UCF’s Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Programs Climb in U.S. News Rankings
The University of Central Florida continues to be recognized for its innovative education by U.S. News and World Report, which ranked its undergraduate engineering and computer science programs among the best in the nation.
UCF climbed 11 spots on the list of Best Undergraduate Engineering Schools to rank at No. 71. It also climbed 13 spots on the list of Best Undergraduate Computer Science Schools, with a ranking of No. 87. Among public universities, UCF ranks No. 41 for engineering education and No. 49 for computer science and ranks No. 2 in the state for both categories.
“We are proud of UCF’s rise in national rankings for both engineering and computer science. This recognition highlights our faculty’s dedication and our students’ drive to innovate,” says Professor Manoj Chopra, the associate dean for academic affairs in CECS. “It reaffirms our commitment to innovative education that prepares students to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Our commitment to cutting-edge research continues to drive us forward, and we are excited to see the impact our graduates will have on the world.”
In addition to the high rankings in engineering and computer science education, UCF was ranked the Most Innovative University in Florida for the seventh year in a row. It ranks among the top five innovative universities in the nation.
Innovation at CECS
The College of Engineering and Computer Science is fueled by a spirit of innovation, inventiveness and entrepreneurship. Earlier this year, two computer science undergraduate students, Noah Magill and Harrison Keating, were part of the winning team in the 2024 Joust New Venture Competition, a Shark Tank-style competition that allows students to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
Keating, who graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology earlier this year, is also part of the six-time national champion Collegiate Cyber Defense Team. He says the continued success of this team and the reputation UCF computer science students have built factored into his decision to come to UCF.
As a high school student, Keating heard about the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition and checked out who the winners were.
“That is how I ended up at UCF,” Keating told Florida Trend earlier this year.
Several CECS undergraduates were recently selected for the prestigious SMART Scholarship, offered by the Department of Defense, illustrating the strength of the university’s engineering and computer science education. Students in the American Society of Civil Engineers brought home 12 awards for their ingenuity in various competitions at the 2024 Southeast Student Symposium, and a group of industrial engineering students won the 2024 Milwaukee Bucks Hackathon as the first team to represent UCF.
Alderman, the Hackathon’s team captain, credits UCF’s industrial engineering courses for the team’s win. He has since graduated and now works for a local infrared optics and camera sensors company in Orlando and chose his major because it offered a mix of creativity and entrepreneurship.
“It was the most business-oriented engineering degree I could find,” Alderman says. “Seeing as we won a business analytics competition, it’s super validating knowing the skillset I’ve learned over the years is definitely applicable to solving real-world problems.”