In the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guidebook, Rice University rose to No. 18 in Environmental Engineering and to No. 31 in Civil Engineering in the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs categories among schools whose highest engineering degree offered is a doctorate.
Last year, Rice's undergraduate program in civil engineering was ranked No. 31 while environmental engineering was not ranked.
Overall, Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering moved up three spots to No. 16 and the university rose to No. 15 among the nation’s top universities, up from No. 17 in last year’s rankings. In the annual survey of more than 300 colleges and universities, Rice has routinely rated among the nation’s top 20 universities since first appearing on the list in 1988.
Rice also ranked No. 6 among the nation’s best values in higher education, and the university tied for No. 3 in the rankings of institutions whose students graduate with the least debt. Rice remains the highest-rated university in Texas.
The U.S. News rankings are one of the most closely watched indicators of academic excellence among the nation’s institutions of higher education. U.S. News says its latest rankings are based on 17 measures of academic quality at 1,500 institutions granting bachelor’s degrees across the nation.