The way I'd define it in terms of engineering schools: A-Tier: International reputation for engineering B-Tier: The school is known internationally (or nation

The way I'd define it in terms of engineering schools: A-Tier: International reputation for engineering B-Tier: The school is known internationally (or nationally in the U.S.) but not specifically for engineering If you're at a B-Tier school you'll probably notice a lot of your professors did their PhD at an A-Tier school. I say this with the caveat that obviously all manners of university ranking are highly contentious, fluid, and usually say more about the ranker than the ranked.