US News and World Report has released its ranking of the top graduate schools for petroleum engineering, which it says helps students identify suitable programs by comparing schools based on research activity, faculty resources, student achievements, and peer/employer assessments.
The top 10 include:
1. The University of Texas at Austin
2. Texas A&M University
3. Colorado School of Mines
4. The Pennsylvania State University (tie)
4. The University of Tulsa (tie)
6. The University of Oklahoma
7. Stanford University
8. Texas Tech University
9. The University of Houston
10. Louisiana State University
According to US News, between fall 2025 and early 2026, 222 engineering schools that grant doctoral degrees were invited to participate in a statistical survey. Of the 222, 195 schools responded with the necessary data and were ranked. The remaining 27 were not ranked.
The programs were ranked by research activity (50%), quality assessment (25%), faculty resources (20%), faculty research (10%), and student selectivity (5%).