U.S. News & World Report Ranks RIT Among Top Master's Universities

Rochester Institute of Technology has again received high marks in the annual U.S. News & World Report: America’s Best Colleges. Since the magazine began ranking colleges in 1983, RIT has consistently been listed among the top regional universities.

RIT ranked sixth overall in the “Best Universities – Master’s (North region)” category, and scored first in peer assessment, which is a survey of presidents, provosts and deans from other universities judging a school’s academic excellence. In the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category, RIT ranked sixth among master’s universities in the North. The formula used to determine which schools offer the best value relates to a school’s academic quality to the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of financial aid. The higher the quality of program and the lower the cost, the better the deal, according to U.S. News.

In the “Programs to Look For” category, RIT was listed as one of only 12 colleges nationally recognized for excellence in the “internships/co-ops” category. It is the fourth straight year RIT has made the list – based on nominations from college presidents, chief academic officers and deans – since U.S. News began the category in 2002.

In the “Best undergraduate engineering programs,” RIT ranked 57th in the “highest degree is a doctorate” category. It should be noted that RIT was moved to the high-level doctoral-degree ranking in 2003, after it launched its new microsystems Ph.D. program, the first of its kind in the nation.

RIT President Albert J. Simone said the rankings reflect the high value of RIT’s excellent academic programs and commitment to student success. “At RIT, teaching, learning, and scholarship are our central enterprises. Our continued recognition in the U.S. News & World Report rankings reaffirms RIT’s strong commitment to lead higher education in preparing students for successful careers in a global society.”

Emmanuel Contomanolis, associate vice president and director of the Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services, said: “RIT is pleased and proud to be recognized as a national leader in cooperative education. This highlights what RIT has traditionally done so well: provide students a real-world experience as part of their degree program.”

U.S. News Background:

U.S News bases its comprehensive university rankings on peer assessment, graduation and freshmen retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving.

The America’s Best Colleges newsstand book and the weekly edition of U.S. News & World Report will both go on sale Monday, Aug. 22.