The UC Santa Barbara Department of Chemical Engineering placed No. 5 among public universities, and eighth out of 125 private and public institutions, in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of the top engineering graduate programs in the nation.  

The annual report ranked 213 engineering schools that granted doctoral degrees, based on 200 engineering schools that responded with necessary data. The statistical data was collected in fall 2019 and early 2020. Information used to compile the report included surveys submitted by engineering school deans and recruiters, as well as methodology and statistical data that included metrics; for instance, acceptance rate, research activity, and student-to-faculty ratio. 

The UCSB College of Engineering graduate program was ranked No. 14 among public universities, and No. 27 overall. The UCSB materials graduate program was ranked No. 2 among public universities, and fourth out of 110 institutions. And, UCSB’s mechanical engineering graduate program ranked No. 15 among public universities, and twenty-eighth out of 179 private and public institutions. Additionally, in electrical engineering programs UCSB ranked No. 22 overall, and thirteenth among public institutions. Additionally, UCSB ranked fourth among public universities in the highest percentage of faculty in the National Academy of Engineering with 8.1 percent, and highest research expenditures per faculty at $804,630.