FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The graduate programs of the civil engineering and industrial engineering departments at the University of Arkansas College of Engineering were recently ranked for the first time by U.S. News and World Report.

The industrial engineering department was ranked 30th, along with three other programs. The civil engineering department was ranked 65th, along with nine other programs. Programs at 185 engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees were surveyed, from a total of approximately 330 programs nationwide.

As a 1962 engineering graduate, Chancellor John White is especially pleased. "Their rankings are very impressive," he said. "The graduate rankings are much tougher to crack than the undergraduate rankings. In addition, the rankings of both programs include private as well as public universities. For example, among public universities, the UA industrial engineering program would be ranked 25th."

"This ranking is indicative of the impact the industrial engineering department at the University of Arkansas is having on the state, nation and the world," concurred John R. English, head of the department. "The faculty, staff and students of the industrial engineering department are to be commended for making this a reality."

While industrial engineering is one of the College of Engineering’s newer departments, civil engineering is one of the oldest departments on campus. The industrial engineering department was founded in 1951, while the civil engineering department awarded its first undergraduate degree in 1888.

"Our civil engineering program has been a well-kept secret for a long time," said Robert Elliott, head of the department. "I firmly believe that I could take our faculty, drop them in any of the top programs in the nation and no one would notice the difference. Our faculty is that good. Our program is that good."

Ashok Saxena, dean of the College of Engineering, believes these rankings are a sign of more to come. "This is a reflection of other people’s perception of the high quality of our programs," he said. "This is a major step in the right direction that we hope will lead to all programs in the College of Engineering being ranked among the top 50 or higher in the not-so-distant-future."

The specialty program rankings were based solely on assessments by department heads in each specialty area. Department heads in their specialty area rated the other schools that offered the specialty on a 5-point scale. Those schools with the highest average scores were ranked.