As of today, NC State remains one of the top destinations for undergraduate and graduate students of engineering in the country.

The story of NC State’s engineering school begins with the passing of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act in 1862, which gave each state the opportunity to use government funding to establish colleges where more industrial areas of study like agriculture and engineering would be emphasized.

In 1887, NC State was founded as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and began operating as an official university two years later. The College of Engineering, being one of the primary purposes of the school, has continued to grow ever since.

“In engineering, we’ve developed so many more subject areas over the years and, of course, we’ve gotten much bigger as time has gone on,” said John Gilligan, the executive associate dean of engineering. “We’re one of the largest colleges in the country right now.”

There are 15 departments within the college and one department, the Department of Biomedical Engineering that operates in conjunction with UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine.

In 2014, the U.S. News & World Report ranked NC State at 32 in the top 50 engineering schools in the country, according to Business Insider.

Gilligan said that in addition to having a great reputation with regards to faculty and individual departments, the number of students employed after graduating from the College of Engineering has played a big role in its attractiveness as a destination of study.

“North Carolina is a growing state, so people want to stay or come here so they can get jobs later,” he said. “Once [graduates] leave here, they have very good jobs and are highly sought after by industry that hires them, and the specialties that students can get here are quite diverse.”

According to Gilligan, being one of the top engineering colleges also entails competing with other top schools, and can prove to be a financially costly endeavor given the nature of engineering education, which involves more equipment, upkeep and technical support for all aspects of the engineering process.

In November of 2014, NC State’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to propose increasing tuition for in-state students, including a proposal for a fee increase for engineering students. The UNC Board of Governors approved the proposed hike in tuition Friday.

“Engineering education is just more expensive,” Gilligan said. “That’s driven us to differentiate by including an additional fee for students that are in the College of Engineering in order to be competitive around the country.”

Gilligan said the university and the state of North Carolina have increased investment in the College of Engineering over the past six or seven years, which has largely contributed to the growth of Centennial Campus as the new location of the college and an increase in the number of faculty positions.

NC State’s success in gaining federal support for the College of Engineering has resulted in vast growth in terms of the development of new centers and institutes that have helped the university stand out. For example, NC State is currently the only university in the country to have two National Science Foundation engineering research centers, according to Gilligan.

“All of these are opportunities for students, too,” he said. “Students drive this whole thing, they’re members of the centers and can do research projects as undergraduates and, of course, graduate students as well. I think it really benefits everybody.”

Sam Porter, a senior studying paper science and chemical engineering, said he was referred to NC State’s engineering department by a mentor he had for his senior project in high school.

Cody Oakley, a senior studying construction engineering and management, said he has been satisfied with his experience at NC State within his particular area of study.

“I love the way [the civil, construction and environmental engineering department] is structured,” Oakley said. “They prepare you very well for real life, they teach you essential life skills. I can’t honestly say there is anything I’ve been disappointed with.”