TROY, N.Y. — U.S. News & World Report has ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 43rd among the nation’s top universities, up from 46th last year. The Institute also ranks 27th in the “Best Values” among national universities.

The Rensselaer undergraduate engineering program is again ranked among the top 20 elite programs in the country. The School of Engineering is ranked 18th in the nation, and four of the undergraduate engineering specialty programs are also ranked in the top 20, including: materials engineering (15th), electrical engineering (16th), biomedical engineering (19th); and mechanical engineering (19th); and computer and systems engineering is ranked 21st.

“Rensselaer’s stellar and growing faculty, expanding facilities, and model programs are attracting ever-more outstanding students. Ranking among the elite 50 universities in the nation, and the top 20 engineering programs, is a testament and a tribute to the progress we continue to make,” President Shirley Ann Jackson said. “The true measure of our success is reflected in the accomplishments of our students, alumni, faculty and staff, who are changing the world.”

Rensselaer’s incoming Class of 2009 excels academically, with an average SAT score of 1320. Twenty-four percent of the class are Rensselaer Medal winners. There are 61 students who were valedictorians and 42 who were salutatorians of their high school classes. More than 235 were captains of their athletic teams, 77 are Eagle Scouts, and many are actively involved in music and the arts.  The approximately 1,250 incoming first-year students are arriving from 40 states across the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 16 other countries.

“The renaissance continues at Rensselaer. Our new biotechnology research facilities, our expanding focus on future energy systems, our celebrated nanotechnology research, and emerging game studies major, along with the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center under construction, are examples of our collective effort to foster the Institute as a leader in science, engineering, and technological education, essential for innovation which drives the economy, maintains security, and improves the quality of life,” President Jackson said.   

Rensselaer is making major investments in its research and education facilities. The new Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies opened last September. Construction is under way on the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).  In the last year the Institute has opened the new Center for Future Energy Systems, and announced several breakthroughs in nanotechnology research.

In the past five years Rensselaer’s annual research awards have increased from $37 million to $90 million, supporting expanded research in areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology and biosciences, accelerated drug discovery, future energy systems, terahertz science and technology, integrated cognitive systems, multiscale modeling, advanced imaging technologies, and micro- and nano-electronics.

In addition, total awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have grown from $400,000 six years ago to $24 million in active NIH awards today. 

Rensselaer continues to make major investment in its faculty. This fall, 21 new tenured and tenure-track faculty are coming to Rensselaer. The tenured and tenure-track faculty has grown 11 percent since the fall of 2000, and plans are in place for an additional 15 percent growth. More than 75 are in entirely new positions. 

“This faculty growth has resulted in significant reductions in our student-faculty ratio and, when coupled with the dramatic increase in resources directed toward undergraduate and graduate education, is clearly solidifying Rensselaer’s place among the nation’s top national research universities,” said Rensselaer Provost G. P. “Bud” Peterson.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu