The 2013 “Best Colleges” edition of U.S. News & World Report ranks Oregon Institute of Technology’s undergraduate engineering programs No. 35 in the nation. The university also earned the No. 10 spot among best baccalaureate colleges in the Western Region and the No. 3 spot for Top Public Regional Colleges.
Oregon Tech shot up the rankings from No. 60 to No. 35 on the strength of its offerings, which include the only accredited renewable energy engineering program in North America. The university tied for 35th place with several other universities and colleges, such as University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, University of Michigan in Dearborn, and University of Portland, among others.
Charlie Jones, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Engineering, Technology and Management, stated, “This is very exciting news! When we looked at the ranking criteria, we felt that we should have been ranked higher than we were last year. With encouragement from our College Industrial Advisory Board we decided to make a concerted effort to get the word out to the public about our many great accomplishments. It seems that this effort has paid off.”
Oregon Tech’s College of Engineering, Technology and Management offers baccalaureate engineering degrees in civil engineering, computer engineering technology, electrical engineering, electronics engineering technology, embedded systems engineering technology, manufacturing engineering technology, mechanical engineering, mechanical engineering technology, renewable energy engineering, and software engineering technology.
In the Best Regional Colleges category, Oregon Tech tied for tenth place with Vanguard University of Southern California. In this category, the university received the second highest peer assessment score among its peers.
"Oregon Tech's reputation for rigorous, hands-on, high-quality programs continues to increase both in Oregon and nationally," said Dr. Chris Maples, president. "We greatly appreciate this recognition and will work to continually increase the quality and value of Oregon Tech degrees."
Highlights of the rankings of more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools in the United States are available today at www.usnews.com/colleges and the 2013 “Best Colleges” guidebook will appear on newsstands Sept. 20.
The university is no stranger to accolades. Oregon Tech was also ranked among the top 20 percent of all four-year and graduate universities in the U.S. by Forbes’ magazine annual ranking of Top Colleges in 2012 and 2013.
About Oregon Tech
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology is one of seven institutions in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech provides degree programs in engineering and health technologies, management, communications and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public and international communities through hands-on learning. Oregon Tech's main campus is in Klamath Falls and a new campus will open in Wilsonville in Fall 2012. The Wilsonville campus is the result of the consolidation of the university's four Portland metro area sites. The university also has sites in West Portland, Salem, La Grande, and Seattle, as well as online degree offerings. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology.
