The University of Missouri-Rolla is again one of the nation’s top graduate engineering schools, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2008 rankings of graduate schools. The rankings also list five UMR programs as among the best in the country.

UMR is ranked 70th among the nation’s best graduate engineering schools by U.S. News and tied for 41st when compared with public graduate engineering schools. The magazine’s annual “Best Graduate Schools” report was released today, Monday, April 2. UMR’s rankings are included in the U.S. News guidebook’s “premium” online edition at www.usnews.com.

Last year, the guidebook ranked UMR No. 68.

U.S. News’s online rankings include five UMR graduate engineering programs, four of which improved upon their 2007 rankings:

* Civil engineering, ranked 41st (tied for 27th among public universities).

* Computer engineering, ranked 68th (tied for 41st among public universities).

* Electrical engineering, ranked 57th (tied for 32nd among public universities).

* Materials engineering, ranked 40th (25th among public universities).

* Mechanical engineering, ranked 44th (tied for 26th among public universities).

“We are proud of UMR’s outstanding graduate programs and the national recognition that they received,” says Dr. Warren K. Wray, UMR’s provost. “Having five graduate programs among the nation’s top 50 public underscores the recognition that our peers have of our programs.”

UMR is gaining recognition for undergraduate engineering as well. Last fall, UMR moved into the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs in the country when U.S. News listed UMR at No. 48 in its listing of the best undergraduate engineering schools.

“Both undergraduate and graduate engineering programs rankings largely depend on our educational processes and academic reputation,” Wray says. “UMR’s academic reputation is significantly increased through its increase in research funding and expansion of graduate programs.”

More information about UMR’s academic programs are available online at academics.mst.edu . The U.S. News rankings are available on the U.S. News website, www.usnews.com .