UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate schools, Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) has highly ranked programs in the both the engineering and sciences categories.

In its “Best Graduate Schools 2019” edition released March 20, U.S. News ranked EMS at No. 5 in the Best Graduate Earth Sciences Programs category. The college’s specialty programs in the earth sciences also were ranked in the top 10 in their respective categories: Geology earned the No. 1 ranking, environmental sciences received the No. 3 spot, and geochemistry netted the No. 4 ranking.

The college’s specialty programs in engineering also were highly ranked in their categories. Petroleum engineering earned the No. 6 ranking, and materials engineering was ranked at No. 12, improving from its previous No. 13 ranking. Graduate programs in the College of Engineering also received high rankings in the latest report.

“To receive this national recognition for our programs is truly an honor,” said Lee Kump, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. “The rankings affirm that interdisciplinarity, collaboration and collegiality, hallmarks of our programs, are valued by our colleagues and promote graduate student success.”

The “Best Graduate Schools” rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program excellence, and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.

For more information about the U.S. News Graduate School rankings, visit http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools.