In the U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings released Tuesday, UF programs placed in the categories of “Best Business Schools,” “Best Engineering Schools” and “Best Education Schools,” among others.
The Hough Graduate School of Business saw the most improvement. Last year, the school ranked 19th among public schools and 44th overall. This year, it rose to 15th among public universities and 36th overall.
Director of Hough Graduate Programs Selcuk Erenguc said he is glad to see the school recognized as one of the top Master’s of Business Administration programs in the country. He attributes the improved score to top-quality students, a world-class faculty and a great administrative staff.
“We’re not complacent, though,” Erenguc said. “We are in a continuous improvement mode in all aspects.”
In fact, the school is currently in the process of updating and improving the curriculum.
The College of Engineering ranked 38th overall and ranked third in biological/agricultural engineering. The college’s Director of Communications and Marketing Helen Goh said the school does not linger on the rankings.
“We say, ‘Oh great, very nice,’ and then we move on,” she said. “[It] is obviously important … for grad students choosing what program to apply to. But it’s not the only set of metrics we use to measure our performance.”
The other programs, though ranked highly, approach the future in a similar way.
“[Our ranking] is a continuation of a high national standing,” said College of Education Director of News and Communications Larry Lansford. “But we’re shooting for even higher.”
The College of Education ranked 30th among public education colleges and 40th among both public and private universities.
Lansford points out that though the college decreased by six spots, it should not be seen as a decline.
“We improved in five of six quality measures that [are used] to evaluate the school. In the variables that are objective, we improved,” he said. “We’re on an upward climb.”
