Duke Engineering Ranked #17 Undergraduate Program in the Nation

Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering rose three places to #17 in the U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of undergraduate engineering programs in the nation. With all five of the school’s departmental major offerings earning top 30 placements, the rankings are a recognition of the innovative, supportive and forward-thinking experience being built by Duke Engineering for decades. 

The Biomedical Engineering program was once again ranked #3 in the nation, maintaining its status as one of the first and most prominent of its kind. The school’s top-moving specialty was its Electrical Engineering program, which rose 7 spots to #16 in the nation. And programs in Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Engineering were all ranked within the top 20.

“These rankings are a recognition of Duke Engineering’s continued dedication not only to teaching technical know-how in critical areas, but also our ability to support students in their journeys through a wide range of hands-on, experiential opportunities,” said Jerome Lynch, the Vinik Dean of Duke Engineering. “From the moment our students step foot on campus, they are steeped in design learning, community engagement, an entrepreneurial mindset and hands-on projects that make real-world impact.”

Duke Engineering began transforming its undergraduate curriculum nearly a decade ago with the introduction of its signature First-Year Design experience. The program allows students to try on the cloak of an engineer from day one by forming multidisciplinary teams that build prototype solutions to problems presented by real clients. The school also recently launched a revamped First-Year Computing course that emphasizes computational thinking and soft skills before launching into code work.

These types of experiential learning opportunities continue throughout students’ four years in many ways. Students can travel the world, getting exposure to other cultures while helping rural communities in need, through Duke Engineers for International Development. A wide range of co-curricular and extracurricular clubs provide unstructured challenges from building racecars and autonomous submarines to competing in cybersecurity contests and genetically engineering microbiomes to treat gastrointestinal diseases. More than 60% of undergraduates conduct faculty-mentored research through opportunities such as the Pratt Research Fellows.

Throughout all of these experiences, students receive a world-class level of support through faculty, staff and peer mentoring. Successful design projects are often pursued commercially with support from the school’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation, sometimes even leading to startups being acquired. Students also learn to contextualize the impact of their work through ethical considerations woven throughout their classes through the Character Forward Initiative.

“By pursuing their dreams and life purposes, our students have a hand in arriving at a better society,” Lynch said. “I strongly believe there has been no time in human history richer in opportunities to impact the world than today, and Duke Engineering is at the forefront of equipping the leaders of tomorrow to do just that.”

“Engineering gave us the tools to build incredible things—but Duke gave us the courage, curiosity and community to decide what’s truly worth building,” said Emily Yagoda, president of Duke Engineering’s Class of 2025 during last spring’s commencement. “So wherever we go next—whether it’s designing bridges, rockets, software or entirely new communities—I hope we build with purpose. I hope we build with heart. And above all, I hope we never forget the people, right here, who taught us how.”