The J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering continues to rise in rankings, now #12 nationally among the top public engineering schools for graduate biomedical/bioengineering degrees, according to U.S. News & World Report. Chosen by the department chairs of peer institutions, UF BME’s rankings represent a significant advance in the 2023-2024 rankings among the country’s best public graduate schools.

Last year, the UF BME graduate program was ranked No. 17. In the past ten years, the graduate program ranking has risen over 21 spots (public) and almost 30 spots (overall), from No. 33 among public (57 overall) to now No. 12 among publics (28 overall). The program has been in the top 20 among public institutions every year since 2016.

This substantial increase in recognition among the country’s best programs over the past ten years has resulted from a strategic and intentional investment in proactive faculty and graduate student recruiting, a focus on research excellence and awards for students and faculty, a considerable expansion in research infrastructure and staffing to facilitate success, a commitment to building community, and a dedicated effort to promote diversity and inclusion, among many efforts.

Since 2013, UF BME’s faculty size has more than doubled with the hiring of 22 faculty to date, with women faculty increasing from 2 to 16 (now 55%) and Black and Hispanic faculty increasing from 1 to 7 (now 24%). UF BME’s research quality and impact have risen dramatically, with a three to four-fold increase in research expenditures. The undergraduate program first became ABET-accredited in Fall 2019 and is now ranked #13 among public BME UG programs (U.S. News & World Report). UF BME’s student and postdoc fellowships (e.g., NIH F31, NIH F32, NSF GRFP) have increased more than 10-fold, with the implementation of incentive programs. The department has received ~$3M in new gifts and foundation and industrial support for innovative research and educational programs. The department has launched numerous initiatives to increase the impact and visibility of the department, enhance engagement and enrich the culture of the department by strengthening partnerships, expanding interdisciplinary research and education, and increasing opportunities to translate engineering discoveries to biomedical applications.

“Our students are always at the core of all that we do at UF BME; these rankings confirm that the growth and momentum that has been built in the last ten years has been recognized by our peers,” Dr. Christine Schmidt, Pruitt Family Professor and department chair, said. “Our collaborative efforts across the university and expansion in partnerships, with interdisciplinary projects taking place, have been a testament to the quality of our program.”