WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue University’s online engineering remains among the nation’s elite in the newest U.S. News & World Report rankings of the Best Online Programs. The rankings, released Tuesday (Jan. 25), have Purdue in the No. 1 spot in four specific categories, and the university’s full array of online engineering programs is at No. 3 for the second year in a row.
Purdue online master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering all rank No. 1 for 2022, just as they were in 2021. Additionally, Engineering Management rose to No. 1 in its category, up to two spots from a year ago. The online Civil Engineering master is No. 2, also the same as 2021.
Collectively, online master’s programs from the Purdue College of Engineering ranked third among 112 colleges and universities considered for the ranking, again the same as in 2021. Purdue’s online engineering master’s programs trail only Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles. Purdue is tied with Pennsylvania State University in the third spot — ahead of three other Big Ten schools listed in the top 10: the universities of Illinois (sixth), Michigan (seventh), and Wisconsin (ninth).
“Online learning is now proven as essential to the future of higher ed,” said Mung Chiang, executive vice president for strategic initiatives and the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. “Purdue Engineering continues to expand the scope of offerings, broaden the range of students and university and corporate partners, and innovate the use of virtual labs and machine learning for human learning. Our faculty and staff have also elevated the level of excellence, as recognized again in this top-three ranking in the country.”
Purdue also ranks No. 5 in online engineering master’s programs for veterans. The newest rankings can be viewed online.
“Student success is our primary focus,” said Dimitrios Peroulis, Purdue’s Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Reilly Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Besides our dedicated faculty members, our online students can engage with a variety of advisors, success coaches, and, of course, their on-campus and online peers. We will keep innovating in this space to provide additional learning opportunities for our growing Purdue Engineering online community.”
In other U.S. News rankings, the Purdue College of Education online master’s programs rank No. 22, up 20 places from 42 in 2021.
Purdue is engaged in an initiative to build a best-in-class collection of online courses and programs to better serve a variety of students, professionals and corporate partners with high-quality offerings that are accessible, affordable and demonstrably beneficial. Offerings from throughout the Purdue system are accessible through the unified web portal at online.purdue.edu.
“Even before the pandemic, Purdue recognized that a diverse online portfolio meeting the high academic standards that Purdue is known for was essential to its mission and its future, indeed the future of higher education in general,” said Gary Bertoline, senior vice president for Purdue Online and Learning Innovation. “These latest rankings are just one more sign that we’re headed in the right direction. We will continue to strive toward leadership in the online education space.”
The organizers of the annual U.S. News rankings analyze such factors as the quality of students entering a program; online teaching practices so students stay enrolled and graduate on time; how the programs employ technologies to allow students flexibility; and the quality of student support services, career guidance and financial aid resources.
Also weighed are faculty credentials and training, including the degree to which online instructors’ credentials mirror those of on-campus faculty and the training instructors receive to teach distance learners.
In addition, U.S. News conducts a peer assessment survey of high-ranking academic officials, in the case of the engineering rankings deans of engineering schools and top online learning officials, as an important element of reviewing Purdue and other institutions for ranking.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.
Information Jim Bush, jsbush@purdue.edu, Greg Kline, gkline@purdue.edu
Sources: Mung Chiang, chiang@purdue.edu, Dimitrios Peroulis, dperouli@purdue.edu, Gary Bertoline, bertoline@purdue.edu
