Baylor Programs Get High Marks In U.S. News Survey
Dr. Steven Eisenbarth, professor of engineering and associate dean in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, consults with a student on his project.
by Alan Hunt
The entrepreneurship and engineering programs at Baylor University are highly ranked in the latest listing of America's Best Colleges, compiled by U.S. News & World Report. The survey was announced Friday morning.
Baylor's entrepreneurship program in the Hankamer School of Business is ranked in the U.S. News top 10, as the ninth best entrepreneurship program in the nation. The magazine rated Baylor's overall undergraduate business program 62nd among the nation's top 148 best programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The magazine ranked a total of 366 accredited undergraduate business programs.
"It is once again gratifying to be recognized by a national publication for the excellence of our programs," said Dr. Terry S. Maness, dean of the business school. "These rankings are simply confirmation of what we already know: The faculty and students at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business are some of the best in the nation."
Baylor's engineering program is ranked 20th in the nation in the magazine's survey of best undergraduate engineering programs without doctoral programs. This is an advance of six places for Baylor's program, which last year was ranked 26th in the survey.
"I attribute this rise to the new and progressive initiatives of the school primarily based on Baylor 2012, the university's 10-year vision," said Dr. Benjamin S. Kelley, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science and professor of engineering. "We have focused on the unifying themes of academic excellence and community excellence. Our world-class faculty and outstanding student body are receiving recognition."
The magazine says its program rankings are based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program they're familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Baylor's engineering program garnered an academic reputation score of 3.1, and the undergraduate business program received a score of 3.0.
A total of 82 accredited programs are included in the engineering program survey of schools nationwide whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's degree. Baylor is ranked highest of the five Texas schools included in the survey.
The magazine's overall Best National Universities rankings include a listing of 249 top national universities (162 public and 87 private). Baylor is placed among the second tier of schools ranked 52nd to 130th. Other second-tier Texas schools include Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University and Texas Christian University. The rankings consist of four separate tiers.
U.S. News & World Report says it uses various factors to arrive at the best college rankings, including academic reputation, freshman student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, class size, alumni giving and graduation rate performance.
Several Baylor programs also figured prominently in the Best Graduate Schools for 2003 rankings published earlier this year by U.S. News & World Report. Baylor's Law School, Louise Herrington School of Nursing, and its speech pathology, physical therapy, health services administration and doctoral program in clinical psychology were all included in the listing.
The U.S. News rankings can be found at www.usnews.com.