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U.S. News Ranks UMD’s Online Graduate Engineering, MBA Programs in Top Tier

Degree, Certificate Programs Recognized for Faculty and Student Excellence

By Heather G. Markle and Gregory Muraski

IDEA Factory and Kim Building

New U.S. News & World Report rankings highlight the online graduate programs at the A. James Clark School of Engineering (shown at left: the new E.A. Fernandez IDEA [Innovate, Design and engineer for America] Factory) and Robert H. Smith School of Business (below: Van Munching Hall).

IDEA Factory photo by Stephanie S. Cordle; Van Munching Hall photo by John T. Consoli

The University of Maryland’s MBA and engineering master’s programs were both listed at No. 12 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 online graduate program rankings released today.

Student engagement, faculty credentials, expert opinion of the program, student services and available technologies, and overall student excellence went into the online rankings, the highest-ever for the A. James Clark School of Engineering. It has risen steadily on the leaderboard, from 20th in 2019 to 18th in 2020 to 15th last year. In addition, the Clark School was listed at No. 17 among online engineering graduate programs for veterans.

Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering (MAGE) offers an online M. Eng. and graduate certificates in the following fields: bioengineering, cybersecurity, electronic packaging, fire protection engineering, project management, reliability engineering, and energy systems engineering; collectively, they enrolled 250 students in 2020-21. Last year, MAGE added online programs in software engineering and systems engineering.

“For more than 18 years, we have met the needs of working engineers and technical professionals by offering online engineering graduate programs that consider the specific needs of adult learners with career and family commitments,” said George Syrmos, assistant dean for continuing education. “This includes faculty trained in delivering online education, technology and accessibility support, and small class sizes.”

Van Munching Hall exterior

Though tied for No. 10 in 2021, the online MBA program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business increased its overall score in the latest ranking (earning 92 points, up from the previous 89). In U.S. News’ 2022 specialty program sub rankings, Maryland Smith ranked first for marketing, fourth for finance and sixth for both business analytics and general management. Today, 377 students are enrolled in the online MBA program.

Interim Associate Dean of Master’s Programs Paulo Prochno said Maryland Smith’s consistency in the rankings reflects students’ direct access to top faculty and advisers. “These students meet the same academic rigor, under the same curriculum and faculty, that students experience in our full-time and flex MBA programs.”

Students meet virtually twice a week to attend lively synchronous sessions, Prochno said. “Most faculty use breakout rooms for small-group discussions, allowing students to have an experience similar to being in a face-to-face environment.” Online students further participate in virtual job fairs and mock interviews through Maryland Smith’s Office of Career Services.

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