Photo Credit: University of Texas at Austin

By Taylor Smith 

U.S. News and World Report recently released the 2020 rankings of the Best Graduate Engineering Programs in the United States, according to a methodology that accounts for selectivity (acceptance rate), faculty resources, student-faculty ratio, research activity, total doctoral degrees awarded, GRE scores, peer assessment scores, and more. Statistical data was collected in fall 2018 and early 2019. 

Those interested in pursuing a graduate degree in engineering have a variety of fields of research to focus on. For example, aerospace engineering is concerned with the production of aircraft and spacecraft, while environmental engineering is devoted to designing and implementing technological solutions to environmental problems. Civil engineering generally involves planning and completing large infrastructure projects like bridges, highways, and skyscrapers. An emerging field is biomedical engineering, a type of engineering that seeks to create products to improve human health. Such students are typically passionate about developing life-saving technologies. 

Engineering students typically have an excellent grasp of math, science, and problem solving. Strong computer science skills and design expertise are also required. Employment prospects for engineering students are strong, with many recent graduates being recruited to work in the technology field. The rise of cloud computing is driving the need for cloud pros who have the ability to measure, analyze, and develop insights based on the vast amounts of data on the internet. More than just IT knowledge, cloud staffers must also have a strong grounding in business, finance, and cloud security concerns. 

Below are the top 15 graduate engineering programs. For a complete listing, visit /www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. Stanford University
3. University of California – Berkeley 
4. Carnegie Mellon University 
5. California Institute of Technology 
6. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
7. Georgia Institute of Technology 
8. Purdue University – West Lafayette
9. University of Southern California
10. University of Illinois – Urbana — Champaign
11. Columbia University 
12. University of California – San Diego
13. University of Texas – Austin 
14. Cornell University
15. Texas A&M University – College Station