Engineering Rankings

[LindenCy]

Hey everyone. I am a graduate from the EE program at Iowa State (1998) and wondered about how our school ranks. When I was entering ISU I remember us being like #7 or #9 on a list I saw, but whenever I find a ranking now we are like 40-45, which doesn't seem so good for the caliber of programs we say we have.

I just want to see why our rankings don't seem as great as they were or should be.

 

[frontrangeclone]

LindenCy- are you talking about how the Engineering programs rank nationally or the university in general? I kind of compare college rankings to rankings of athletic recruiting classes. Often, the big name research universities are always at the top of the list every year and just switch position within the top 20... that is understandable considering the funding those schools get, which usually results in more papers published, PhD's produced etc.. etc..
I'm very proud to have graduated from ISU and my degree has taken me places. However, just b/c ISU places a large emphasis on engineering doesn't mean it is one of the best engineering schools. Don't take that the wrong way, ISU engineering is very good of course, but so are a lot of other institutions across the nation. I think another small part of the perception problem is the bias against the midwest, particularly Iowa. Not only does ISU deal with this, but EIU does as well. My sister is a doctor and did her MD and residency in Iowa City. She would tell me how much attitude she would get from east coast physicians while at conferences b/c she was from lowly Iowa (even though UIHC is pretty reputable).

 

[iceclone]

The engineering rankings have not changed in a significant manner since you graduated in 1998. Here is a sample of the recent US News rankings:

The magazine's latest graduate rankings, now online at US News & World Report - Breaking News, World News, Business News, and America's Best Colleges - USNews.com, rank Iowa State's College of Engineering 24th among public universities. The college ranks 45th among all 199 schools granting doctoral degrees in engineering.

The college's ranking reflects the top-25 rankings among public universities for seven of its departments: aerospace engineering, and industrial and manufacturing systems engineering ranked 15th; materials science and engineering ranked 20th; chemical and biological engineering, and mechanical engineering ranked 22nd; civil, construction and environmental engineering ranked 23rd; electrical and computer engineering ranked 24th.

Source: News Service: Iowa State University

U.S. News & World Report also ranked undergraduate engineering programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Among public universities' engineering schools whose highest degree is a doctorate, Iowa State is tied for 22nd with Arizona State University, Tempe; and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Overall, Iowa State's engineering program ranks 37th, up from 39th last year. Iowa State is tied with Arizona State; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn.; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

Source: News Service: Iowa State University

 

[LindenCy]

Thanks for the info guys. I am a true blue Cyclone as my posts will attest, but was curious. I know ISU has a good rep among employers.

 

[TykeClone]

I know ISU has a good rep among employers.

In the end, isn't that what matters?

 

[DMBclone]

The engineering rankings have not changed in a significant manner since you graduated in 1998. Here is a sample of the recent US News rankings:



Source: News Service: Iowa State University



Source: News Service: Iowa State University

The thing i can't ever figure out is how do you tie with other universities for positions? How can 4 universities be ranked 20th out of 48th or something like that? Other than that, I have found that the company I work for they go to ISU grads because they know they will work hard and are determined to succeed.

 

[scottie33]

I also think they rank the schools by the amount of research that is being done, PhD's, and paper's wrote like you said. I know that many employers come to ISU to hire Engineer's because of previous Engineers they have hired from ISU are leap years ahead of Engineers from other schools. I can attest to the Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering fields because I am a Con E, and have had roomates that are both in Civil and Aerospace Engineering.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I was talking to a professor about this because he has a kid who is looking at ISU for engineering. He said that a lot of people put emphasis on a name rather than the product. Similar to what consumers do. Engineers at Iowa State get the same quality of education as other engineering schools (maybe somewhat less-so than the MITs, Harvards, etc) but the only difference is the name.

Unfortunately, some people who hire young engineers put this same emphasis on the name. I wish that some people could simply look at education in a vacuum, but its simply not the case. However, seems that ISU engineers do just fine in the real world.

 

[frontrangeclone]

I'm not an engineer myself but I work with a lot of Civvies in Neb. and CO. and they have nothing but good things to say about ISU engineers they've worked with in the past... so there is my non-scientific input on hard evidence from industry on ISU's quality of engineers.....:smile:

 

[pulse]

If you look at the US News list, for example, the entire Top 50 list are all good engineering schools. Schools also of course have stronger majors within the Engineering departments themselves.

 

[mramseyISU]

Those rankings are all based on graduate students. Masters and PHD students graduated and how many papers they get published in. They have zero to do with undergraduate education. I'm a little bitter about my education because all the budget cuts that were made during my time and my department chair didn't know her butt hole from a post hole. So I may not have the most unbiased opinion on the subject.

 

[jj-cyclones]

So were does our Communication Studies program rank? Cause thats me!!!

 

[abcguyks]

I've been in engineering for over twenty years working at a company that employs literally thousands of engineers. In my experience, ISU has one of the best engineering schools in the midwest based on the quality of the graduates. In fact our CEO is an ISU alum, but my division president is a graduate of EIU.

 

[throwittoblythe]

We had someone from a local engineering company talk to our class about life after graduation. Now, you can take this with a grain of salt because she was in a room full of ISU students: she said that on average, if they hire an ISU grad (civil engr) and an iowa grad it will take the iowa grad 1-2 years to catch up with the ISU grad because of their educational background.

 

[abcguyks]

We had someone from a local engineering company talk to our class about life after graduation. Now, you can take this with a grain of salt because she was in a room full of ISU students: she said that on average, if they hire an ISU grad (civil engr) and an iowa grad it will take the iowa grad 1-2 years to catch up with the ISU grad because of their educational background.

I would generally agree with this (there are exceptions). Same thing also applies when comparing engineers from KState and KU. KState's engineers are much better prepared for the workplace than KU's.

 

[ia8manfan]

Going to Iowa for an engineering degree is like coming to Iowa State for a law degree.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Going to iowa for an engineering degree is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer :wink:

 

[zumbro clones]

I'm an ISU Engineering grad. One of the best things about ISU is the Engineering placement office. They work extremely hard for graduates and companies enjoy working with them.