Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering again ranked among the nation’s 25 best engineering schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Graduate Schools 2013 survey released today. The Pamplin College of Business also ranked high, 37th among top part-time master's of business administration programs, as did the public affairs program, part of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies' public affairs program.

The latest annual survey ranks the College of Engineering at 24, the same slot it held in the previous annual report. Boasting more than 2,000 graduate students, the College of Engineering’s graduate program ranks as the highest ranked engineering school in Virginia. Among fellow public universities, it ranks among the top 15 universities in the nation.

“Our College of Engineering's hands-on, minds-on philosophy of education has always been the backbone of our outstanding reputation, one not possible without the extraordinary talent of our faculty, who help guide and work closely with our graduate students,” said Richard C. Benson, dean of the College of Engineering. “Our students regularly collaborate on ground-breaking research projects that attract national headlines and build on Virginia Tech's motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), including building a one-of-a-kind supercomputer, working to make football head impacts less dangerous for athletes, and building a world-champion, soccer-playing humanoid robot.”

The magazine gives high marks to several of the College of Engineering’s programs and departments. Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering ranks third for industrial/manufacturing programs, a move up from the No. 4 slot it has held for several years. The Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s civil engineering programs ranks eighth, with the environmental engineering program ranking seventh. The biological systems engineering department, also part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, ranks seventh among biological/agricultural programs.

Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business ranks 37th among the nation’s best part-time MBA schools, according to the 2013 survey, tying it with Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, DePaul University in Illinois, and St. Louis University. This represents a major jump from a ranking of 45 in the 2012 rankings.

The Pamplin part-time MBA program is based at Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region campus, near Washington, D.C., is specially designed for the needs of mid-level managers and other full-time professionals with potential for advancement in their organizations. It is commonly referred to as the Pamplin evening MBA.

“We are delighted and proud that our program has moved up in the rankings,” said Parviz Ghandforoush, director of evening MBA. “We remain dedicated to helping advance the careers of professionals who have to focus full-time on work and family priorities.”

The public affairs program in the School of Public and International Affairs, part of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, also ranks 37th in the nation for the third consecutive year. The program ties with Cornell University in New York, University of Arizona, University of Delaware, and the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The College of Science’s paleontology program ranks ninth in nation, tying with Ohio State University, while the earth sciences program ranks 28th overall, tying with Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Washington University in St. Louis. Both programs are part of the geosciences department and held the same rankings in the two previous surveys, in 2012 and 2011.

“The Department of Geosciences is known worldwide and has consistently been ranked among the best earth sciences programs in the nation for more than 20 years,” said Nancy Ross, head of the geosciences department. “Research conducted by our renowned faculty members and students covers significant aspects and provides critical understanding of earth processes and the dynamics of the earth. Exciting discoveries are being made that will ultimately change the way we think about our planet’s history, resources, and all major societal concerns.”

The School of Education, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, ties for 100th in the nation, ranking alongside Loyola University Chicago, University of Central Florida, and University of Colorado-Denver.

U.S. News and World Report’s graduate rankings of colleges, published annually since 1987, are based on several categories of data gathered from the surveyed schools, plus peer assessments by deans, senior faculty, and other professionals in their respective fields. Rankings of the specialty programs are based solely on peer assessments. The annual survey is intended to provide prospective students with information about the nation’s top graduate schools and programs of study.

View the U.S. News and World Report survey online.