Virginia Tech ranked as elite among world universities
Virginia Tech is ranked as an elite institution in 13 of the 30 subjects evaluated at more than 3,000 universities worldwide. The elite status means that Virginia Tech is in the top 200 in those programs that were ranked at the institutions.
The overall ranking for Virginia Tech when compared to the total ranked universities for 2013-14 is 316. In 2012-13, the school was ranked 337. For academic reputation it ranked 328; employer reputation 264; international faculty 362; and academic/research paper citations per faculty the university was placed at 322.
In some of the subjects, Virginia Tech ranked even higher -- in the top 100 of the 10,639 programs evaluated. Those were civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and agriculture and forestry.
Richard C. Benson, dean of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering said there are concrete reasons for the high ranking. “Aspiring engineers have many choices; they don’t need to come to Virginia Tech. The fact that they want to says everything about the quality of the ‘hands on, minds on’ education that so characterizes this college,” Benson said. Another indicator of the excellence of the engineering college is that its pool of freshmen applications for the 2013-14 admission pool reached an all-time high of 7,391 people.
The forestry program in the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment also placed in the top 100 in the World University rankings.
"Virginia Tech's forestry program has been recognized as a top program in North America for many years, so it is not surprising that it ranks in the top 100 around the world," noted Paul Winistorfer, dean of the college. "Our superlative teaching and research focus on the latest applications to uncover the science needed to manage forests and other natural resources.
“Our people are what make us great. To give you an example, in a recent search to fill a faculty position, one of the candidates said he was applying because he did not want to miss an opportunity to work with the best."
Several Virginia Tech programs also ranked among the world’s best placing in the top 150 of the programs ranked. These included, statistics and operational research, environmental sciences, and material sciences were in the top 150.
Computer science and information systems, chemical engineering, biological sciences, chemistry, accounting and finance, and education ranked in the top 200.
"We are an ambassador for innovation in education," said Carol Mullen, director of the School of Education. "Our philosophy is 'hands on, minds on’ particularly when it comes to Integrative STEM education, local and global leadership, and outreach advocacy."
The rankings are based on survey responses by faculty throughout the world but respondents are only asked to evaluate universities in their region. This year more than 62,000 faculty members responded and almost 74 percent of the respondents were professors or associate professors.
The Quacquarelli Symonds QS World University Rankings was founded in 1990 to provide higher education and career information based on working with universities in 50 countries. The headquarters are in London with offices located around the globe, including Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.
