Duke Engineering Breaks Into Top 20 in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering broke into the top 20 graduate engineering programs in the country for the first time as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. The recognition of the school’s growing enterprise comes just over a decade after it first broke into the top 30 in 2014.

Duke Engineering’s program in biomedical engineering was ranked #4, maintaining its position within the top five of its peers for the third consecutive year, and its program in environmental engineering remained within the top 10.

“We are extremely proud the excellence of our engineering graduate programs continues to rise in national recognition,” said Jerome Lynch, the Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering. “The pioneering research we do and exceptional things our graduates go on to achieve is the foundation upon which these rankings are based.”

Biomedical Engineering

As one of the oldest biomedical engineering departments in the country, the department has long been a leader in the field. Boasting more than 50 faculty members and $38 million in new research awards, its historical strengths lie in biomaterials, biomedical imaging and tissue engineering.

Its new faculty members this year bring expanded expertise in engineering the human microbiome, improving the impact of ultrasound technology, and using AI to map and design new proteins.

Its hallmark programs Design Health and Design Fellows continue to prioritize practical, hands-on experience, allowing students to work with clinicians, stakeholders and community partners to transform their research and ideas into marketable prototypes.

Environmental Engineering

Ranking #10 overall amongst its peers, the environmental engineering program features numerous connections and collaborations with Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Together, the schools recently launched the Design Climate program, which connects teams of students with industry and community partners to get hands-on experience while solving real-world problems linked to mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Leveraging more connections with Duke’s other top-tier programs in law, business and policy, the school also recently launched a Climate and Sustainability Engineering Master of Engineering, which builds expertise beyond traditional engineering subject matter to prepare professionals ready to implement nimble solutions for a rapidly changing landscape.

Perhaps most importantly, the school is home to the Precision Microbiome Engineering Research Center. Called PreMiEr and funded by $26 million from the National Science Foundation, the center aims to develop diagnostic tools and engineering approaches that promote building designs for preventing the colonization of harmful bacteria, fungi or viruses while encouraging beneficial microorganisms.

Computer & Electrical Engineering

Duke’s Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering programs retained their positions among the top 20 with their peers, moving up to #17 and #18, respectively. The continued recognition reflects Duke Engineering’s growing footprint in the realms of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, full-stack hardware design and cybersecurity.

The department features 60 tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members and captured nearly $30 million in new research grants last year. Its newest faculty members represent the program’s focus toward the future with experts working to train advanced AI programs by exploiting geometric patterns in data and develop neutral-atom quantum computing hardware.

Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

After breaking into the top 25 two years ago, Duke’s Mechanical Engineering program remained in that cohort for the third year in a row coming in at #24 overall.

Long recognized for its leadership in aerospace-based computational mechanics and dynamics, the program also now boasts a growing reputation in autonomous systems, robotics and biomechanics.

Last year, the program added three new faculty members; two focused on dexterous, nimble, futuristic robotic designs and control systems, and one focused on thermos-fluid dynamics aimed at applications in renewable power generation.

And for the first time, Duke’s Materials Engineering program ranked in the top 25, moving up two spots to #24. Headlined by the Duke Materials Initiative, which enables bold, innovative and transformative materials science and engineering advances that are only possible when extending beyond and crossing the boundaries between traditional disciplines, the program has made several significant hires recently focused on sustainable materials, cryo-electron microscopy and soft matter.