U.S. News & World Report rankings show UTA’s rising academic excellence
The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings demonstrate The University of Texas at Arlington’s continuing momentum in building academic excellence, with overall rankings of the graduate programs in the College of Education and the College of Engineering continuing to rise.
The overall ranking of graduate programs in the College of Engineering was 82 out of 199 programs assessed. For the first time, all of the programs in the College of Engineering were ranked among the top 100 in the nation, with the aerospace engineering program now ranked among the top 45.
UTA’s highly recognized College of Education also continues to climb in the rankings, currently listed as No.118 of 258 national institutions.
“Our continuous improvement in rankings and national reputation is a natural outcome of the dedication and excellence of our faculty and staff, who are committed to providing a transformative education for all students,” said UTA President Vistasp Karbhari.
These competitive rankings come on the heels of UTA achieving all the metrics needed to qualify for Texas Tier One status for the first time. As a Carnegie R-1 institution and one of the state’s fastest growing Emerging Research Universities, UTA is a leading provider of intellectual human capital, preparing students to be leaders and valuable contributors to Texas’ socio-economic growth and development.
The College of Education, for example, continues to produce teachers who will help address the critical need for K-12 educators in Texas and the nation. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked its online graduate education program No. 46 nationally, an improvement of seven spots over 2018.
In addition, the College of Education provides educators with the opportunity to advance in their careers through its growing Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and Curriculum and Instruction, online masters’ degree plans. The online master’s program in curriculum and instruction was recently ranked No. 1 in the nation by College Choice, while the online master’s in education degree came in No. 5 nationally in Intelligent.com’s 2019 ranking.
The College of Engineering, already one of the largest and highly recognized for the excellence of its faculty and graduating students in the state, has continued to attract world renowned faculty from across the nation, adding to existing strengths and rapidly building new ones in areas of high demand for the metroplex and for Texas.
Among the new hires is Surendra Shah, UTA’s Presidential Distinguished Professor and director of the new Center for Advanced Construction Materials. Shah is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and one of the world’s foremost experts in advanced cementitious materials.
Earlier this year, Dereje Agonafer, professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was one of only two faculty at universities in Texas elected to the National Academy of Engineering, bringing to three the number of UTA faculty who are members of this distinction. Agonafer, who is the Jenkins Garrett Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was elected for his contributions to computer-aided electro/thermo/mechanical design and modeling of electronic equipment.
In addition two faculty, L.K. Mestha, an affiliated adjunct professor in electrical engineering, and Provost Teik C. Lim, who is also a professor of mechanical engineering, were selected to the National Academy of Inventors. In total, UTA has 15 fellows in the National Academy of Inventors, the most of any university in Texas.