Iowa State graduate students studying agricultural and biosystems engineering do all kinds of research, including development of robots to look after laboratory plants. Larger photo. Photo courtesy of agricultural and biosystems engineering.
AMES, Iowa – It has been a tug-of-war for the top spot among the graduate programs in biological/agricultural engineering ranked by U.S. News and World Report magazine.
Two years ago the programs at Iowa State and Indiana’s Purdue University tied for first. Last year, Iowa State was first. This year, Iowa State is second.
Iowa State’s program has a lot to offer its graduate students, said Amy Kaleita, the department’s interim chair and a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering (ABE).
“While COVID-19 has been a difficult time in higher education, we’re pleased that ABE has sustained our research funding over the last year,” she said. “These funds provide great opportunities for graduate students to engage in the high-impact research happening in ABE.”
Kaleita said the department’s graduate students “are doing amazing work – winning superior paper awards from our professional society, winning Iowa State’s three-minute-thesis competition, and providing leadership in campus and national organizations.”
She also noted new facilities are opening – including the new Kent Corporation Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex, the Soil-Machine Dynamics Laboratory, and the Off-Highway Vehicle Chassis Dynamometer – that will provide graduate students access to state-of-the-art resources for advancing their research and building their professional portfolio.
The latest rankings
The magazine released its annual rankings of various graduate programs this week. Other highlights for Iowa State include top 26 rankings among public universities for engineering and business schools, as well as eight engineering departments ranking among the top 25 publics.
Each year, the magazine ranks programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing. Those rankings are based on different measures in each field, but generally include data about incoming students and the career or academic outcomes for graduates.
The magazine also periodically ranks programs in the sciences and humanities. Those rankings are based on the ratings of academic experts.
The magazine’s latest rankings of Iowa State graduate programs include:
Colleges and schools 2021 rankings:
- Engineering, tied for 24th among publics and tied for 47th overall
- Business (full-time MBA), 26th among publics and tied for 50th overall
- Education, tied for 70th among publics and tied for 91st overall
Programs and departments 2021 rankings:
- Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems Engineering, tied for 15th among publics and tied for 23rd overall
- Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, tied for 17th among publics and tied for 25th overall
- Civil Engineering, tied for 19th among publics and tied for 30th overall
- Mechanical Engineering, tied for 21st among publics and tied for 41st overall
- Computer Engineering, tied for 22nd among publics and tied for 37th overall
- Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering, tied for 24th among publics and tied for 43rd overall
- Materials Engineering, tied for 24th among publics and tied for 40th overall
- Chemical Engineering, tied for 26th among publics and tied for 41st overall
- Economics, tied for 29th among publics and tied for 53rd overall
- Sociology, tied for 46th among publics and tied for 70th overall
- English, tied for 68th among publics and tied for 108th overall
- History, tied for 69th among publics and tied for 106th overall
- Part-time MBA, tied for 92nd among publics and tied for 145th overall.