Grad Program Remains No. 1 in 2025–2026 U.S. News Rankings
April 8, 2025
The Hildebrand Department’s graduate program in petroleum engineering is No. 1 in the country, according to the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. UT PGE has held this top ranking continuously since 2003.
Engineering specialty rankings are based on peer assessments by department heads in each specialty area. Each program’s score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions.
With more than $10 million in annual research funding and 270+ journal and conference papers published annually, UT PGE provides its graduate students with opportunities to participate in high-caliber energy research in traditional oil and gas as well as geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen storage, AI, data analytics, and more.
Graduate students learn from and conduct research with top academic minds, including five National Academy of Engineering members, 16 distinguished members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and two National Science Foundation CAREER award winners. UT PGE students hear from industry leaders on cutting-edge projects in the subsurface environment through the Claude R. Hocott Lectureship in Petroleum Engineering and Greening the Oilfield speaker series, and they receive expert industry mentorship through events like the annual Energy AI Hackathon.
UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering ranked No. 7 among graduate engineering schools. In addition to petroleum engineering, one other program ranked in the top five, seven in the top 10 and all programs finished in the top 20. The annual engineering graduate program rankings are based on student acceptance rates, faculty/student ratios, research expenditures, citations in top journals, reputation among engineers in industry and academia, the number of doctoral degrees produced, the percentage of faculty elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and entrance exam scores.
I enjoy spending time with my family, reading and swimming.
Dig Deeper
- Read about UT PGE’s global No. 1 ranking by QS.
- Learn more about our graduate programs.
- Check out some of the cutting-edge research collaborations between our grad students and faculty.

The Hildebrand Department’s graduate program in petroleum engineering is No. 1 in the country, according to the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. UT PGE has held this top ranking continuously since 2003.
Engineering specialty rankings are based on peer assessments by department heads in each specialty area. Each program’s score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions.
With more than $10 million in annual research funding and 270+ journal and conference papers published annually, UT PGE provides its graduate students with opportunities to participate in high-caliber energy research in traditional oil and gas as well as geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen storage, AI, data analytics, and more.
Graduate students learn from and conduct research with top academic minds, including five National Academy of Engineering members, 16 distinguished members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and two National Science Foundation CAREER award winners. UT PGE students hear from industry leaders on cutting-edge projects in the subsurface environment through the Claude R. Hocott Lectureship in Petroleum Engineering and Greening the Oilfield speaker series, and they receive expert industry mentorship through events like the annual Energy AI Hackathon.
UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering ranked No. 7 among graduate engineering schools. In addition to petroleum engineering, one other program ranked in the top five, seven in the top 10 and all programs finished in the top 20. The annual engineering graduate program rankings are based on student acceptance rates, faculty/student ratios, research expenditures, citations in top journals, reputation among engineers in industry and academia, the number of doctoral degrees produced, the percentage of faculty elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and entrance exam scores.
I enjoy spending time with my family, reading and swimming.
Dig Deeper
- Read about UT PGE’s global No. 1 ranking by QS.
- Learn more about our graduate programs.
- Check out some of the cutting-edge research collaborations between our grad students and faculty.