Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranks 14th among top STEM colleges and universities, according to a new ranking by Forbes. To put together the list of Top 25 STEM Colleges 2018, Forbes drew from College Scorecard’s database of schools where 50 percent or more students major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Rensselaer is the nation’s first technological research university, and has an almost 200-year history of producing graduates who have helped to shape and advance the world. These distinguished individuals have forged frontiers in industry, science, education, and technology. They have built bridges, probed outer space, revolutionized new industries and technologies, and discovered new knowledge.

“When Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1824, Stephen Van Rensselaer set forth our mission that still guides us today: to apply science to the common purposes of life,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “It is that very mission that has given rise to decades of courageous exploration. Faculty and students continue to demonstrate a relentless curiosity and unwavering commitment to understand and solve the world’s most precarious challenges.”

In addition to the recent Forbes ranking, the highly regarded Rensselaer Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program is ranked 9th by Animation Career Review; the School of Architecture is ranked 13th by DesignIntelligence; the Information Technology and Web Science program is ranked No. 1 among undergraduate programs by College Choice; the Master of Business Analytics programs ranks number 3 in the U.S. by the TFE Times.

Rensselaer recently adopted a new institutewide requirement in data education. The requirement, the first of its kind in the nation, will propel all Rensselaer students beyond the current collegiate standard of “data literacy” to “data dexterity” — proficiency in using diverse datasets to define and solve complex real-world problems.

Since joining Rensselaer in 1999, President Jackson has led a transformation of the university’s pedagogical and research approach under the construct of The New Polytechnic, an emerging paradigm for teaching, learning, and research at Rensselaer. The New Polytechnic emphasizes and supports collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and regions to address the great global challenges of our day, using the most advanced tools and technologies, many of which are developed at Rensselaer.