NASHVILLE, Tenn.óVanderbilt University advanced two spots and its School of Engineering moved up six places in the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report.
The University is listed as 19th in the magazine’s annual survey of the nation’s best national universities, tied with University of Notre Dame. The School of Engineering jumped from 44th to a tie with 10 other institutions for 38th place among undergraduate engineering programs.
"We can all be proud that Vanderbilt’s excellence is being recognized by our peers," said Chancellor Gordon Gee. "It is a testament to the high quality of our faculty, students and staff."
Vanderbilt’s service learning effort was singled out for the second year as one of the publication’s academic "Programs to Look For"óthose programs shown to "enhance learning" and "lead to student success." Service learning programs, the magazine’s editors explained, are those in which "volunteering in the community is an instructional strategyóand a requirement of a student’s coursework. The service relates to what happens in class and vice versa."
In addition to service learning, two other Vanderbilt programs were included in the "Programs to Look For" category. The University was recognized for its undergraduate research/creative projects, in which, as the editors explain, "independently or in small teams, and mentored by a faculty member, students do intensive and self-directed research or creative work that results in an original scholarly paper or other product that can be formally presented on or off campus." Vanderbilt also was recognized for its learning communities effort. As the editors explain, "Students typically take two or more linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors especially well. The idea is to keep the discussions going after class ends."
All of the schools which held down the top positions in the "best national universities" rankings last year are back again this year, although there was some shuffling among the top five. The top spots went to Princeton and Harvard, tied at No. 1; Yale, No. 3; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, No. 4; and California Institute of Technology, Duke, Stanford and University of Pennsylvania, all at No. 5.
The full rankings are available at the U.S. News website, www.usnews.com. The rankings and additional information will be in the newsstand book, America’s Best Colleges, which goes on sale Aug. 25. Some of the rankings will be included in the Sept. 1 issue of U.S. News & World Report, which also goes on sale Aug. 25.
This is the 14th year that Vanderbilt has been chosen by the magazine as one of the nation’s top 25 universities.
For more information about Vanderbilt, visit the Vanderbilt News Service homepage at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News. Media Contact: Susanne Loftis, (615) 322-NEWS susanne.loftis@vanderbilt.edu