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Embry-Riddle Makes it Four Years in a Row as Nation's Best Aerospace Engineering Program

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Daytona Beach, Fla., Aug. 22, 2003 -- U.S. News & World Report's 2004 "Best Colleges" guide has again named Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University number one in the Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering category for schools without doctorate programs. This is the fourth year in a row that the university's Daytona Beach campus has claimed that honor.

Embry-Riddle's Prescott, Ariz., campus was third in the same category. The U. S. Air Force Academy was listed as number two, and St. Louis University and the U. S. Naval Academy tied for fourth place.

In the "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" category of all colleges and universities whose terminal degree is a bachelor's or master's, Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus ranked ninth, up one spot from last year. Embry-Riddle's Prescott campus ranked 22.

"To be honored for academic excellence by U.S. News is extremely rewarding for our faculty, students and staff who strive every day to create and maintain these exceptional programs," said Embry-Riddle President George Ebbs. "We are proud to again be acknowledged as one of the nation's best universities."

In the regional rankings, Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus was listed as 23rd in the first tier of universities in the South. Last year's position was 25. The regional ratings are based on reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving rate. Rankings in the "Best Undergraduate Engineering" program are based on judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program with which they were familiar on a scale of one (marginal) to five (distinguished).

To view the U.S. News & World Report rankings, go to www.usnews.com.

Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates 25,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.