Boise State University’s undergraduate computer science offerings debuted at No. 171 out of 481 national universities — the highest in Idaho — on U.S. News and World Report’s new ranking of computer science programs that offer doctoral degrees. This ranking highlights Boise State’s capacity to advance the governor’s new commitment to cybersecurity in the state.
Boise State also was ranked No. 132 on the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs list — also top in the state.
Boise State is classified as a “national university,” which means it offers a full range of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs, and delivers path-breaking research. Other universities in this class include the University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins, as well as Ivy-League institutions including Harvard and Yale.
“Boise State may be the only university in the country to have risen so swiftly from a community college to a doctoral research university,” said Dr. Marlene Tromp, Boise State president. “Throughout our history, student success has been our driving mission. We are proud that students at all levels — from undergraduates to doctoral students — are making exciting discoveries and working with faculty who bring new research dollars into the state and engage students in path-breaking research, so they can become Idaho’s and our nation’s next great thinkers and leaders.”
Boise State is ranked among the nation’s best public universities, and a number of individual colleges and programs also are highly ranked. The College of Education — which offers critical areas of study for the future of the state of Idaho — was ranked No. 50 nationally among 255 ranked institutions, and Boise State’s College of Business part-time MBA program hit No.146 on the list. It is the only Idaho program to be ranked.
Boise State’s computer science program relocated to downtown Boise in 2016 to facilitate closer ties with industry in a new 50,000-square-foot facility. The university-industry partnerships this fostered have created more internship and employment opportunities for students and driven more innovative collaborations between faculty and industry. The program generates 50 times more research than it did seven years ago and has grown from 25 graduates per year to more than 100 in each of the last five years. The department is home to five faculty who have won prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER AWARDS.
“We are proud to be one of Idaho’s public institutions meeting the workforce needs in engineering and computer science in the state,” said JoAnn Lighty, dean of the College of Engineering. “The fact that we are ranked when our college is just over 20 years old, and that our doctoral programs in engineering started in 2005, and only in 2017 for computer science, shows the extraordinary commitment to excellence in teaching and research by our faculty and staff.”
In response to calls from the state for more focus on cybersecurity, Boise State also recently added several undergraduate certifications across STEM disciplines, including “Cyber for All,” which offers cybersecurity training for students in any major. The newly opened Micron Center for Materials Research will accelerate these efforts by offering state-of-the-art research and teaching spaces.
Boise State’s College of Engineering is committed to involving undergraduate students in research, making available a Research Scholar designation at graduation. The college also offers the only construction management program at a public Idaho university.
