Two lists of academic rankings published this month show that The University of Texas at Austin's programs in the sciences and mathematics are among the best in the country and the world.
Released this week, the newest edition of "Best Graduate Schools" from U.S. News & World Report ranks 11 graduate programs and specialties in the College of Natural Sciences in the top 10 in the nation: Computer science ranks in the top 10 (No. 5 among publics) and has four specialties in the top 10: artificial intelligence, computing systems, computing theory and programming language. Mathematics (ranked 14th overall) has three specialties in the top 10—analysis, applied math and topology—while Chemistry (ranked 15th overall) ranked 4th in the specialty area of analytical chemistry. In biology, UT Austin's ecology/evolutionary biology specialty ranked 6th in the nation. Physics (ranked 17th overall) ranked 10th in the specialty area of cosmology, relativity and gravity.
"It's great to see our graduate programs getting more of the recognition they deserve," said UT Austin President Jay Hartzell. "From here, we'll continue to reach higher — recruiting elite faculty and outstanding students; fostering an atmosphere characterized by excellence, diversity and academic freedom; and leveraging the unique opportunities that being in Austin and in Texas affords us."
An earlier ranking, for plasma physics, was not updated but the most recent ranking for this specialty placed UT Austin 3rd. Human development and family sciences graduate programs are not ranked by the magazine, but the specialty known as sociology of population ranked 1st; many faculty and researchers in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences are involved with UT Austin's Population Research Center.
U.S. News & World Report's graduate rankings, which are published separately from the magazine's yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are considered the gold standard of graduate and professional rankings. They are based on surveys of academic leaders and, for select programs, additional quantitative measures including placement test scores, student/faculty ratios, research expenditures and job placement success.
UT Austin also did well in another rankings report released earlier this month, World University Rankings by Subject. The higher education analysts with QS Quacquarelli Symonds looked at the performance of 1,452 universities around the world and found UT Austin was among the top globally for: Chemistry (#21), Computer Science & Information Science (#28), Mathematics (#30), Materials Science (#31), Physics & Astronomy (#34), and Biological Sciences (#80). Notably, Chemistry moved up seven spots from the previous year. The rankings are based on a variety of factors including research impact and overall academic and employer reputation.
"These rankings reflect the high-impact research and creative problem-solving UT Austin is known for and illustrate the immense societal value of leading research universities," said Dan Jaffe, interim executive vice president and provost. "Without our world-class faculty and exceptionally talented students, this level of academic excellence would not be possible."
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