On Wednesday, the U.S. News & World Report for Education ranked UT No. 16 among the top public universities in the nation, 52nd of all schools in the nation and 30th of universities at the global level.

Analysts on behalf of U.S. News calculate scores for each college across the nation, evaluating tuition rates and fees, undergraduate enrollment, total enrollment, acceptance rates, average high school GPAs, SAT and ACT percentiles and four-year graduation rates. 
 
Business sophomore Dylan Mowrey said he was not surprised that UT ranks among the top public schools in the nation.

“The diversity of thought and the existence of so many different opinions make UT a great place to be,” Mowrey said. “You’re never sucked into one way of thinking. It’s a great place to grow and learn new perspectives.”

Additionally, individual programs at the undergraduate level are ranked by their academic quality. UT was ranked among the top programs in multiple categories, including finance, management, aerospace engineering and computer engineering programs, which all ranked among the top 10 in the nation. UT was also named as seventh for the best undergraduate business programs, 11th for undergraduate engineering programs and first in accounting for the 10th year in a row.

U.S. News ranked the undergraduate chemical engineering program at UT fourth in the nation.

Michael Baldea, a professor of chemical engineering, said he was happy to hear of the department’s success.

“Obviously, everyone here at UT is really excited about this,” Baldea said. “It’s really something to be proud of.”

Finance professor Andres Almazan said students play an important role in UT’s history of academic achievement.

“It’s difficult to be good if you don’t have good students and resources,” Almazan said. “UT is lucky in that we have both. We do everything we can to make sure the content and delivery is absolutely first class. We have good students, and we make sure they get the education they deserve.”

Josh Rector, an economics freshman, said location is a primary factor when evaluating the academic value of a university.

“Location is everything,” Rector said. “The city of Austin fosters a creative mind and is the perfect place to find out what you’re passionate about.”