The College of Engineering is one of the most prestigious and largest engineering institutions in the nation. In 2012, Engineering at Illinois was ranked No. 4 worldwide in the "Academic Ranking of World Universities in Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences" and is consistently among the top-ranked schools nationally in U.S. News and World Report.
The College of Engineering also ranks among the top colleges nationally in number of degrees awarded, and our graduates are highly sought after by industry, government, and academic institutions worldwide.
Among the distinguished faculty is a Nobel laureate; a winner of both the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology; members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Sciences; and global leaders in many traditional and emerging engineering fields.
Engineering at Illinois was ranked 4th worldwide in the "Academic Ranking of World Universities in Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences."
According to U.S. News and World Report:
- The Undergraduate Engineering program ranked 5th in the 2013 America's Best Colleges edition (published in September 2012)
- The Graduate Engineering program ranked 5th in the Best Graduate Schools issue of U.S. News and World Report (published in March 2012)
- Of the 32 graduate and undergraduate engineering specialties ranked by U.S. News, 16 are in the Top Five, and 26 are in the Top Ten in their categories.
A Long Tradition Of Leadership
Illinois faculty and alumni are internationally renowned. Their leadership and scholarship have been recognized with such top awards as Nobel Prizes, MacArthur “genius” awards, and memberships in the nation’s elite academies of arts and sciences. Selected honors include the following awards and nominations:
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- George B. Danzig Prize
- Guggenheim Fellow
- Institute for Scientific Information Highly Cited Researchers
- Japan Prize
- Lemelson Prize
- MacArthur Fellow
- National Academy of Engineering
- National Academy of Science
- National Medal of Science
- National Medal of Technology
- Nobel Prize
- Royal Societies and Knights of the British Empire and France
- Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences
- Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
- U.S. Department of Energy’s Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial Award
- Wolf Prize
Professor Nick Holonyak, Jr. is one of only 13 Americans to have been awarded both the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology. In 2011, he was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame.
Physics Professor Anthony J. Leggett shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexei A. Abrikosov and Vitaly L. Ginzburg for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids.
The Engineering at Illinois Nobel legacy also includes John Bardeen, a professor of physics and electrical engineering, who is the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. An additional 15 University of Illinois alumni and faculty members have also won the Nobel Prize.
Students
Student Body Engineering Enrollments, Fall 2012
- Aerospace Engineering: 356 undergraduates, 133 graduate students
- Agricultural and Biological Engineering: 190 undergraduates, 70 graduate students
- Bioengineering: 187 undergraduates, 75 graduate students
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: 555 undergraduates, 107 graduate students
- Civil and Environmental Engineering: 791 undergraduates, 554 graduate students
- Computer Science: 1,054 undergraduates, 514 graduate students
- Electrical and Computer Engineering: 1,860 undergraduates, 473 graduate students
- Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering: 591 undergraduates, 65 graduate students
- Materials Science and Engineering: 385 undergraduates, 187 graduate students
- Mechanical Science and Engineering: 936 undergraduates, 373 graduate students
- Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering: 190 undergraduates, 68 graduate students
- Physics: 465 undergraduates, 256 graduate students
- Nondegree: 228 undergraduates
- Financial Engineering: 100 graduate students
Total for all departments: 7,786 undergraduate students and 2,975 graduate students
*Total includes students in programs administered jointly with other colleges. Computer Science enrollments include Math/CS and Stat/CS. Physics enrollment figures include LAS Physics.
Degrees
The College of Engineering consistently ranks among the top colleges nationally in number of degrees awarded, according to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
In Academic Year 2011–2012, the College of Engineering awarded 2,354 degrees.
- 1,482 BS degrees
- 575 MS degrees
- 297 PhD degrees
*Excludes degrees awarded from other colleges.
Job Placement
The Engineering Career Services Office (ECS) serves students graduating in engineering, computer science, physics, geology, and mathematics. More than 500 employers recruit annually through Engineering Career Services for full-time, internship, and co-op opportunities. Nearly all graduating students who seek jobs have them before leaving campus. Approximately 25% of graduates continue on to graduate studies.
The Engineering at Illinois Impact
The breadth, scope, and influence of Engineering at Illinois research, scholarship, leadership, and service activities are enormous:
- $236 million research expenditures
- 2,000+ research projects under way
- 8 multidisciplinary laboratories support engineering research
- 60+ research centers
Engineering at Illinois has a long-standing reputation for combining creativity, innovation, and collaboration to solve important problems and introduce key innovations that have changed our world. The Illinois impact is multiplied by alumni who hold leadership positions in businesses, laboratories, and organizations around the world.
