16
July
2012
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00:00 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

Pitt first among U.S. universities in percentage of doctoral engineering degrees awarded to women

PITTSBURGH  (July 16, 2012) ... The University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is the top-ranked U.S. school in the percentage of doctoral degrees awarded to women in engineering, according to a ranking, based on 2010-11 data, released earlier this month by the  American Society for Engineering Education  (ASEE). 

The annual ranking is published in the new ASEE 2010-11 Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges, the leading resource on engineering colleges in the U.S., including both individual institutional statistics and national trends. 

Pitt's percentage of doctoral engineering degrees awarded to women was 38.6 percent. The following five schools placed directly below Pitt in the ranking: Johns Hopkins University; the University of California, Santa Cruz; the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Stevens Institute of Technology; and the University of Pennsylvania.

In the two previous annual ASEE Profiles reports, Pitt's Swanson School was second among U.S. universities in the percentage of doctoral engineering degrees awarded to women. 

"It's truly an honor to be the top school in the production of women PhDs-on a percentage basis-building on our past top rankings. It reflects a growing diversification of the engineering graduate student body, which itself is a component of providing an outstanding education," said Gerald D. Holder, U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt. "Women, while still underrepresented at all degree levels, will become a larger proportion of the student body and faculty as more females choose engineering as a profession."

Swanson School of Engineering
The University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is one of the oldest engineering programs in the United States. The Swanson School has excelled in basic and applied research during the past decade and is at the forefront of 21st-century technology, including energy systems, sustainability, bioengineering, microsystems and nanosystems, computational modeling, and advanced materials development. Approximately 120 faculty members serve more than 3,200 undergraduate and graduate students in six departments, including bioengineering, chemical and petroleum engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering and materials science. 

ASEE
Founded in 1893, the American Society for Engineering Education is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology by promoting excellence in instruction, research, public service, and practice and by fostering the technological education of society. Its more than 12,000 members include deans, department heads, faculty members, students, and government and industry representatives from all disciplines of engineering and engineering technology. Its organizational membership includes 400 engineering and engineering technology colleges and affiliates, more than 50 corporations, and numerous governmental agencies and professional associations.

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Contact: B. Rose Huber