Undergraduate Bioengineering Program at UC San Diego Ranks #6 in the Nation and #2 among Public Engineering Schools

The U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges guidebook rankings are out today and the bioengineering undergraduate program at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering is ranked #6 in the nation and #2 among public schools.

In the same U.S. News ranking, the University of California San Diego overall ranks as the nation’s 9th best public university, up one spot, compared to last year. For more than a decade, the publication has included UC San Diego in its list of the nation’s top 10 public universities.

For its undergraduate programs overall, the Jacobs School of Engineering is #20 in the nation and #11 among public engineering schools. (This is up from #24 in the nation and #12 among public schools last year).

This particular engineering ranking looks at undergraduate engineering programs at universities (like UC San Diego) that offer Ph.D. degrees. It’s based on peer assessments. At the Jacobs School, world-class research and education intersect every day. There are many different ways for undergraduates to experience and participate in cutting-edge research at the Jacobs School – in research labs run by professors, in hands-on educational labs, and in classrooms.

For example, bioengineers at the Jacobs School recently published a paper describing a breakthrough that grew from a collaboration initially focused on creating clinically relevant, hands-on classroom projects for bioengineering undergraduates at UC San Diego. This effort in bioengineering is part of Jacobs School Dean Albert P. Pisano’s Experience Engineering Initiative.

The research that grew out of class prep? It’s about using 3D models to cut surgery times.

The UC San Diego researchers showed that 3D printed models of hip joints help surgeons shorten surgery times for the most common hip disorder found in children ages 9 to 16. In the study, UC San Diego bioengineers collaborating with pediatric orthopedic surgeons showed that allowing surgeons to prep on a 3D-printed model of the patient’s hip joint cut the amount of time needed for surgery by about 25 percent. The 3D models could save $2,700 per surgery while reducing the amount of radiation each patient is exposed to. Learn more: bit.ly/3DPrintSurgery17

3D printed hip joints. They are from the project that is helping reduce surgery times. This research grew from a project to make bioengineering undergraduate education at UC San Diego more clinically relevant and fun. 

The Jacobs School is also highly ranked for its graduate programs and for overall research impact. The Jacobs School, for example, ranks 8th in the nation and 28th in the world according to a US News Best Global Universities for Engineering ranking, published October 2016. The same ranking placed Computer Science at the Jacobs School 9th in the nation and 17th in the world.

See more Jacobs School rankings here.