Michigan Tech Moves Up in US News Best Colleges Rankings--Environmental Engineering Ranks 13th in Nation

Michigan Technological University’s undergraduate education has moved up in the top tier of national universities, according to the latest edition of America’s Best Colleges, published annually by US News & World Report.

This year, Michigan Tech ranked 121st among 262 national universities, both public and private, compared to 124th last year. Among 162 public national universities, Michigan Tech ranked 60th.

The annual rankings were released online today and are scheduled to hit newsstands on Monday, August 25.

“We are proud that Michigan Tech’s national ranking is rising and that we are steadily improving in the indicators that US News & World Report uses,” said President Glenn D. Mroz. “We know that Michigan Tech offers an outstanding education."

The University’s Environmental Engineering program ranked 13th in the nation. The College of Engineering’s undergraduate program overall ranked 70th among universities offering doctoral degrees, the same ranking it received last year.

“The Environmental Engineering program at Michigan Tech was one of the early programs of its kind, and it has, over the years, continued to maintain high quality and have significant visibility, enabling it to be a top ranked program,” said William Bulleit, chair of environmental engineering.

Michigan Tech improved this year in four of the 10 categories that US News calls “indicators of excellence.” The University’s scores rose in average freshmen retention rate, actual graduation rate, acceptance rate and percentage of entering freshmen who are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, an indicator that the quality of students is rising. Peer assessment of Michigan Tech, entering freshmen SAT/ACT scores and average annual giving by alumni remained the same as last year.

The US News rankings also recognized Michigan Tech as one of 25 national universities whose students finish college with the least amount of educational debt. The average owed by a Michigan Tech graduate is $14,223, the least of any public university in Michigan. Nationwide, 66 universities averaged student debt more than twice that high.

Michigan Tech is one of three public universities in Michigan to make the top tier of the magazine’s undergraduate education rankings. The other two are the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Each year, US News & World Report ranks public and private undergraduate colleges and universities. This year, they evaluated the undergraduate programs at 1,400 institutions.

The rankings are based on criteria such as retention, which is the proportion of freshmen who return for their second year and graduate within six years; faculty resources, including class size, faculty salaries, student-faculty ratio and proportion of professors holding the highest degree in their fields; student selectivity, based on entering freshmen SAT or ACT scores and their high school class rank; amount of money spent on academic programs; and the percentage of alumni who gave to their school. Peer review—a survey of presidents, provosts and deans of admissions—also plays a key role.

For more information on the rankings, see www.usnews.com/colleges.

Michigan Technological University is a leading public research university, conducting research, developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, forestry and environmental sciences, computing, technology, business and economics, natural and physical sciences, arts, humanities and social sciences.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.