societal problems — have meant that Gator Engineering graduates are among the most well-prepared in the workforce. The UF AI University Initiative further boosts the demand for these engineering graduates, immersing them in multidisciplinary, artificial intelligence technology that prepares them for success in what has been called the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

This year’s rankings saw the following departments within the engineering college make significant moves:

• The Electrical Engineering program in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering made a big leap this year into the Top 15, moving up three spots from #17 to #14.
• Industrial Engineering in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering edged closer to the Top 10, moving to #13 from last year’s #14 position.
• The Department of Materials Science and Engineering continues to rank among the best public graduate engineering programs in the country, moving from #9 to #8.
• The Nuclear Engineering program within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering is ranked #12, and Civil Engineering within the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment (ESSIE) is ranked #17. Both remained the same from last year.